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There is nothing supernatural about looking younger than you actually
are - but there is a LOT of influence from your environment and what you
do to your body. Let's go over the most common visual aging factors first:
TOXINS (Examples: Alcohol, drugs, smoking,
pollutants, chemotherapy...)
Toxins, especially over time, tend to overload the body's filtering
organs such as the kidneys and liver. Once the filtering organs are
impaired, less toxins are filtered out. When they build up in the body,
one of the first places you see the evidence (outside of medical testing
or observing how you feel) is your skin, which gets eventual damage
(wrinkles, dry skin, etc.) from toxin buildup. Ever notice how old someone
looks who's been a habitual drinker or drug user, especially for a long
time? That's why.
General toxins can be cleaned out through a variety of methods - over
time, by eliminating the source of the toxins and allowing the body
to clean up on it's own (though depending on the severity of the toxin,
this may not be the best option), or through various detoxification
methods. Some involve particular changes to diet, others use different
methods to flush out the toxins.
(If you choose to go with a detox method AT HOME that involves flushing
out the toxins, keep in mind one thing at all times: You should never
feel worse than normal for more than a day or two while going through
the detox process. Ever. All bets are off if you're in a medical facility
going through a detox....)
RADIATION DAMAGE (Examples:
Sunlight, tanning booths, X-rays...)
Ultraviolet rays (which are considered a form of radiation) damage
the skin at the cellular level. With too much exposure, the skin is
unable to compensate for the amount of UV damage that takes place. Skin
cancer, wrinkles, "alligator skin" can be results. You can
minimize the effects by using sunscreen and keeping your skin covered,
as well as limiting the amount of time you're out in the sun.
Some exposure time IS necessary for production of Vitamin D, however
you can also buy Vitamin D supplements from good vitamin supply places.
I recommend a Vitamin D supplement without Vitamin A (at least not in
"Vitamin A" form because true Vitamin A is not flushed out
- Beta Carotene form would be greatly preferable) included, but you
may have to really look around to find that. Vitamin D supplements are
recommended anyway for people in locations farther away from the equator.
(The original source article I read said "Northern" climates,
but this can apply to SOUTH of the equator as well as NORTH of the equator.
Northern USA, Canada, and northern Europe just happen to be good examples.)
Other forms of radiation include some forms of chemotherapy treatment
and x-rays. Most people, if they're reasonably healthy, won't need to
worry about these too much, but these are also things to consider. If
you're undergoing radiation treatment for cancer, it's an occasion where
you SHOULD worry about it, because sometimes the technicians don't always
set things properly...
MAKEUP
Those of you in the USA have probably heard of the "Tammy Faye
Baker School of Makeup" jokes - For those not in the USA, this
refers to what *appears* to be a habit of applying makeup with a trowel
- the end result looks like a thick layer of makeup and we're never
sure if we're looking at her face or a mask. While a trowel is probably
not used in reality, she did use a LOT of makeup on her face when she
was alive. The point being that over time, heavy daily makeup application
does dry out the skin and contribute to having excessive wrinkles and
just plain looking "old" when you don't have makeup on.
This is generally something applicable to women, but anyone, male or
female, especially in the performance arts (theater, stage, screen,
etc.), needs to be aware of this as well.
VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES
Vitamin deficiencies can result from many things - a lot of time it's
a of excessive toxin exposure, as well as simply from having a bad diet.
Getting adequate amounts of B-complex, Vitamin A as Beta Carotene (beta
carotene form preferred since the body will convert that as needed,
instead of letting excess vitamin A build up in fatty tissues), Vitamins
C and E help reduce the wrinkles that can occur from dry or damaged
skin.
If you take no other vitamins, at least take a GOOD multivitamin -
something with plenty of all recommended vitamins and minerals, and
in liquid, powdered or capsule form - in that order of preference. Tablets
are known to be indigestible and often just pass through your digestive
tract untouched. Anyone who's cleaned out port-a-potties or "Johnny
on the spot" portable toilets can verify things like this.
If you already have a bottle of tablet vitamins such as Centrum as
least chew or (preferably) crush them before swallowing. Follow or mix
with fruit juice or something that covers the nasty tablet flavor.
By avoiding as may of these as possible, you can look younger for longer
periods of time, and age more gracefully without having to resort to a
medicine cabinet full of creams, peels and other facial chemicals or having
to resort to cosmetic surgery.
There are some who say that vampirism itself is responsible for having
a more youthful appearance - possibly from the blood/energy we take in.
I cannot - personally - definitively say whether that is or is not the
case because I avoid as many of the above factors as possible, so as a
result I can't chalk it up to any *specific* thing. I've been asked for
ID when buying lottery tickets (though admittedly not often), however,
and I'm in my 40's now, so something I'm doing must be working. :)
(Revised 2010)
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