LET’S TALK : Proven anti-aging products are abundant and also free
Posted on Sunday, April 20, 2008
So we Baby Boomers continue to go into our old age kicking and screaming. At least those who market to us want us to do so.
Seems not a day goes by that some cosmetics / skin care company doesn’t introduce a new “anti-aging” product, usually a facial cream, lotion, gel or some other goo, that purports to get rid of those damning fine lines and wrinkles. And every new line that comes out with anti-aging products seems to be more expensive than the last.
Even anti-aging products for men — the sex that supposedly gets away with getting old — have appeared.
And it’s not just stuff for the face. There’s even anti-aging toothpaste. One, NeyDent, is described as “a specially formulated antiaging toothpaste that repairs and protects teeth and gums.... [It ] prevents bleeding gums, infections, inflammations, periodontitis, loose teeth, bad breath and pain.” It’s $ 12. 99 for a 50-milliliter tube. Well, at least it’s cheaper than a lot of the creams, lotions, gels and goo.
Not to say that all the products out there are pure hooey; there are good ones out there. But looking at all these products brings to mind the snake-oil salesman of olden times — the guy driving the covered wagon, wearing the bowler hat and the big bow tie and touting the one tonic that supposedly “cures whatever ails ya.”
Meanwhile, the wellness experts continue to cry out in the wilderness. Their message: The best anti-aging products are not expensive products in stores.
Based on what I’ve taken to heart from health magazines and my spiritual studies, the best antiaging products are: Water, as in drinking six to eight glasses of it a day. Among other things, chugging plenty of good ol’ H 2 O makes skin healthier and younger-looking. It helps with weight loss, gets rid of toxins in the body and “lubes” up the joints and muscles, according to Truestar Health, an entity that highlights a more holistic approach to wellness. (And by golly, one of these days I’m going to start this waterchugging habit and not slack off after a couple days / weeks. )
Exercise. There’s no guarantee it will give anyone over 40 a movie star / model body, but it does help slow the aging process and maintain that flexibility we lose once we get long in the tooth.
Laughing. Laugh lines ? Maybe. Lower blood pressure and reduction of stress ? A definite yes.
Loving. Whether in a romantic, familial or agape way, loving others has also been proved to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, fight disease and boost the immune system. “Levels of the ‘anti-aging’ hormone DHEA [dehydroepiandrosterone ], which produces feelings of youth and vitality, are also affected by feelings of love,” writes M. Langton in an Associated Content article that cites several studies. “Interestingly, showing support and affection for loved ones seems to slow the aging process even more than receiving love does.” Enhancing the lives of others. An article at ThirdAge, an online media and direct marketing company geared toward those in “midlife,” highlights other studies that have shown that volunteering can help increase one’s sense of well-being, lessen chronic pain and reduce depression.
Sleep... a good seven to nine hours of it each night, according to the experts. I continue to marvel at not only the benefits of sleep, but the quite harmful effects of the lack of it. (Another good reason for being allowed to nap at work, I say. ) Yes, good nutrition. ’Nuff said. And there’s that positive attitude I talked about here recently. Turns out optimism may reduce the risk of dying from heart disease and other maladies. Not that we haven’t heard all this before. And many of us are heeding it... or, like myself, continue to strive to do so despite frequent lapses. But some of us would rather blow big money on stuff we slather on us... thinking it alone will help us stave off Father Time. In this time of economic woe, we should be all for anything that’s better and cheaper than what the 21 st-century bowler-hat-and-bowtie crowd is peddling. Age-defying e-mail:
hwilliams@arkansasonline. com
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