Maintaining a Youthful Appearance

It amazing how times flies by once you graduate from high school. I find myself taking a lot more care and concern as to how I treat my body. I found some tips to keeping a youthful appearance that I think is interesting. 

Most women of color just do not think of sunscreen to protect their skin from the harsh rays of the sun. Some women experience fine lines, early wrinkles and sagging in their thirties which is caused by collagen breakdown and the environment. These tips are almost full-proof to defending  your face. Ways to slow down aging is Coppertone Nutra-Shield Faces 70+ SPF with Dual Defenses and eating lots of vitamin C–rich citrus (the vitamin helps prevent collagen loss), and apply cream with a retinol or retinoid (a vitamin A derivative) every night to promote skin-cell growth.

Another way to stay youthful is to stay energized each day with vitamin B to ward off depression and promote cell producing energy. Vitamin B can be found in dairy, beans, meat, seafood, and eggs are good sources, but if you eat few (or none) of those foods, a supplement might make sense, according to Dr. Chrsitine Gustafson of integrative medicine  in Alpharetta, Georgia .

I am starting to see a pattern here because I have heard the next topic before. Sleep should be a main priority to good health and appearance. Most women can blame high hormone levels for sleepless nights, in fact, we can point the finger at stress, too. Needless to say, rest enables us to be more equipped to fight off conditions, like memory loss, high blood pressure, and a weak immune system, all of which make you look and feel older. Dr. Gustafson recommends a magnesium supplement due to the body using the mineral quickly and a deficiency may lead to frequent sleep problems, possibly because it interrupts proper electrical activity in your brain. Almonds are rich in magnesium, for example.

Every decade that we acheive with age, we also begin to store more fat that we can only battle off by exercising. Have you heard of muscle confusion? It may help to change the way you exercise by the frequency, too. Try working out 20 minutes instead of an hour three days a week. As women, our hormone levels tend to store fat creating the tummy pooch, so it helps to adjust the structure of your eating to more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain, and lean meats to promote cells to burn fat better.

The last words of wisdom the Dr. Gustafson mentions is that we should exercise our brains. “Research shows people who do things with their minds tend to have less memory loss.” It is important to try something new periodically, so take a course at the local community college, a dance class, cooking course, a good book.

SUMMARY- TAKE YEARS OF BY DOING THE FOLLOWING

SLEEP EIGHT HOURS PER DAY- 5 YRS

STOP SMOKING – 20 YRS

LOSE TEN POUNDS- 5 YEARS

EXERCISE FIVE TIMES WEEK- 10 YRS

SUNBLOCK 30 SPF GIVES 20 YRS OFF FACE/BODY