Nutrition, The Fountain of Youth?

Over the years I've spent probably thousands of dollars on anti-aging creams, anti wrinkle creams and everything in between.  During that same period of time I've also noticed "all natural" ingredients on the labels of some of these creams.  Some of the things listed were fruits, vegetables and also beans.  So I guess I've put food on my face to erase wrinkles but eating them for a younger appearance was a different story.  I had never thought of that.  Is it really possible to eat away your wrinkles by eating healthy?  Can we really find the fountain of youth via proper Nutrition?

I'm sure by now you've heard about a little thing called antioxidants.  An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules.  Basically they prevent damage or death to the skin cells.  I love tomatoes because not only do they promote healthy skin since they are an abundant source of antioxidants, but they also contain lycopene, a substance that reduces the risk of developing cancer. Lycopene is also 100 times more powerful than Vitamin E, which is known by many cosmotologists to be a vitamin for the skin.  If you aren't already eating tomatoes, you really should be. It's an easy vegetable to add to your diet.  Eat tomato pasta (makes the Italian hubby happy too), add it sliced to a sandwich, or make salsa and snack on it with chips.

Other healthy food you can add to your grocery list for a wrinkle free face are: spinach, olives, beans, turkey, flaxseed, goji berries, beetroot, red peppers and chocolate.  Yes, chocolate!  Yea, we can finally stop feeling guilty about indulging and just tell ourselves it's to keep our skin looking young and beautiful.  So all these things do everything from hydrate, promote elasticity, smooth, plump, support collagen production, build up a natural sunscreen and increase bloodflow - whew!  Sounds a lot better than botox to me and a whole lot cheaper too. 

About a year and a half ago I had an absolutely horrible experience at a local spa.  I had to get a procedure to help me with my melasma (often called the mask of pregnancy).  Basically it's a discoloration of the skin.  Mine was on my forehead and very noticeable after my son was born.  After listening to what turned out to be a lot of empty promises and spending hundreds of dollars I unfortunately had no results.  After doing some research on my own I found out that the underlying cause of melasma is the liver not being able to properly eliminate it's toxins from the body.  One way to help with this is to eat more fruits like oranges, apples and grape fruit, vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and brussel sprouts. These contain calcium D-glucarate which prevents beta-glucuronidase, a bad enzyme formation in the gut.

Look, I'm not saying the natural way is for everyone.  Certainly there are things that people wish to change aesthetically that fruits and veggies just can't correct.  I have to tell you however, I can hardly see my melasma after incorporating more of the suggested foods into my diet.  Granted I had to wait about six months to a year before I started to see results as opposed to a one hour appointment.  Even still, if we can look to what's in our grocery carts to help us with our beauty regime instead of injecting ourselves with long needles filled with foreign substances I'll stick with the supermarket.  What sounds better to you?