Dont fight ageing with Creams alone!

Many people will spend sack loads of money on anti-ageing creams, facial surgical procedures and other cosmetic processes that claim to restore youthfulness or chunk off some years from their looks.Well, some people are able to achieve temporary relief from the scrawny lines that wrinkles foist on the face, neck and the forehead — three areas of the body that readily give away, unsolicited, the number of decades someone has spent so far on this part of the divide.

Yet, experts say we can save ourselves from the feelings of helplessness that ageing — especially premature ageing — foist on us. They contend that dietary habits can either delay or speed up the ageing process, depending on what you take into your mouth.

Nutritionists warn that certain poor eating habits do more than make you fat and tired, they simply make you age from the inside out.

According to Professor of Nutrition at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Ignatius Onimawo, too much sugar and processed foods, combined with insufficient exercise, are three principal agents that make you age speedily.

He says, “These agents increase insulin and leptin receptor resistance in the body, and they are the leading cause of premature ageing and death.”

 On the contrary, foods with little or no nutritional benefits, like sugary snacks and drinks, can actually damage the collagen and elastin that otherwise should keep the skin firm and youthful.”

Worse still, if you prefer coffee to tea, scientists say, prepare for wrinkled skin the way someone who drink green tea may not have to.

In fact, research suggests that green and black tea contain protective compounds — like EGCG and theaflavins — that help prevent skin cancers and the breakdown of collagen, the cause of wrinkles. Scientists suggest that these two potent antioxidants also have therapeutic applications in the treatment of many disorders, including cancer.

What about choosing the so-called “fruit juices” above natural fruits which contain dietary fibre that aids the overall health?

Nutritionists warn that commercially-made fruit juices contain high fructose corn syrup and little real juice. The majority of them also contain artificial flavours and not the real thing. That is why your apple, pineapple or strawberry “juice” may be juice in name alone, as they may be full of additives that give them the semblance of real fruit juice when, in reality, they are made from concentrate.

Again, if you still stuff your shopping cart with canned foods, physicians would have you know that canned goods are soaked in heavy syrup and therefore have more sugar, salt and calories than fresh foods.

Credits: Punch