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Thursday, March 6, 2008

Anti Aging ~ The Biggest Cause Of Facial Wrinkles

Anti Aging ~ The Biggest Cause Of Facial Wrinkles
by: Steve Whitehead



Repeated, unconscious muscular contractions.

Our face is a very expressive place and there are many minute muscular contractions taking place all the time. However, with the increased levels of stress we experience in today's fast-paced environment, we find that there are many unnecessary and unconscious contractions taking place.

Often we will be wearing a faint scowl with the corresponding creases between the eyebrows without even realising it. Squinting slightly also produces contractions which encourage the permanent development of those lines at the corners of our eyes and pursed lips do the same for lines around the mouth area.

We understand the value of relaxing the larger muscle groups of our body by either getting a massage, doing some yoga or having a relaxing evening with our close friends and a glass or two of wine, but do we ever consider how to relax our facial muscle groups?

Up until recently it hasn't been possible to do this, but now with the development of Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 this has become an increasingly popular option. Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 works by reducing the reaction of cells to stress hormones, thereby relaxing muscles and allowing fewer wrinkles to be created by unconscious muscular contractions.

It's important to note that it DOES NOT paralyse muscles in the same way that botox (a potent toxic poison) does. Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 is completely safe to use and is applied as a topical application (gel, sera, lotion, cream, etc).

This ingredient alone has been shown to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by an incredible 27% over a 30 day period. As a first step in countering the signs of aging it's difficult to beat, and as part of an holistic approach it delivers very impressive results. Be sure to keep an eye open for this ingredient, you're sure to be seeing more and more companies using this technology.

Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 is a unique new peptide that both reduces the degree of existing facial wrinkles and has been demonstrated effective against their development. Controlled studies have also demonstrated that facial wrinkle depth can be reduced, especially in the forehead and around the eyes, and that Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 can prevent apparent facial skin aging.

Controlled studies have also demonstrated that facial wrinkle depth can be reduced, especially in the forehead and around the eyes, and that Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 can prevent apparent facial skin aging. Skin topographic analysis performed on healthy female volunteers confirmed the validation of the proposed biochemical mechanism of action.

Copyright 2006 Sezeur Skincare
About The Author
Steve Whitehead is the Managing Director of Sezeur Skincare (http://www.sezeur.com/newclient-a.html ) and has seen it grow from just an idea to a company with clients across the world who are absolutely thrilled with the results of Sezeur's leading product, Créme de Jeunesse.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Antioxidants: Combating Aging and Disease

Antioxidants: Combating Aging and Disease
by: Sylvia Riley


Wouldn’t we all like to age gracefully (if at all for that matter!) and ward off the wrinkly signs and ill symptoms for as long as possible. Keys to longevity may be more accessible than we think, and it appears our diets play a critical role. Antioxidants are the knights in shining armor that subjugate the attack of free radicals in the body, the hazardous molecules that damage cells and procure aging and disease. Though antioxidants are produced naturally in the body, these decline with age, hence an increasing need to acquire them from the foods in our diet.
Before examining antioxidants more closely, it is important to take a look at the free radicals they serve to neutralize.


Free Radicals


Free radicals are created as by-products in our use of oxygen during metabolism such as the burning of food for energy. They are essentially oxidant molecules that are missing an electron and seek to restore themselves by targeting nearby cells in an attempt to recover this electron, potentially harming enzymes, DNA, proteins and cell membranes in the process. This damage can mutate cells and alter cell function, increasing the risk of numerous diseases and chronic conditions including arthritis, diabetes, cataracts, cancer, heart disease and stroke. Free radical damage is implicated in the onset of aging and its degenerative symptoms and diseases.
As well as generated within the body, free radicals come from environmental sources such as pollution, radiation, unhealthy foods, bacteria, viruses, cigarette smoke and UV light.


Antioxidants


Antioxidants serve to mitigate the harmful effect of free radicals by giving up an electron and stabilizing them in the process. Although we produce many of our own antioxidants within the body, food provides an essential source for these key players of our defense system. Vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients all have antioxidant properties. The most common examples include vitamins A, C and E, selenium and zinc, carotenoids, flavonoids, co-enzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid and glutathione.


As there are many different types of free radicals in the body a variety of antioxidants are required to protect against them. Antioxidants function best as a team, with each other and other nutrients and phytochemicals, which is why incorporating a wide range of plant foods into your diet is recommended.


Phytochemical groups such as flavonoids and carotenoids correspond to the colour, taste and smell attributes of plants, hence eating a rainbow array of vegetables and fruits can offer a diverse selection of these potent antioxidants.


Antioxidant Rich Foods


Foods especially high in antioxidants include berries, plums, pomegranates, oranges, spinach, green tea, avocado, kale, broccoli, peas, onions, grapes and pure chocolate.


Scientists at the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) have developed a rating scale that measures the total antioxidant capacity of a given food. This is known as the ORAC score (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity).


Of 40 common fruits and vegetables measured by the USDA, top ranking scores were those of prunes(5770), raisins (2830), blueberries (2400 – highest of all fresh foods with other berries close behind), kale (1770), spinach (1260), Brussels sprouts (980), plums (949), alfalfa sprouts (930), broccoli florets (890), beetroots (840), oranges (750 ), red peppers (710 ) and red grapes (739).


Pure cocoa surpasses all these foods with a whopping score of 26,00 units, more than 10 times the prestigious blueberry (though one is likely to eat far less in quantity). The extraordinary goji berry from Tibet also has outstanding antioxidant capacity with a score of 18,500 units; hardly surprising as they contain 500 times more vitamin C than oranges and even more beta-carotene than carrots!


According to studies on animals and human blood at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts in Boston, high-ORAC foods may slow aging processes in the body and brain. Results found that high ORAC foods such as blueberries and spinach could increase the antioxidant power of human blood by 10-25%, prevent loss of long-term memory and learning ability in middle-aged rats, and protect rat blood vessels against oxygen damage.


Antioxidants and Aging


As we age, free radical levels rise and yet the body falls short in producing necessary amounts of antioxidants to meet this challenge. For example, cells generate more of the oxidants hydrogen peroxide and superoxide, yet levels of the necessary antioxidant glutathione required to neutralise these decline. The Free Radical Theory of Aging, first proposed by Harman in 1954, is supported by cross-species examination of animals with regard to life span, free radical damage and antioxidant defence. For example, the white-footed mouse lives about twice as long as the house mouse (8 versus 4 years), and is found to generate less oxidants and have higher levels of antioxidants. As Beckman and Ames write in The Free Radical Theory of Ageing Matures (1998), ‘Together, interspecies comparisons of oxidative damage, antioxidant defences, and oxidant generation provide some of the most compelling evidence that oxidants are one of the most significant determinants of life span.’


Very recent evidence comes from a study on dogs at the University of Toronto by Dr. Dwight Tapp and colleagues who found that ‘old dogs that were on an antioxidant diet performed better on a variety of cognitive tests than dogs that were not on the diet. In fact, the dogs eating antioxidant-fortified foods performed as well as young animals’.


Additional research by Dr. Rabinovitch and his team, studying aging at the University of Washington, Seattle, found that mice engineered to produce high levels of an antioxidant enzyme (catalase) lived 20 per cent longer and had less heart and other age-related diseases than controls.


In light of the role free radicals play in the onset of aging and disease, it is important to ensure our diets include a rich and diverse supply of antioxidants. These protective agents can be found abundantly in vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and are particularly high in superfoods.
Copyright 2006 Sylvia Riley


About The Author
Sylvia Riley is an author, writer and researcher in the field of natural health and nutrition. Discover the worlds ultimate superfoods: http://www.miracle-superfoods.com