The process of aging is inevitable for all. When we age, the skin starts to sag as the muscle tone gradually decreases. This can be especially apparent in the face and neck area. Aging skin appears thinner and becomes more prone to pigmentation followed by age spots appearing. The skin also becomes drier as fine lines and wrinkles become more noticeable.

It is recognized that the genes you’ve inherited do have a role to play in how your body responds to the process of aging. A process that we have no control but to accept it gracefully!

What’s the secret to stay youthful?

Most of us are aware that the key to staying young includes eating the right food (that includes lots of clean water), getting at least 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep and good regular exercise. Foods can heals, repair and rejuvenates thus make you feel good after eating. Avoid all bad foods such as trans fat and processed food. Sure you are constantly bombarded with super formulated foods that can do wonders for your health and how you look. When you are on the right track, your skin will glow to become a reflection of your own health .

So it is clear that there is a strong connection between good food and health. That includes anti-aging foods. Some people may age faster than others but what causes aging? First we need to understand how the aging process starts and what are the foods or nutrients necessary to promote a healthy body so as to reflect the goodness through your skin.

On a daily basis, during your life span, there are millions of biochemical processes happening inside our body. During these processes, oxygen is being used. Unfortunately, these processes also cause harmful side effects, or free radicals, to be created that cause can damage to our cells and leads to chronic diseases ultimately. Free radicals are also produced when we are under stress, exposed to environmental pollutants such as smoke and the ultra-violet rays as well as eating junk and refined foods. Scientists have discovered that the longer these free radicals stay inside our bodies, the more degeneration it does to our body cells.

How do we get rid of these oxidant substances?

Whilst we can’t stop the natural aging process from happening within us, most researchers believe that we can have a control over the food intake as well as to take control of the external factors that have a major contributory role in aging. The other reason for the natural aging process is when we grow older, our body metabolism also slows down and that leads to poor digestion. Even our body hormones are less efficient in performing their functions.

The super anti-aging food

The foods that contain antioxidants to fight the free radicals come mainly from the fruits and vegetables group. Fresh organic multi-colored fruits & vegetables, and whole grains in their natural wholesome content contain essential antioxidants, necessary to heal and keep off free radicals from having a chance to cause cells damage and accelerate aging. Beans, nuts, and fish are good sources of protein. Fish is also rich in essential fatty acids necessary to maintain good cell lining. The berries such as blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are rich in antioxidants called proanthocyanidins, ellagic acid that combats carcinogens. Resveratrol and quercetin found in red grapes contain potent antioxidants to prevent age related diseases.

The next subject reflects back to my previous post on ‘Do you need health supplements’? Taking supplements undoubtedly have beneficial anti-aging effects for your body. Vitamin A, B6, C, E, selenium, zinc, glutathione, beta carotene, co-enzyme Q10, alpha lipoic acid, and quercetin are well-known antioxidants and it is best to go for the organic natural food based ingredients that can combine well with your food.

We know that the ideal way to obtain vitamins and minerals is from the food we eat. In today fast paced society, very often we find it difficult to get a proper meal what’s more the contents of the food or the choices we make are much left to be desired or sadly lacking in essential nutrients. What are we doing to compensate for the lack of nutrients to meet the requirements of the body.

Nutritional supplements have come to fill the gap and before one rushes to make a purchase over the counter, it pays to understand the reasons for food supplementation and the difference between synthetic and natural vitamins.

Sometimes it remains a challenge for you to find good supply of high quality nutritious food. Not everyone can have easy access to organic pesticides-free food depending on the area they live or the country they stay. The soil where our foods are derived from are often depleted of its soil nutrients and what do we expect from the fruits that are harvested before they have ripened. Thus it is not surprising that the food supplementation industry is huge as most of us may have to resort to taking some form of supplementation as additional insurance to the diet we are taking.

The rationale for the use of food supplements is also due to nutrients depletion from the way we cook our food, for instance the use of modern day cooking methods such as microwave cooking has resulted in nutrients lost and unhealthy foods. Using frying instead of eating raw or steaming, the adding of artificial flavors to our cooking to enhance the taste, are also examples why supplementation may be very necessary. In fact, our busy schedule has causes us to eat out more often - in fast food chains for the speed and convenience aspect.

When purchasing any food supplement, you will probably have to choose between the natural and synthetic supplements. The best choices are of course the natural vitamins as the ingredients are derived from natural food sources that are closes to nature and assimilation is thus made easier.

In terms of chemical content, the two vitamin sources are about similar except that synthetics are cheaper to make because the ingredients sources are easily available Synthetic vitamins as the name implies, are manufactured in isolation from certain chemicals and they are more specific unlike natural vitamins that usually contain other essential micro- nutrients – therefore you receive more than one benefit each time you consume. Synthetic vitamins contain letters “dl” on the label. To identify synthetic vitamins, look for label with words like hydrochloride, chloride, nitrate or acetate, which are added to the product to improve stability.

Besides, it is important to look out for harmful ingredients that may cause an allergic body reaction such as artificial flavoring and coloring, coal tars, preservatives, nicotine, sweeteners and starch. It is not surprising to note that not all that claims of natural are indeed 100% natural and safe as far as the human body is concerned.

Though vitamins come in many forms, pills, capsules, gel capsules or powder, the choices are a plenty these days based on personal preferences. The natural whole food vitamins that are accompanied with some essential minerals are considered the best option. These minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium have each a significant role to contribute to your total well being complementing with your diets.

Sometimes we should not be overly concern if the dosage you are taking are slightly above the Recommended Daily Allowance guidelines that very often are the lower limits of daily nutrient intake. If you are unsure it is best to refer to your nutritional medicine expert for helpful advice.

Coconut oil has been consumed for many centuries. It contains saturated fats but the saturated fats unlike animal fats are healthy as many researches have shown and confirmed.

Coconut oil has what is called medium chain fatty acids or in short, MCFA. Unlike the more common longer chain fatty acids (LCFAs) found in other vegetable oils, the MCFAs are burned off very quickly in the body. The LCFAs are usually stored as fats and this pose a major health problem to many people.

What are the benefits of coconut oil?

For Good Health

Coconut oil contains mostly the fatty acids, lauric acid and caprylic acid. The MCFA in coconut oil are similar to the fat in mother’s milk and have similar nutriceutical effects. Lauric acid is proven to kill harmful viruses and bacteria both within and out of the body. The MCFA gets transform into monolaurin when consumed, is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, anti-septic. It is most effective against Candida and other yeast and fungi infections. These health benefits were recognized thousands of years ago in Ayurvedic medicine. For example, the monolaurin, derived from lauric acid was first recognized some 40 years ago.

For weight watchers, it is good to know that the medium chain fatty acids stimulates and raise the body metabolism when consumed. During digestion, it utilizes more energy from your body and as a results fats do not get stored in the body. As it helps in keeping the metabolism up, the body will burn up more fat.

Coconut oil is most suitable for high heat cooking as it can stand high temperature. The oil can be heated without turning rancid and breaking down unlike many vegetable oils it is really the best choice for cooking. Oils that have turned rancid, are harmful to the body as it can cause more free radicals in your body. There were many reports from people who have switched to coconut oil did see tremendous improvement in their health.

For Good Skin

You’ll be surprised what the coconut oil can do for your skin too. Coconut oil is used to treat skin problems such as acne, rashes, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. Overall, coconut oil reduces inflammatory conditions of the skin. The application method is far better than taking antibiotic or other drugs which may bring some side effects. Coconut oil used in skin lotion is good for the skin as it contains antioxidants to keep the skin supple and more youthful.

Coconut oil is good for your hair too. It helps in conditioning and maintaining the hair’s protein as it gets absorbed into the hair shaft. Try rubbing a small quantity onto your slightly wet hair and leaving it on for about 10 minutes before you wash it off. If you want healthy looking hair or if your chemically treated hair needs repair, go for the unrefined virgin coconut oil instead of those hair conditioners you often find in the market.