Getting Anti-Aging Products Into the Skin

Traditional anti-wrinkle creams typically have a combination of collagen and peptides, combined with some form of nano-molecule carrier technology to help these ingredients penetrate the skin. The key to all topical skin products lies in the delivery, and two recent ingredients emerging in the antiaging skin care market also claim to assist antiaging creams to be absorbed – capsaicin and snake venom.

  • Chilli pepper extract capsaicin** – the ingredient responsible for the hot sensation when eating chilli is being used in anti-wrinkle formulas. The pepper extract increases blood flow and absorption at the skin’s surface so the ingredients penetrate sooner and deeper.
  • Snake Venom – another anti-wrinkle ingredient based on a peptide found in snake venom claims to provide a similar effect.

**I have used a capsaicin based product on my elbow to help healing in tendinosis, and it can burn like crazy in hot weather, when the skin tends to perspire even a little. However, anti-aging skin cream manufacturers claim that the amount needed in anti-wrinke skin care products is significantly less, with no burning effect.

Posted in Antiaging Products, Skincare | 2 Comments

Don’t Buy Into Aging Myths

As we get older it is all too easy to buy into the aging hype and myths. One of the biggest myths connecting with aging is loss of muscle and increased body fat. Both muscle growth and fat are a factor of lifestyle – not age. Add to this the myth of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes also being age-related, and we are all buying into the aging myth. All of these diseases, along with loss of muscle and increased fat are primarily attributed to poor lifestyle – poor diet and poor exercise. For some, this may mean that there diets are too strict, not providing enough protein and healthy fats and carbs needed for muscle growth. In others, it may mean too much exercise, robbing the existing muscular system of proteins to support the massive energy drain. Its about finding the exact balance for your body type and metabolism.

Loss of muscle and reduction of strength are not the normal result of aging – they are primarily the result of a sedentary lifestyle. Multiple studies have proven that older people are able to build lean muscle mass very effectively when placed on a strength / muscle building program. Weight bearing exercises like walking and running, together with specific strength training exercises helps to retain bone health, and can sometimes even reverse bone loss. Continue reading

Posted in Aging Conditions, Anti-Aging Program, Diet, Fat Loss, Fitness, Muscle Building, Weight Management | Leave a comment

Anti-aging Skin Care Review

With so many anti-aging skin care products and anti-wrinkle creams on the market it is hard to decide exactly where to invest your hard earned cash for the best results. This month I am going to concentrate on highlighting those ingredients that are providing the most proven impact on reducing and preventing wrinkles and age related skin damage. What better place to start that with treatments and prevention of UV-induced skin aging.

There are many products, devices and treatments that promise to fight and/or repair sun damaged skin. Some of these are scientifically proven, whilst others, such as some light-based therapies may be no more than hyped up marketing strategies rather than providing any proven antiaging science.

The most effective antiaging treatments are no marketable – such as a balanced diet, exercise and sun protection. Continue reading

Posted in Antiaging Products, Antiaging Treatments, Skincare | Leave a comment

How to Fight Inflammation in the Body

I am suffering from widespread inflammation in my body – I suspect largely through living in a leaky house. The most significant area is in my neck, which now shows a high degree of arthritis, well beyond that expected for my age and lifestyle. It causes constant pressure on the nerves that run either side of the vertebrae causing pain down both arms, weakness in my hands and a dull pressure in my head.
Whilst there is no proven cause of arthritis, inflammation in general from high levels of stress, poor living conditions or poor nutrition all contribute. So forgetting about the cause of inflammation [arthritis or injury], what can we do to prevent inflammation or reduce it.
There are three main courses of action:
  1. Taking an anti-inflammatory drug, such as aspirin or NSAID [Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs]
  2. Diet – avoiding inflammation promoting foods and building up your diet with anti-inflammatory foods
  3. Nutritional Supplements
Taking Aspirin on a long term basis is highly controversial. Some advocates, such as Dr Oz believe it can reduce breast cancer in women by 30%, and reduces colon cancer by 50% in women. He adds that “anyone over the age of 40 should be taking aspirin”. [Obviously with medical contradictions in mind.]
Others claim that even low dose [baby] aspirin, taken on a regular basis can erode the stomach lining resulting in intestinal bleeding and ulcers. So I set about to seek out more information that would help me make the decision whether to attempt using aspirin on a daily basis, and what other foods and supplements I might try to improve my condition.
Click Here to Read the Full Article on Fighting Inflammation
Posted in Supplements, Treatments | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Selecting the Right Antioxidant for You

If there is one supplement over all others that has powerful anti-aging benefits, its an antioxidant. Antioxidants combat the free radicals in the body caused by ingestion, inhalation or absorbtion of toxins.

Many people believe that taking 500mg of Vitamin C each day is sufficient. Sadly, this is untrue for living in todays highly contaminated world. This is the very reason that so much money has been invested in research to find the most potent and most highly absorbed antioxidants available, at an affordable price.

It is for each of us to assess the toxicity of our diets and environments. For those living in rural areas, not close to horticultural spraying or toxic
mining, and living off freshly grown produce, not smoking and not drinking excessively, your production of free radicals will most likley be significantly less than someone in a high pressure job, poor quality air conditioning, eating highly processed foods, smoking regularly and drinking 3 or 4 alcholic drinks every night.

So take a moment and check out the array of antioxidants available today. At present, I take a strong ALA, along with lower doses of Vitamin C, Zinc and Vitamin E. I also get the benefits of Astaxanthin from the algae in the green drinks I take every day.

Posted in Antiaging Products, Supplements | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Power of Potassium

Potassium is a vital mineral for brain health. Low potassium levels also contribute to high blood pressure and increases the risk of kidney stones. So just how much potassium does one need on a daily basis, and what are the main sources of potassium?

Recommended Daily Dosage of Potassium

The recommended daily dosage of potassium is 4700 mg

Sources of Potassium

Good sources of potassium are:

  • Citrus fruits – 500mg a piece
  • Fish – 400 mg per average serve
  • Bananas – 400 mg per piece
  • Beets

Next time you get muscle cramps – you are likely to be dehydrated and lacking in potassium. When travelling in hot climates I always carry a small pottle of P Salts – these tiny pills dissolve in a few seconds once you put them under your tongue.

Posted in Cellular Health, Diet | Tagged , | 3 Comments

I Have Cancer – So Do You!

Did you know that we all have cancer. Cancer cells are just cells that have not formed correctly. This can be from a number of reasons – but a primary reason is that the cells are so overloaded with toxic substances that they mutate as they divide. The cells in our body are constantly renewing themselves. As the body ages, this process gets more difficult to sustain efficiently. Add to that the toxins we surround ourselves in and ingest, and the cells struggle to reproduce correctly. The body is equipped to deal with getting rid of a certain level of these cells – but if your toxin level is too high, the cells remain and continue to repliczte as mutated cells – Cancer.

So what can you do?

Apart from reducing your toxins there are certain nutrients that help rid the body of these mutated cells in different parts of the body:

  • Tumeric – targets ovarian cancer
  • Sunflower seeds - the Vitmain E in these seeds acts on lungs, skin and pollutants
  • Red Peppers – Vitamin C – helps any healing process and reduces the risk of cancer
  • Sunlight and Shrimps – Vitamin D helps prevent breast cancer as well as having a positive impact on lowering blood pressure

A daily dose of Vitamin D is 1000 iu.

To boost your body’s ability to reduce inflammation – take aspirin and/or Co-Enzyme Q10  every day.

Take care of your body – and it will take care of you.

Nicola

Posted in Cancer, Food Facts | Leave a comment

How to Ease Neck Pain

I have osteoarthritis of my cervical spine with C6-7 subluxed forward. This results in constant nagging pain across my skull and shoulders. In looking at other causes of neck pain, there seem to be three common causes:
  1. Strain to muscles of neck and/or shoulders
  2. Misaligned cervical vertebrae
  3. Osteoarthritis of the cervical vertebrae
Any one of these can cause the vertebrae to move out of alignment, which in turn causes a massive increase in the ‘effective weight’ of the head. Let me explain this a bit further. The weight of the average head is around 10 pounds. If a lower vertebrae in the cervical spine slips forward slightly, the weight of the head is now displaced from the normal vertical alignment. This effectively creates an arm to the weight – and can increase the efffective weight of the head to around 100 pounds. Ten times more!!
Treatment of neck pain varies from aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen. However, some very good non-drug treatment can be very effective. Two in particular are:
  1. Cold or Heat packs – place one pack on the back of the neck and the other on the front of the chest.
  2. Exercise - stand with feet hip width apart. Raise hands up at the sides, elbows bent with palms facing forward as if you are signalling someone to stop. Move the arms back to pull the scapulae together, then forward to release the pull. Repeat rythmically for 10 repititions. Repeat 2-3 sets. Do this several times throughout the day, especially if you work on a computer.
Support Your Neck When Sleeping
The position of your neck during sleep will also have a big impact. Use a feather pillow rather than a foam pillow. Either arrange the pillow so that a pad of feathers supports under the neck, or roll up a soft towel and stuff it into the pillow case down the length of the pillow. Position this under the neck so your head then falls on the pillow at the top.
Posted in Arthritis, Pain Management | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Does Healthy Eating Cost More?

I received an email newsletter from Jon Benson recently that addressed the long held myth that heating healthily costs more. In tight economic times when we are all looking at our grocery budget, I thought I would pass on some of Jon’s findings.  Jon dispelled the myth that eating healthy costs too much.

We can’t just look at the cost of a healthy diet just in terms of the cash we spend at the supermarket – we really need to look at the cost in three areas

Cash Spending

  • $1 buys 2 medium size sweet potatoes or… small fries from a fast food joint
  • $1 buys 2 red peppers  or… a can of pop
  • Make a chicken salad at home for $3 or buy a bag of cookies
  • $2 buys a bowl of oatmeal with fruit & protein powder or… large bag of chips
  • Pay $3.50 for 18 eggs  or… a burger from a fast food joint
  • For breakfast are you investing your $3.50 for a large bag of oatmeal  or 4 chocolate bars
  • Will you pay $10 for a sub combo from a fast food joint, or 6 Chicken Breasts
  • Is paying $15 for 2 salmon fillets  healthier than a large pizza?

[Costs from Scott Tousignant's fitness blog]

When you start breaking down your spending on ALL food items, it’s often not about cost – it’s about healthy choices.

Getting More For Your Money

If we look at the more expensive food items – such as meat – we have to get a little more creative to make our dollar go a little further. Consider the nutrition you are getting from meat and ask yourself if there is another way to get certain elements. For instance:

Reduce - You don’t need to be eating meat every day of the week, in fact it is much healthier not to. 3-4 times a week is quite sufficient, so substitute some inexpensive canned tuna, eggs, and vegetarian dishes. It’s amazing how filling and tasty these dishes can be with a little effort. There are plenty of great recipes online.

Expand - Use tofu to bulk out chicken and beef recipes – the taste of tofu pretty much disappears when combined properly.

Rationalize - You don’t need to buy all your meat from the local butcher or supermarket. Check online for bulk meat deals. Look at alternative farming – grass-fed beef is less expensive and has more taste, and organic chickens can be purchased online at a reasonable price and delivered.

Health

The savings in cost on improving your health pay dividends way beyond the cost of food. Eating a healthier diet improves your immunity, saving $$$’s on cold remedies and lowers overall health costs. You have more energy to achieve more – less days off work, and it even helps with the stress levels.

So take another look at your spending on food – not just the direct grocery costs, but also on the indirect costs of a bad diet. You will be surprised. Love to hear what you find – any great tips for other readers would be appreciated.

Nicola

Your Antiaging Coach

Posted in Diet, Food Facts | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Our Spiritual Painting

Part of living at our best is being in touch with our mind-body-spirit connection.
Our Spiritual journey cannot begin until we are ready. Until we open our minds to the now. This requires us to stop in the moment and just experience being in that moment. It is about letting go of the expected and experience the injected.
I have just finished listening to the story of grief of a brave young man who tragically lost his 19 year old twin brother to a motorcycle accident. He explained his spiritual awakening using the metaphor of a painting on the wall. This painting represented his expectation of how his life was going to be. At the death of his brother that painting lay shattered in many pieces on the floor. He could do little more than just stare at those pieces, not knowing how he would move forward. The pieces could not be put back together again and be the same picture. He had to still his mind enough to enable him to recognise that he needed to build a new picture and hang it back on the wall. This took a level of engagement with his life that could only happen after he had allowed himself to grieve.
Nobody is raised to know how to deal with such a loss. We each stumble through our first grief as novices. It is only through the open hearts and helping hands of others that we find our way again – not to the same life, but to a new life. That is a critical distinction. So many try to hold on to the expectation of the old life and will not let go – until we let go of the old life picture, we cannot compile a new one.
Ryan, thank you for sharing your story. I so admire you and your family, and wish you much happiness in your new picture.
Nicola
Posted in Spirituality | 1 Comment