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How To Rejuvenate Skin With An Anti-Inflammatory Diet

The video above discusses the dietary approach to reducing wrinkles and creating healthy, vibrant skin.  Surprise!  The diet that’s healthy for the skin is the same as the diet that’s healthy for everything else!  It seems that consuming high quality protein, healthy fats, fresh produce, and low glycemic index carbohydrates, while avoiding refined carbohydrates and processed foods is a healthy diet across the board.  Who would have thought? 

Stay tuned to my blog for more on natural anti aging.

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Nine steps to reverse dementia and memory loss as you age

The above video discusses the fact that dementia and memory loss are NOT a normal part of aging.  The decline in mental functioning is due to various genetic predispositions, toxic accumulation, hormone imbalances, and nutritional deficiencies.  When it comes to genetic causes, rarely do your genes alone produce dementia or any other health problem.  Your genetics simply make you more prone to things like the accumulation of certain toxins, certain hormone imbalances, and certain nutrient deficiencies.  In most cases, it is possible to compensate for your particular genetic predispositions.

As with the example discussed in the video, the patient had a predisposition to poor liver detoxification of certain chemicals, and therefore had a buildup of toxins that were interfering with normal brain function.  Using natural approaches, the liver was supported so that it could be more efficient, and this allowed for normal detoxification and a return to normal brain function once the toxicity was cleared up. 

Now, the video talks about using genetic testing to uncover these predispositions.  Genetic testing is very useful, but it is also very expensive in most cases, and it may not always be covered by insurance, so it is not always accessible for every person.  The good news is that a doctor who is skilled in laboratory analysis can indirectly figure out what your genetic predispositions are likely to be from standard blood tests and salivary hormone testing that show functionally what is happening in your body.  These tests are much less expensive and much more likely to be covered by insurance than genetic testing. 

As a simple example of this, in the case discussed in the video, the patient’s standard blood work showed that he had high cholesterol and elevated homocysteine levels.  These findings would indicate that the liver was not able to handle certain functions efficiently either due to toxic overload from consuming too much of the wrong things, and/or because of deficiencies of certain nutrients the liver needs to work properly.  This would lead to the same recommendations for supporting liver function and detoxification that were made based on his genetic testing results.

Stay tuned to my blog for more on natural ways to prevent or reverse memory loss.

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What Can You Use As a Skin Moisturizer? www.mercola.com

The video above talks about using coconut oil as a moisturizer.  This is a great tip, and one I often share with my patients. 

Probably the most important message of this video though is what NOT to use as moisturizers - which is probably 90% (maybe more) of the products on the market being sold for this purpose.  As the video points out, most moisturizers on the market contain chemicals of varying degrees of toxicity that will be absorbed through your skin and into your bloodstream.  Dr. Mercola specifically mentions soy-based products, but a quick read of the label on moisturizer products will reveal that most contain a wide variety of chemicals. 

While these products are of course tested for safety, the testing process is typically of short-duration.  Considering that many companies still use animal testing and the animals, such as mice, guinea pigs, etc. being used in the tests have lifespans that are far shorter than that of humans, it is impossible to know what the long-term toxicity of these products really is.  Considering that many people use moisturizing products multiple times per day, every day, for many years, I believe that there is cause for concern.  I believe there is good reason to switch to natural moisturizers, which not only are much less likely to be toxic, but also are more effective and less expensive than many of the moisturizing products on the market. 

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more on anti-aging.

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Anti-aging is a hot topic these days as more and more of the baby boom generation approaches their retirement years.  While the desire to avoid or delay the effects of aging has probably always been common, the baby boomers are probably the first generation in which a large percentage of people have actively sought out ways to reduce the effects of aging.

This quest for effective anti-aging methods has resulted in both healthy and unhealthy trends.  While dramatic increases in the numbers of people exercising, improving their nutrition, staying socially and physically active, and finding ways to better manage stress no doubt lead to a healthier population, there have been some dangerous (and largely ineffective) attempts to try to artificially defeat the effects of aging through certain cosmetic procedures and even hormone manipulation. 

The following are my recommendations for healthy anti-aging measures to take, as well as popular anti-aging treatments that it would be best to avoid:

Anti-aging Tip #1:  Eat less and eat better.  Recent studies have shown that people who eat fewer calories overall tend to live longer and healthier.  If you’ve tended to eat until you are stuffed, or if you or other people consider you a “big eater”, it may take a little time to get used to eating less.  Decrease your food consumption a little at a time so you don’t have problems with feeling hungry.  In addition, it helps to shift to having the majority of what you eat be in the form of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds (raw or dry-roasted), lean sources of protein (especially fish, poultry, eggs, and lean meats), and small to moderate amounts of whole grains.  Avoid fast food, fried foods, processed foods, and refined grains most of the time and reserve sweets and other less-than-healthy foods for the rare special occasion meal.  The better you eat, the less you’ll need nutritional supplements, but if your diet is not quite perfect (it’s the rare person whose diet is perfect these days), I recommend supplementing with at least a high-quality multivitamin and mineral and omega-3 fatty acids.  Depending on your diet and what health challenges you might be facing, additional supplements may be worth considering, but those two are a good starting point. 

Anti-aging Tip #2:  Stay hydrated.  While there is considerable debate over how much water one should drink each day, there  is not much question that hydration is important.  In fact, there is evidence that inadequate hydration is probably at least partially involved in several common conditions typically associated with aging, such as arthritis, skin wrinkling, declining vision, and muscular aches and pains.  How much water do you need to drink?  It varies considerably from one person to the next, which is probably why there’s so much controversy about this issue.  Some say you should drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day, some say that’s way too much, some say that’s way too little.  In actuality, your need for water will vary from one day to the next, depending on numerous factors such as your activities, the weather, what you eat, what else you drink, etc..  To get adequate hydration, I recommend you “listen” to your body.  If you aren’t needing to urinate at least once every 2 to 3 hours - you need more water.  If you can’t generate enough saliva to moisten the glue strip on an envelope enough to seal it in one try - you need more water.  If your muscles feel tight and sore all over - you need more water.  If your eyes are drying out because you aren’t producing enough tears - you need more water.  If you tend to be constipated on a regular basis - you need more water.  There are other signs of needing water too, but these basics are simple things you can look for and when you notice one or more of them - drink more water, preferably small amounts frequently, maybe 4 to 6 ounces at a time every hour or so. 

Anti-aging Tip #3:  Get some exercise at least 3 days per week.  Exercise benefits the body and mind in numerous ways - it improves circulation, it improves muscle strength and endurance, it increases nutrition to and waste removal from the tissues, it improves mood, and list goes on.  Exercise even helps the body compensate for other unhealthy behaviors, so if you’re not ready to give up eating fast food hamburgers, a good exercise program will at least reduce the harm.  There’s a lot of different ways to exercise, so just because you may not like going to a gym or going jogging, don’t give up on exercise!  Find something you like and do it on a regular basis. 

Anti-aging Tip #4:  Find a way to manage stress.  Stressful situations usually can’t be avoided altogether, but most people can manage stress through exercise, meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis, deep-breathing or any number of other techniques.  Good nutrition is also helpful.  For example, omega-3 fatty acids help elevate mood and prevent depression, and there are various products to provide nutrition to the adrenal glands, the body’s primary stress hormone producers. 

Anti-aging Tip #5:  Stay socially active.  You don’t necessarily need to always be around a lot of people or belong to a club or social organization, but human beings are social creatures, and positive interaction with at least one other person on a daily basis is very important.  Studies have shown that married people tend to live longer than single people overall.  We are programmed psychologically at a very deep level to need human interaction, so if you’ve been keeping to yourself, find at least one other person you like to “hang out” with and do things.  It will make a tremendous difference in your life.

Anti-aging Tip #6:  Get some sleep!  In a recent blog post, I discussed the health benefits of getting adequate sleep.  One of the main reasons that getting good sleep is an important ant-aging factor is that the body will usually not produce significant amounts of growth hormone without at least 7 hours of sleep.  Growth hormone is involved in the renewal of tissue, fat burning, and muscle growth, and so it is a big factor in retaining a youthful appearance and staying fit. 

Anti-aging Tip #7:  Avoid unnatural approaches to anti-aging!  Cosmetic “procedures” are the first of the unnatural approaches that I recommend you avoid.  While face lifts, Botox, etc. seem like an easy way to roll back the hands of time, the results rarely fool anyone.  How often have you heard people gossiping about how someone has had “work done”?   How often do you hear someone making fun of the expressionless face of someone who’s just had Botox injections? And have you seen Kenny Rogers lately?  Is this what you really want?  Now if the less-than-ideal effects aren’t bad enough to make you think twice, there are risks to these procedures - serious ones (although, I suppose that DEATH is the ultimate in anti-aging!).  The specifics of these risks go beyond the focus of this article, but before you go forward with any cosmetic procedure, do your homework and check out the risks thoroughly. 

The other popular unnatural approach to anti-aging is through hormone manipulation, particularly injecting growth hormone (hgh for short).  But wait a minute!  Didn’t I say in Tip #6 that growth hormone was good?  Yes, NORMAL production of growth hormone by the body is good.  Injecting large amounts of growth hormone is not.  The body is designed to have different levels of hormones at different stages of life.  Through childhood, your teen years, and early adulthood, you need relatively high levels of growth hormone to help your body develop.  Growth hormone production is supposed to decrease as you age.  It’s not normal nor healthy to have the growth hormone level of a 20 year old when you’re 60 and the health consequences of injecting growth hormone to create this situation can be severe (at least I consider things like cancer severe, how about you?).  Now there are things you can do to maximize your body’s production of growth hormone, such as getting enough sleep (as was discussed earlier), getting some relatively intense exercise on a regular basis, and supplementing with nutrients your body needs for normal hormone production.  These steps will allow you to produce good levels of growth hormone appropriate to your age and will help you resist aging.  But I strongly recommend you stay away from injectable growth hormone unless due to some medical condition you happen to be far below normal for your age.  One last note on this topic - there are a variety of supplements on the market being sold as a means of increasing growth hormone levels.  Some of the promotion of these products is a bit misleading and imply that they are growth hormone (or hgh) - they are not, they are simply nutrients that the body can use to make growth hormone.  These products are usually safe and do not have the problems that injectable growth hormone does, although they can be quite expensive and for best results it is still important to get adequate sleep and exercise.

 So there you have my top tips for anti-aging.  Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more information.  Go forth and be youthful!

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