Skin Aging Stage 3 + 4 : Sagging Skin

How to Prevent and Remedy Redundant Skin

Keeping skin moist goes a long way in keeping your skin dewy and youthful. But if you are eating well and taking great care of your skin, you can still feel unhappy about the tone of your skin.

That’s when you have “Redundant Skin”. This sagging of the skin becomes visible anytime after our fortieth birthday. So how can we delay this “scary” sight coming to our mirrors?

To find the cause we have to go deeper than the epidermis and the dermis. It is a combination of the thinning of the subcutaneous skin layer and of bone loss.

As we pass our fortieth birthday we start to notice the thinning of our skin. This occurs as our skin is less resilient as the subcutaneous layers thin. Subcutaneous Layer is maintained by Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Sleep is the best way to keep or increase HGH levels. External HGH supplementation is not recommended because available sources have been found unsafe.

At about the same time we can start to see the shrinking of our wrist bone. Most of us don’t take much notice – after we have bought into the belief that “thinner is better”. But we do take notice when we see the “Redundant skin” on our faces cause by the same bone loss. From a young age, we all know to get enough calcium to prevent osteoporosis so why the visible bone loss? We need liquid Vitamin D supplementation to ensure the conversion of Calcium for bone + skin health.

So the prevention of skin aging begins in our youth include the following;
1. Protect skin from sun, cold and dryness
2. Eat to balance health
3. Sleep adequately
4. Take liquid Vitamin D

To remedy skin aging
1. Use a natural serum to plump up skin cells
2. Use a good natural moisturizer to slow down moisture loss
3. Take a maximum dose of liquid Vitamin D
4. If your sleep habit is short or broken, incorporate suitable remedies from napping to sleeping in.
5. Stop believing “thin is better” and eat you to balance your Ayurvedic type, your lifestyle and the weather
6. IPL and Microdermabrasion treatment to smooth and tighten skin
7. If you are still unhappy a face lift can be the only solution for extreme redundant skin.

Skin Aging : Stage 2

Preventing and Remedying Aging Skin

Why do we call anything that maintains youthfulness, “anti-aging”? We blame “aging” for what is the result of “not caring for ourselves”. Depending on the luck of our genetics and our attention to our personal care, we will notice changes in our skins appearance in our thirties and forties. Lines are deeper and more permanent. Pigmentation is more prominent and wide spread. Our skin appears duller and more uneven. Our pores are larger and there appears to be more bumps and moles. Now the problem is goes deeper than our epidermis to our dermis layer. The long-term lack of skin hydration is now causing more permanent and deeper damage.

Prevention is simple.

1. Keep skin hydrated.
2. Get enough rest,
3. Eat lots of vegetables and fruit.
4. Drink enough water.
5. Limit unprotected sun and extreme temperature exposure.
6. Take liquid Vitamin D to keep skin and bones healthier
7. Balance skin moisture and hydration level with proper skincare.

Hydrated skin keeps capillaries walls elastic and the dermis functioning optimally. When epidermal skin cells are dehydrated, they cannot perform well in protecting capillary walls which result in skin redness. Long term redness will result in darkening of the skin. When the epidermis does not protect the dermis, Collagen and Elastin production is downgraded causing skin to lose tone and more moisture and for skin cells to reproduce differently. Skin tags, moles, inverted pores and hyper pigmentation are results of wayward skin cell production.

So how can we fix this type of skin damage?

1. Start to practice better lifestyle and personal care by following the prevention suggestions above
2. Intense Pulse Light (IPL) can give dramatic improvements and advanced-aged skin-repair
3. Microdermabrasion and skin peels can improve skin appearance for those who need less dramatic improvements
4. I am currently researching the results of new safe treatments using Ultra-Sound and Radio Frequency

I am too Young to be Aging

I am too Young to be Aging

At fifty-four going on fifty-five in September, I look forward to the new experiences that will come to me as I grow older and wiser.

But I am still a client for healthy proactive “anti-aging” skincare as are my regular clients. So off I went to Chicago to listen to chemists introduce new ideas and new natural ingredients for better looking skin.

We all know that poor lifestyle and over exposure to the elements will accelerate the aging of our skin and our appearance. The speed and amount of damage as well as the ability of the skin to repair itself depends on our genetics and in Ayurvedic term our Doshas.

What are the signs of skin aging?

The first signs are surface and are mainly in the Epidermis. Not protecting skin from ambient moisture loss and living in desert like or extremely cold climates can cause fine lines, enlarged pores, and redness along with light hyper-pigmentation. Fine lines and redness can also occur temporarily as we dehydrate our bodies with blimps in our diet or stress levels. An overnighter for work or school or an evening of over consumption of alcohol and cigarettes will have similar results. Prescription drugs and antibiotics will cause dehydration during the course as well. These light and sometimes temporary signs of skin aging can appear as early as in our twenties.

This type of skin aging is easy to remedy as the causes are in the Epidermis, the top most layer of our skin.

Remedies

Remedies can be as simple as applying a serum before your moisturizer to having a good facial. Exfoliation can be very helpful in smoothing out the complexion. This can be a homecare product like an AHA gel or a jojoba scrub or be a spa treatment like a Microdermabrasion.

Since the capillaries are in the skin to carry away debris, cellular waste and toxins, using natural products can contribute to the longterm health of the skin and capillaries.

Choosing gentle exfoliants made from natural ingredients for home use would support skin repair without long term damage to skin cells and capillaries.

Avoiding aluminum when receiving Microdermabrasion will lessen exposure to controversial ingredients that are known to affect long term health.

For individual advice please feel free to contact me at jean@pureandsimple.ca or go to http://www.pureandsimple.ca/ for product and spa information

Innovative information and remedies for deeper wrinkles and pigmentation, chronic redness and redundant skin will be discussed next.

Foods for Vata

Foods for Vata

I am continuing with the requested recipes from the book party and accompanying it with information on how to balance your state of mind body and spirit with food.

Finally we are at Vata and not fast enough as Vatas are not used to being last.

These quixotic change agents get bored easily so they tend to act quickly. Their quick metabolism gives them the willowy silhouette so in fashion today but also gives them the disadvantage of lower stamina, inability to gain weight, premature aging.

Their strength is in the spiritual and conceptual. They adapt easily to change, take risks and embrace innovation. But in imbalance, they have the tendency to show signs of premature aging, to suffer from nervous disorders, to appear flaky, to seem forgetful and to be chatty.

If you are not a Vata but exhibit any of the above symptoms, you can be suffering from a Vata imbalance and can also follow the following advice to return to balance.

Things that can tip the scales to manifest these negative tendencies can be triggered by Vata Weather – cold, dry – eating Vata Foods –popcorn, ices, cabbage, dried meats, salads – or hanging out with Imbalanced Vatas – people who are overly frenetic, changeable, scattered or unstable.

The general rule is to eat nourishing and warm -- favouring flavours that are sweet, salty and sour and minimizing eating those that are spicy, bitter astringent.

The big no-nos are dry crispy (crackers, dry nuts), stimulating ( caffeine, white sugar), gassy (carbonated drinks, cabbage) and cold foods.

And the balancing foods can include red meat, dark meat of fowl, root vegetables, dairy (cheese), oils, and whole grains rice.

A sample daily menu can be;

Breakfast

1. Eggs with whole-wheat bread with a glass of milk
2. Smoothie with fruit and yogurt with herbal tea
3. Cooked whole grains with raw nuts and fresh or dried fruit
4. Melon (summer)
5. Whole grain bread with nut butters with Herbal tea with honey.

Lunch

This will be your main meal for the day

1. Salmon with vegetables and brown rice
2. Lamb with vegetables and sweet potato
3. Whole wheat pasta with meat sauce and vegetable
4. Dessert can range from crème brule to cheesecake or as per Snack suggestions

Snack

Vatas can graze. So snacking between meals is encouraged.

1. Whole grain Muffin sweetened without white sugar
2. Yogurt
3. Any pastries made with whole grains and without white sugar
4. Sweet fruits like melons, papaya, mangos
5. Soaked nuts and seeds

Dinner

Dinner is lighter but is highly nutritious. Vatas can also snack, of course choosing nutritious snacks --- or suggestions see the above snack section.

1. Vegetables with whole grain pasta without cheese or cream sauce
2. White fish with vegetables and brown rice
3. Legume and vegetable stews
4. Veggie burger with steamed vegetables or salad ( depends on season) – No fries

Vata Hors d’oeuvres ( from the book Party)

The criteria for these dishes are;
The food ingredients follow the Ayurvedic diet for Vatas
Use whole organic food ingredients
Minimal waste – edible containers
The dishes chosen can follow the “hundred Mile” whole foods diet, which is very suitable for Vatas
The ingredients in the recipes are easily substituted
I recommend modifying them to suit your taste


1. Wild Rice + Peanuts (if not Hundred Mile diet - you can add a small box of saffron
a. Steam 10 – 20 leaves of collards or any dark green leaf vegetable
i. Drain and carefully place leaves flat to cool
b. Cook 1 cup of herbs wild rice as per package instructions
i. When cooked – put aside
c. Cut up fresh herbs – choose from scallions, basil, sage, garlic greens, garlic, parsley
d. Put 3 cups of cauliflower clusters in a pot of boiling water
i. Lower temperature to simmer
ii. Put into food processor or blend to make creamy and let cool
iii. Take 2 cups of the creamed cauliflower (the left over cup is

1. saved for the fish) and add in the following;
   1. 1 table spoon tahini
   2. ¼ teaspoon sea salt
   3. handful of the cut fresh herbs
   4. if not following Hundred Mile Diet – you can add any of the following
   a. 2 tablespoons hoi sin sauce
   b. 1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
   c. Tablespoon of curry
   d. A box of saffron
   e. 1 teaspoon of turmeric
   f. 1 teaspoon of cumin
   g. ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg

e. Mix together the wild rice, 1 cup of Ontario peanuts with skin, fresh herbs and the cauliflower based sauce
f. Place the mixture on a collard leaf and fold leaves over to cover and then roll

2. Salmon trout on Belgian Endive
a. Baking the fish
i. Use the fresh herbs from the Wild Rice + Peanuts recipes
ii. Finely dice up onions, grate fresh ginger
iii. Olive oil a pan and sprinkle on the onions, sea salt and ginger
iv. Place filets of salmon trout on the pan skin on the bottom
v. Rub oil on the filets
vi. Sprinkle on the cut fresh herbs on the top side of the filets
vii. Put into oven 350 degrees for 10 minutes
b. The sauce
i. 1 cup of the creamed cauliflower
ii. 2 tablespoon of tartar sauce

• c. Mix the sauce with fish
  d. Cut up Belgian endive into leaves
  e. Place the fish mixture onto the firm part of the leaves

3. Pumpkin cheesecake

a. Go to http://www.joyofbaking.com/PumpkinCheesecake.html for the recipe
b. Replace white sugar with stevia or xylitol.
c. Replace brown sugar with Demerara sugar
d. Replace the ground ginger cookies with more graham cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon of dry ginger
e.