Everyone wants that beautiful, youthful glow. But by the time we reach our 30s, the appearance of wrinkles, sun spots, hair loss, and hyperpigmentation, along with other signs of aging, starts. While there is no doubt that everyone will age in due time, there is no reason to let aging get the best of us and ruin what used to be our best assets.
People invest so much time and money in buying the best beauty products. Some don’t even hesitate to pamper themselves at the best rejuvenating spas like Rejuvn8 at Paparazzi. Such clinics offer different services that help people look their best no matter their age.
But aside from cosmetic procedures, living a healthy lifestyle should always be a priority if you want to slow down the aging process. There are natural ways you can fight skin aging. If you want to make a difference and start enjoying a more youthful glow, then you need to stop the following habits from ruining your plans.
Solving Your Problems with Sugar
Many of us have this guilty pleasure of turning to sugar when we feel sad or angry. We often tell ourselves that treating ourselves with sugar won’t hurt. But in reality, sugar can contribute to premature aging.
When ingested, sugar reacts with fat or protein, creating advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs are known to contribute to the increase of oxidant stress and inflammation. These are known as biomarkers involved in aging and the worsening or development of many degenerative diseases.
This is not to say that you should steer clear of all sources of sugar. Fruits naturally contain sugar along with fiber. The fiber in fruits helps slow the digestion of sugar, thus causing a lesser impact on your blood sugar. What you need is to cut down your tendency to eat refined sugar.
Reduce your intake of sugar-filled drinks like soda pop, punch, processed snack food items, and sugar-loaded desserts. Choose sauces with the lowest sugar options and go for full fat and whole foods. Read food labels and get to know the other names used for added sugar so you can avoid taking in unnecessary sugar in your system.
Hating Your Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are essential for good health. But consuming more of these will help you achieve healthier-looking skin. Even if some supplements are meant to support skin health, your best source of Vitamin C and carotenoids are bright-colored fruits and vegetables.
Instead of your usual diet, make sure to make your plate more colorful by adding more vegetables on your plate. Think of green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, beans, carrots, peas, bell peppers, and broccoli. Don’t forget to eat more fruits like berries, kiwis, grapes, strawberries, papaya, avocado, and pomegranate.
Doing the Wrong Exercises
Exercise may be essential to keep our bodies strong and healthy. We do this to maintain a healthy weight, enjoy better overall health, and even look younger. But did you know that certain types of exercise can help speed up aging?
CrossFit, for instance, is a type of high-intensity endurance training that puts additional stress on your body. This often causes overexertion and leads to overuse injuries. Failure to rest and balance CrossFit and rest can lead to inflammation, damaging your skin cells and accelerating aging.
Jogging is a type of aerobic exercise that can also speed up aging. Continuous aerobic stress prompts the release of cortisol since exercise puts unnecessary stress in your body. When cortisol is released often, it blocks the human growth hormone, thus resulting in wrinkles, thinning of hair, and sagging of the skin.
What you can do instead is to focus on exercises that help you improve your mood and increases your lean muscle. Think of walking, yoga, swimming, gardening, dancing, and hiking.
Smoking
There are so many reasons to quit smoking. Probably one of the best ones that will make you rethink puffing another cigarette is to stop premature aging. For one, the constant act of drawing in your mouth as you would when using a straw contributes to wrinkles.
Not many people know that there are more than 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Many of these chemicals destroy collagen and elastin, which are important fibers responsible for skin elasticity and strength. This, in turn, causes sagging skin.
Smoking also deprives your skin of nutrients along with oxygen. This is why some smokers have pale or uneven skin tones. Age spots are also common to smokers who love to sunbathe.
Saying goodbye to these habits will help you embrace a healthier lifestyle. If you want a younger-looking and healthy appearance, be sure to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Avoid these habits mentioned above and enjoy a more youthful glow.
