Yesterday, for some reason I stopped for a second to admire my grandson and his youthful skin. I admired how smooth, flexible and plump his skin is at 8 years old. I wished I still had nice skin like this. But time has done its work. Knowing what I know now I would have started a few of my youthful skin strategies a lot earlier in life.
Here are some simple lifestyle changes I would recommend to anyone who wants to keep their skin looking as youthful as possible:
Diet
Foods high in Vitamins A, C, and E can help promote healthier skin. You find these in salmon, sardines, nuts, vegetables and fruits.
Proper hydration is also crucial for skin health. Most people don’t even drink one liter of water a day. Stay away from energy drinks, sodas and alcohol as they dehydrate.
A balanced diet full of whole foods can get you started towards healthy skin. Eat grass-fed beef, pastured eggs, wild-caught fish, farmed poultry, plenty of vegetables and some fruits.
Environment
The sun is good for our bodies and getting Vitamin D. It is important to go outside and expose ourselves to the sun. Of course you should never get a sunburn, so if you are outside longer than 20 minutes in full afternoon sun use a sunscreen. A natural mineral sunscreen such as zinc oxide is preferable. A tan is OK, a sunburn is NOT.
Smoking can also affect your skin health, as does pollution and smog. It deprives the skin of oxygen and important nutrients ( not just the skin, but all your organs). The lip puckering of smoking creates lines on the lips which get deeper with time.
Lifestyle
Excess stress can lead to negative effects on the whole body, including the skin.
Getting good quality sleep is very important for a healthy looking skin.
Regular exercise is crucial for helping to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Not only can proper exercise reduce stress and promote quality sleep, it brings oxygen and nutrients to the skin. It also activates important enzymes and hormones.
Supplements for Skin
Collagen Amino Acids are natural bio-active ingredients that improve skin moisture and prevent skin aging. When collagen goes through a water procedure called hydrolysis it is then called hydrolyzed collagen.
Several studies have demonstrated that hydrolyzed collagen is highly digestible. Normal food-grade collagen, such as animal meat, skin, cartilage etc is difficult to digest ( 20% of it on average), but hydrolyzed collagen can be easily digested. More than 90% of hydrolyzed collagen is digested and quickly absorbed after oral ingestion. [1], [2]
As a food ingredient, oral ingestion of hydrolyzed collagen has been reported as safe [3].
In order to be active, hydrolyzed collagen must have an excellent bioavailability. This has been confirmed in animals and human after ingestion wherein 95% was absorbed within the first 12 hours. These studies show that collagen reached its peak value in cartilage and remained relatively high after 96 hours [4].
There’s a reason children have such beautiful skin.
Collagen and Elastin keep the skin soft, plump, taut, and youthful-looking. As we age, these supportive connective tissues deplete, causing the skin to become less firm and sag.
The second ingredient in keeping your skin youthful is HYALURONIC ACID.
Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is found naturally in the body; it is one reason that young people have smooth, taut and plump skin. As we age our body has less and less of this.
HA is the holy grail of smooth, plump and youthful skin. It binds up to 1,000 times its weight in water, thereby providing continuous moisture to the skin. This is why many cosmetic companies include HA in their skin creams even though topical application isn’t the best way to increase HA levels in the skin.
Another important supplement for skin health is Vitamin C. It protect the collagen for skin from being attacked by free radicals. This helps keep collagen strong.
All of the above are in Collagen Complete.