To lose wrinkles, add antioxidants
With the western world's aging population, it's not hard to understand why the anti-wrinkle business is packed with so many products.
Advances in medical science mean that we are living longer than previous generations. We are retiring earlier as well and many retirees are fit, healthy and active. Because they lead very social lives, it is not surprising that they want to look their best.
New ingredients and formulas are often advertised as the new answer to keeping age spots, sagging skin and wrinkles at bay. Few of these claims are backed by science and even less have been the subject of independent clinical trials. They make our skin feel nice, and for some that is enough.
One of the main causes of damaged aging skin is the presence of free radicals in our lives. These naturally occurring molecules attack healthy body cells. There effect can be most noticeable on our facial skin. You see, free radicals break down the collagen in our skin that gives it strength and elasticity. The result is sagging skin and wrinkles.
Fortunately it has been discovered that antioxidants fight these free radicals and we can increase the amount of antioxidants in our lives in several ways. The most obvious is consuming foods that are antioxidant-rich.
Leafy green vegetables are extremely high in antioxidants, and members of the berry family as well, particularly blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Garlic is great as well, and if you can't tolerate the smell, try taking odorless capsules or tablets. Artichokes, carrots and broccoli are also high on the antioxidant list.
South Beach skincare has spent a huge amount of time and money in developing a skincare cream that is rich in antioxidants. Now, many creams claim this, but the difference is that with South Beaches "LifeCell", they have actually tailored the formula so that only certain (expensive) antioxidants are included - the ones that help stimulate collagen production, and fight skin cell destroying free radicals.
Just because a cream might contain antioxidants, it doesn't necessarily follow that because they have made the list of ingredients they are the right ones to combat free radicals, or that they are in sufficient quantity to do any good at all.
Your body, particularly your skin, will thank you for increasing your antioxidant levels. Watch out free-radicals!
