preventing wrinkles

What You Should Know About Preventing Wrinkles

An ounce of prevention is worth many pounds in future wrinkle remedies. The best way to deal with wrinkles is not to get them in the first place. Protecting the skin from the sun is the single most important practice in skin care. Continuous exposure to the sun’s rays will wrinkle and dry out the skin, leaving it coarse and thick. Uneven pigmentation, freckles for example, is another side effect of sunning. The earliest warning sign of severe skin damage is the development of ‘actinic keratoses’. These pre-cancerous lesions affect approximately 1 in 6 people. They are most common in people with fair skin and light hair, but can affect anybody who has been overly exposed to the sun.


As you get older, your cumulative sun damage will start to crop up on you even if you thought you had outsmarted it. The sun’s rays are very unforgiving and the damage they do to the skin is inescapable. Products such as anti-wrinkle face creams, used for prevention, don’t necessarily produce visible results. For example, your sunscreen won’t reduce wrinkles, but consistent use will stop them from forming as quickly and as deeply. Simple, this is what you need to know about preventing wrinkles from forming.


How to Reduce Wrinkles From the Inside Out

Foods high in vitamins C and E (like onions, garlic, fish, peas, beans, dark green leafy vegetables and whole grains), won’t keep you totally wrinkle-free, but evidence suggests they can help.

  • Water – drink 6-8 glasses per day to keep skin hydrated.
  • Fruits and vegetables – a diet rich in these will naturally be high in antioxidants.
  • Complex carbohydrates – found in whole grains, oatmeal and fruits, they should supply 50 per cent of your calories.
  • Lean protein – your skin needs approximately 44 g per day to produce collagen.
  • Recommended Daily Amounts (RDA) – these vary from person to person, so consult your doctor or nutritionist. Smokers and drinkers may need more. If you are deficient in any nutrients, take a supplement as well as following a healthy diet.
  • Maximum RDAs for women – vitamin A: 1.5 mg, vitamin C: 1200 mg, vitamin E: 20 mg, Selenium: 55 mcg, Calcium: 1500 mg, Thiamine:1.5mg, Zinc: 15 mg, Linoleic acid: 2 g, Alpha Linolenic acid: 0.5 g.
  • Caffeine and alcohol – avoid these, or keep them to a minimum.


Free Radicals Speed Up Wrinkle Formation

When it comes to your complexion, free radicals are one of the things that make the difference between peaches ‘n’ cream and wrinkled prune.

Free radicals are the by-products formed when oxygen is used by the body. They weave their damage by annihilating collagen and elastin fibres, cell membranes and DNA. Antioxidants protect precious pores by going on a search and destroy mission to neutralize free radicals. They assist in skin repair and the strengthening of blood vessels. It’s a clear battle of good versus evil.

Free radicals start a chain reaction under the skin’s surface. The skin is damaged and its cellular structure is weakened. They alter the DNA, resulting in ageing and illness. Stress produces adrenaline-related products, which restrict blood flow to the skin and generate free radicals. Ageing is caused by the slow cumulative oxidation of body tissues over a lifetime. Free radicals affect the rate at which we age generally, plus research has pointed the finger at them as the cause of some cancers, heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

The body makes its own antioxidants to deal with free radicals, but an overload caused by sun or smoking could leave the body unable to cope. Skin thickness increases with age, while skin elasticity decreases. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided. Ensuring that your antioxidant levels remain high is healthy, but they can’t correct the loss of elasticity, eliminate wrinkles or make skin look significantly younger. At present, research is inconclusive that they will help in preventing wrinkles, but is it worth taking the risk of not including them in your diet?


Antioxidants

The best way to get your antioxidants is from food first, supplements last:


Carotenoids

The basic function of carotenoids is as a source of vitamin A.

Alpha and beta-carotene – found in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, yellow squash, apricots and mangoes and in dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and parsley.

Lycopene – the red pigment in tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin – found in green leafy vegetables like spinach and yellow and orange fruits and vegetables such as squash.

Beta – Cryptoxanthin – found in mangoes, red capsicum and pumpkin.


Flavonoids

Found in tea – especially green tea – onions, red wine and red grape juice.


Vitamin C

Found in fruit and vegetables, including oranges, blackcurrants, strawberries, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, potatoes and peas.


Vitamin E

Found in the fatty parts of foods, safflower oil, margarine, mayonnaise, wheat germ, nuts and seeds, with smaller amounts in most fruit and vegetables.


Top Tip

Ingestion of large amounts of some vitamins can be toxic. Don’t overdo it. Follow the upper level guidelines for every supplement you take!