Natural ways to delay the ageing process

1: Cut down on sugar

It’s pretty much impossible to eliminate sugar but we should reduce our intake considerably for the sake of our skin. Sugar accelerates the ageing process by causing damage to collagen and elastin in the skin, so cutting down on your consumption of the sweet stuff can reinvigorate your looks. If there is too much sugar in the body, protein molecules can cross-link with sugar molecules. Once this cross-linking process has occurred, the new sugar proteins are called advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The human body does not recognize AGEs as normal, and will produce antibodies that cause inflammation in the skin. Once formed, AGEs tend to gravitate toward dermal collagen and elastin.

2: Exercise

Staying within a healthy weight range will keep you looking younger: being too thin can have an ageing effect on the face, and being overweight can make you appear older. Exercise is immensely helpful when trying to maintain a healthy weight and has countless benefits to health, including better sleep and increased energy levels. It also improves circulation and blood flow to the skin and giving it a healthy, youthful glow. Strength training will help tighten and firm the muscles – building lean, toned muscles is one of the most effective ways to look younger than your years.

3: Get enough sleep

Our bodies restore themselves during sleep, it’s the time our cells repair the DNA damage from the day before. The concept of beauty sleep is not a myth – being sleep deprived can definitely be detrimental to our looks. Everyone’s sleep requirements are different, but aiming for at least 7 hours is a good target.

4: Get enough vitamin D

Some studies found that people with higher levels of Vitamin D age more slowly than those with lower levels, but it’s not clear why. Make sure you get enough of the ‘sunshine’ vitamin, but be careful not to overdo sun-exposure, which will not only have an ageing effect on the skin but will also increase your risk of skin cancer.

5. Drink plenty of water -drinking plenty of water keeps you hydrated which keeps your skin moisturised, helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Fish oils help dehydrated skin also.

6: Yoga & Meditation

Yoga and Meditation - soothes and de-stresses, and improves your posture and muscle tone and help you sleep. All of these help keep the ravages of age at bay. 

7: Be happy-Smiling uses fewer muscles than frowning, be happyand you will feel better and when you feel good you look good.