Vital Wellness

At age above 35, woman who lies on beach for sun bathing, sunscreen carefully smoothed over her wrinkle-free skin, her naturally dark hair tucked under a scarf and a pair of dense wraparound sunglasses shielding her lovely blue eyes from the morning sun.

Beside her is a cooler containing several bottles of spring water and a fresh fruit salad of watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew for lunch. Next to her on the sand is a pair of well-used sneakers for the 2-mile walk she takes along the water’s edge every day.

There are no wrinkles or stretch marks marring her perfect body. And she’s determined that there never will be. She’ll do whatever it takes to defy aging until the day she dies.

What are the odds that she’ll make it? Better than they were a decade ago. Back then scientists had already found the reasons that we deteriorate into wrinkles, bags, age spots, flab, and life-threatening conditions. The reasons were, and still are, genetics, disease, environmental factors such as smoking and diet, and the aging process itself. Today these scientists also know that every single one of these factors may be directly influenced and perhaps even altered by getting enough of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin E, an antioxidant vitamin added to everything from nail polish remover to shampoo, is also helpful in preventing sun damage.

Researchers have shown that d-alpha-tocopherol, natural vitamin E oil, can prevent inflammation and skin damage if applied before sun exposure.

Vitamin E oil can be bought over the counter in drugstores, as can vita­min E-fortified creams. Research has shown that if the cream or oil contains at least 5 percent vitamin E, it can also be effective in reducing post—sun damage.

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If vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin, then vitamin C is the sun block vita­min, say some researchers—many of whom also proclaim it the healthy skin vitamin.

In general, vitamin C is important for keeping the skin younger look­ing, recommends a safe daily vitamin C intake of about 300 to 500 milligrams to maintain skin quality.

Studies have shown that just a minimal amount of ultraviolet rays can deplete exposed skin of vitamin C by 30 percent. Exposure to the ozone in a polluted city can decrease levels of vitamin C by as much as 55 percent. Med­ical researchers have also found vitamin C to be of some help when applied topically. It has been shown to significantly reduce the amount of so-called free radical damage that occurs from sun exposure. Free radicals are naturally occurring unstable molecules that steal electrons from the body’s healthy mol­ecules to balance themselves. Unchecked, they can cause significant tissue damage. Read the rest of this entry »