Age may just be a number, but don’t let that stop you from taking steps to ensure that your skin stays healthy and strong all throughout your life. And while there exists a diverse array of products on the market that lay claim to rejuvenating and maintaining your skin, they remain just that – products. Nothing will take the place of a lifetime of healthy habits. To that end, there are 3 simple steps you can take that can mitigate the effects aging has on your skin.
Hydrate
Easy, right? Water, raw fruit and vegetable juices and various herbal teas do wonders for your body. Water increases cell hydration, and the antioxidants from raw juices and herbal teas help to scavenge DNA-damaging free radicals that build up in your body from everyday wear and tear. Excessive free radical build-up can lead to – among other ailments – skin conditions like dryness, rash and wrinkles.
Avoid prolonged sun exposure
According to the CDC, prolonged and unprotected sun exposure can lead to elastosis – a condition wherein collagen and elastic tissues in the skin are destroyed – discoloration of the skin, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, and more serious conditions like melanoma. Excessive sun exposure may even trigger epigenetic changes in the brain that lead to “sun addiction,” according to recent news stories on the subject. The solution? Limit your exposure with clothing and shade, use a high SPF sun blocker if laying out, and try to avoid direct sunlight between 10 A.M. and 4 P.M., when “peak incident radiation” is strongest.
Don’t eat within four hours of going to bed.
Crave a midnight snack? Think of your skin and think twice. Eating before bed can have disastrous consequences for your health. According to Secrets of Champions™ Founder and CEO Dr. George Carlo, when food is added to the mix during sleep, it disrupts sleep patterns, changes the melatonin-serotonin production cycle that is key to both scavenging free radicals during nighttime repair and recovery cycles and next-day alertness, and interferes with the body’s production of new energy – and none of this bodes well for your skin. When eating before bed becomes a habit, it means that the energy reserves your body has allotted for repair and recovery are consistently being spent on digesting food. This can lead to, among other unpleasant things, premature aging, as important repair and recovery work is being thwarted by undigested fast food.
Drink plenty of fluids, limit your exposure to the sun’s harmful rays, and don’t eat before bed – 3 deceptively simple steps to take on the road to healthier, stronger skin.
