Coz Being Ageless Is Priceless

Posts tagged ‘pomegranates’

Skin Savers

Hello everyone! I just wanna share comments that I usually get from clients when I first meet them (or even those I haven’t seen in a while). Modesty aside, they usually ask what I do for my skin. Like most guys, I don’t wanna put too much stuff on my face so I try to keep it really simple. I don’t use soap on my face since most of them cause dryness. I use gentle, organic facial cleansers. My current favorite is the one from Nuskin. It’s important to use a moisturizer on the face and neck area. One of my favorites is the sandalwood moisturizer from Young Living Essential oils. They’re certified organic and they’re very pure as well that you can actually eat them (although I don’t recommend this unless there’s a famine going on). I remember the founder of the company taking a bite of their deodorant stick at one of their annual conferences held a few years ago. If it’s good enough for your skin, then it must be good enough for the rest of the body (or to be taken internally). Makes sense! What a lot people don’t know is that what you eat actually affects the quality of your skin. Eating a lot of refined carbs causes something we call “Advanced glycosylation end-products” or AGE for short. This process takes place when there’s excess blood sugar. This excess sugar combines with protein molecules rendering them non-functional. When these sugars combine with collagen in our skin, that’s when wrinkles begin forming. What gives skin a healthy glow? It’s the pigments coming from fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, pomegranates and many more. What helps in the formation of collagen, the main supporting structure of the skin? Vitamin C, L-lysine and L-proline. What about collagen supplements? I started trying a famous Canadian brand which is now sold in the PI. Let’s see how that goes. In summary, healthy skin can be achieved through a good diet, exercise and topical skin regimen.

Antioxidants: Your Defense Against Premature Aging

Various fruits and vegetables for sale at Pike...

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ORAC what? Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity is a test developed by USDA researchers at Tufts University in Boston to measure the antioxidant levels of foods and supplements. Why is this important? First, let’s explore what antioxidants are. These, in a nutshell, are substances that destroy free radicals. What are free radicals? Free radicals are unstable molecules that have a free electron. What free radicals do is that they steal electrons from other molecules such as our cells to make themselves stable. In the process, they damage our cells and their components. One of the most vulnerable parts of our cells is the mitochondria, the energy powerhouse of our cells. No wonder, once there’s mitochondrial damage (which is another cause of aging), one of the earliest symptoms a person could experience is fatigue or weakness. Antioxidants should ideally be coming from our food. Other sources include nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals and therapeutic-grade essential oils. Rich food sources of these antioxidants include prunes, wolfberries, acai berries, blueberries, pomegranates, apricots, kale, etc. Among the essential oils, clove scores the highest at 1,078,000, followed by myrhh at 379,000 and citronella at 312,000.