What’s anti-aging about a tomato?
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Ok, so you’re on vacation in Italy (my personal Mecca) or the south of France or Barcelona (Spain) or on the Greek Island of Mykonos or on the Coast of Portugal and you stop a few people and ask them (in their respective language) about their intake of lycopene. Chances are, you’ll get a weird look. Now if you take out your bilingual dictionary and look up the words “tomato” and “cooked tomatoes” and ask these same people about local dishes prepared with fresh tomatoes and cooked/baked tomatoes, you’ll be greeted with a warm smile and possibly an invitation to a nice home cooked meal.
In Canada, the media has recently been talking about the importance of including lycopene-rich foods in your anti-aging regime. But ask any European who eats a Mediterranean diet and they’ll tell you that lycopene is as much a part of their day to day as extra virgin olive oil.
I’m not even going to start suggesting the thousands of different ways you can increase your weekly intake of lycopene-rich foods because there has to be at least 10,000 different tomato base dishes out there. Lycopene might just be the easiest anti-aging power food to add to your anti-aging regime. If you’re not partial to tomatoes, you’ll be happy to know that lycopene can also be found in guava, grapefruit, watermelon and red oranges (who knew a glass of sangria could be that good for you?).
On a more serious note, a number of studies suggest that lycopene can cut the risk of gastrointestinal tract cancers by 30 to 60 per cent. Research also shows that lycopene can decrease men’s risk of prostate cancer by 21 per cent.
Don’t skimp on your tomatoes, they’re good for you!
More on lycopene. Here’s another good read on lycopene.
Dermabrasion’s post-treatment risks
I was curious to find out if hyperpigmentation was the only serious post-treatment concern you should keep in mind when looking at Dermabrasion as an anti-aging solution. A number of non-surgical procedures still carry some level of risk when laser, peels or other chemical products are used. That said, the risks are substantially reduced if the procedure is performed by a qualified, experienced doctor.
Continue reading: Dermabrasion’s post-treatment risks »
Avoid Dermabrasion Disasters: Questions to Ask Your Doctor
Given my darker complexion, Dermabrasion is a gamble I might not be willing to take because of my problems with hypergimentation, but I recognize that it’s an effective anti-aging treatment for the right skin type. That’s why I’m taking a closer look at this anti-aging treatment.
So here’s what I’ve found out about Dermabrasion:
Continue reading: Avoid Dermabrasion Disasters: Questions to Ask Your Doctor »
Lactic acid instead of a scrub
How often do you use your facial scrub? It’s right there looking at you in your shower tray, but how often do you forget to use it? I’ll admit to not being the best at using my facial scrub to exfoliate my skin on a consistent basis. That said, when I did use it, the results were pretty amazing. I would be rewarded by a glowing complexion. At a recent anti-aging industry conference, I was proudly revealing how I was making progress in using my scrub more regularly to an aesthetician when she cut me in the middle of my sentence and said: if you have adult acne (my scars are a dead giveaway), you really should not use a scrub because you’re just spreading the bacteria and will end up with more acne. She suggested I start looking for another way to exfoliate.
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Non-Surgical facelift facial
While visiting Pure & Simple spa to purchase a few products, I noticed a little promotion card for Lumilift Facial. I read the description with more attention and realized how beneficial this facial can be for so many of us who are not ready or willing to go under the knife. As you can imagine, any rejuvenation treatment that does not include pain is quite appealing to me, and the Lumilift Facial sounded like it could fit the bill.
The Lumilift is a lifting treatment for the face, which utilizes light therapy. Using HF polarized currents and micronized currents, the lumilift stimulates facial muscles for a more toned complexion.
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Avocados should be part of your anti-aging diet
Did you know that an avocado is a fruit and not a vegetable?
In Canada and in America, we can buy a few different types of avocados. The Fuerte variety of avocados produces larger, smooth, pear-shaped, glossy green fruits with a skin that remains green even when ripped. You cannot find the Fuerte type year round, but you’ll have most chances of finding it in West Indian markets, Brazilian and Latino markets in major cities. The Haas is the type of avocado most commonly found in North America. The Haas is easily recognized by its small to medium pear-shaped, pebbled green fruits that turn blackish-green when ripe.
Avocados are bursting with Anti-Aging Power!
Avocadoes are high in monosaturates (good fats!). The oil content of avocados is second only to olives among fruits, and sometimes greater. A number of clinical studies in humans have shown that avocado oil can reduce blood cholesterol.
A few other reasons to make avocado part of your diet: This rich and tasty fruit provides more than 25 essential nutrients such as protein, potassium (in fact avocados contain 60 per cent more potassium per ounce than bananas), vitamin E, C, B-vitamins, folic acid, iron, copper, phosphorus and magnesium, just to name a few. Avocados also provide calories for energy and beneficial phytochemicals such as beta-sitosterol, glutathione and lutein.
The best way to eat an avocado in my opinion is to slice it, sprinkle salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. If you pair that with a nice baguette…it makes for an enjoyable and light lunch. You can also add avocados to your mesclun mix salads.
Guacamole (Mexican avocado dip) is surely the most popular way to eat avocadoes in Canada and in America. For a more adventurous take on the avocado, I’ll borrow a recipe from a Moroccan friend of Muslim faith. He would always break his Ramadan fast with a fruity shake to prepare his stomach for his first meal of the day, which usually came after sunset. I have to confess, the first time he presented me with a glass of avocado shake, I was almost insulted by the idea of pureeing and adding milk to such a noble fruit, but one sip and I was sold. The avocado shake is a rich, creamy, sugary and delicious way of including avocados to your anti-aging regime. If you’re interested in trying an avocado shake, simply choose your favourite shake recipe and substitute the banana for an avocado!
Click here to find out more information on the health benefits of the avocado fruit.
Click here to read more on the nutritional breakdown of the avocado.
Read more on the different varieties of avocado.
Sharon Stone is aging so well, don’t you think?
Yes, Sharon Stone (born in 1958) may have a high-priced personal trainer, a personal chef, a crew of housekeepers (which means her hands never get wet) and she must have her anti-aging team of specialists on speed dial on both her home phone and mobile phone. But let’s face it she is aging remarkably well.
Let’s all remember the first time most of us saw her on screen — she was drop dead beautiful in her mid-twenties. Now more than two decades later, Sharon — who is pushing 50 — is giving a lot of twenty-something girls a run for their money (that might be why she replaced the Olsen Twins in the new fall ‘06 Badgley Mischka ads).
Continue reading: Sharon Stone is aging so well, don’t you think? »
A line of products from Italy devoted to acne-prone skin
The annual Canadian Medical Spa show held in the fall in Toronto is the best place for industry people to find out the newest and greatest new anti-aging products and treatments on the market. During the last Medical Spa show I bumped into a medical nurse who used to treat my post-laser hair removal treatment fiasco. She wanted to know what was new in my life and I told her that being at a show like this and waking up that morning with a bad case of adult acne was too cruel of a joke.
Continue reading: A line of products from Italy devoted to acne-prone skin »
