Recently anti-aging is a hot and happening topic in the world at large. With a lot of celebrities going on media about omega diet or no carbs and nil white food…so on and so forth. Will we know the truth like it’s out there? We have to peel it out to perceive facts and what is fiction. Let us start the voyage of discovering a healthy skin.

How Skin Ages

Our skin is at the mercy of many environmental factors as we age sun, harsh weather, our own bad habits and diet. Few directly responsible causes are heredity, diet, life style and personal habits. Some of the aging damage is also produced by free radical which happens all over the body parts at the cellular level. We can take few precautionary steps to help us feel young with a glowing skin and looking fresh forever.

Skin aging gets affected by smoking due to free radicals injury. These free radicals are nothing but excited molecules which react and become unstable leading to damage i.e. skin aging / wrinkling. Other reasons for aging skin which results in wrinkled or spotted skin include normal aging, exposure to the sun (photo aging) and loss of subcutaneous fatty tissue (support), along with day to day stress, gravity, daily facial movement and obesity (stretching of skin).

Skin Changes that appear with Aging

The smooth, soft and supple skin changes as we age. With age skin becomes coarser and rougher and loses its moisture, if left unattended. The layer of skin which replenishes it with the new skin below the present layer, sometimes gets piled on. This causes easy breaks in the skin, skin lesions and leads to tumor conditions. The original elastic nature of the skin is lost, making it slack and hang loosely, referred as jowls. In extreme cases skin thins out and becomes transparent and this gives rise to easy bruising of the skin.

Sun Damage to the skin - Over time, the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light damages certain fibers in the skin called elastin. The breakdown of elastin fibers causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose its ability to snap back after stretching. The skin also bruises and tears more easily and takes longer to heal. So while sun damage may not show when you're young, it will later in life.

Nothing can completely undo sun damage, although the skin can sometimes repair itself. So, it's never too late to begin protecting yourself from sun exposure and skin cancer. You can delay changes associated with aging by staying out of the sun and wearing sunscreen with a SPF of 30 or more.

Aging changes below the skin – As the support of subcutaneous fat tissue is lost below the skin in the cheeks, temples, chin, nose and eye area, it results in loosening skin, sunken eyes, and a “skinny" appearance due to prominent bonny structure of the face.

Other Skin Changes - Gravity, facial movement, and even sleep position are the secondary factors that contribute to changes in the skin. When the skin loses its elasticity, gravity causes drooping of the eyebrows and eyelids, looseness and fullness under the cheeks and jaw (jowls and "double chin"), and longer ear lobes. Facial movement lines become more visible after the skin starts losing its elasticity, usually as people reach their third or fourth decade of life. Lines may appear horizontally on the forehead, vertically on the skin above the root of the nose (glabella), or as small curved lines on the temples, upper cheeks and around the mouth. Also radiating lines at the corner of the eyes appear which are commonly referred as “Crow’s feet”.

Dry skin and itching is common in later life. About 85% of older people develop "winter itch," because overheated indoor air is dry. The loss of sweat and oil glands as we age may also worsen dry skin. Anything that further dries the skin (such as overuse of soaps or hot baths) will make the problem worse. If your skin is very dry and itchy, see a doctor because this condition can affect your sleep, cause irritability, or be a symptom of a disease. Rarely, some medicines can make the itchiness worse.

Omega 3 & 6 are now known to help prevent breakdown in muscle protein and neutralize free radical injury to the issue, there by its use as anti-aging and anti-wrinkle is reached to the pinnacle. It is found in abundance in salmon fish and few of the pulses and dry nuts. It has become one of the latest anti-aging remedy to be pursued by one and all in cosmetic therapy. It is one of the popular and special ingredients found in the miracle cream for anti-aging.

Practice this diet to get healthy and good skin the natural way. Revitalize your skin with a regular intake of vitamins.

• Vitamin A helps repair body tissue, prevents skin dryness and postpones ageing. Make sure your diet contains lot of Vitamin A in the form of milk, cheese, eggs, butter, spinach, broccoli, carrot and fish oils.

• Vitamin B improves blood circulation and skin color. It is found in yoghurt, brown bread, wheatgerm, yeast, cereal and green leafy vegetables.

• Vitamin C helps maintain levels of collagen, a protein constituent of skin that is essential for healing the skin as well as keeping it smooth, firm and healthy-looking. Collagen provides the subcutaneous support for healthy and flawless skin. Eat lots of citrus fruits, strawberries, blackcurrants, potatoes, cabbage, broccoli and sprouts.

• Vitamin B & C are water soluble and easily lost while cooking. They need to be taken on daily basis. Vitamin A is fat soluble and can be stored in liver. So go easy on it.