JustCare

Tag: Skin

  • How to care for your aging skin

    How to care for your aging skin

    Your skin is the largest organ in your body. As you age, though you might not become thin-skinned, your skin will inevitably thin. How should you care for your agin skin this summer?

    Why your skin is so important: You need your skin for all sorts of reasons. It protects all your organs so that harmful microbes don’t infect you. It lets you know when something you touch is hot or cold. It keeps your temperature stable.

    Your skin also ensures your body’s electrolytes are in balance. The electrolytes, such as magnesium, potassium, sodium and calcium are minerals in your blood. They help ensure your body has the water it needs and your muscles work.

    And, when exposed to the sun, your skin makes vitamin D.

    What happens to your skin as you age: But as you age, your skin loses its oils and fat. It becomes less elastic. Your skin does not rejuvenate at the same rate it once did.

    What you can do for your skin:

    • Make sure you drink a lot of fluids after sweating to replace electrolytes.
    • Don’t expose your skin to too much sun.
    • Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 15 or more to protect your skin against the sun’s UVA and UVB rays.
    • Moisturize your skin daily. Try using retinol, an antioxidant, to keep free radicals in your skin from breaking down skin cells. Creams with alpha, beta and poly hydroxy acids can also help remove dead skin cells and cause better skin to grow.
    • Use a humidifier to keep your skin from drying out at night.

    Beware of the products you use on your skin. Some are far better than others.

    Check moles, birthmarks and other skin parts. Do you have marks that are:

    • Asymmetric–have different or irregular borders?
    • Changing color or multiple colors?
    • Bigger than a pencil eraser?
    • Changing size or shape over time?

    If so, it could be skin cancer, which comes from too much exposure to the sun, as well as tanning booths. Talk to your doctor.

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  • Five ways to stay healthy and feel better longer, as you age

    Five ways to stay healthy and feel better longer, as you age

    We are all getting older. And, the older we get, the more likely we are to suffer from one or more chronic conditions, everything from joint pain to cancer. Consumer Reports recommends ways to stay healthy and feel better longer, as you age. It’s all about exercising frequently, eating well, getting enough sleep, and staying socially engaged.

    Of course, many good things come with age. Being older means being wiser. It also usually means being happier. But, a lot happens as to your body as you age. Avoiding alcohol, not smoking and keeping a healthy weight, along with exercise, eating well, good sleep and social engagement can slow down the aging process and improve every aspect of your health.

    How to care for your aging body?

    Your heart: Minimize your risk of a heart attack and heart disease. Keep your blood flowing efficiently. Exercise and healthy eating can help a lot. Don’t smoke. Get a good night’s sleep and a maintain a healthy weight.

    Your brain: Minimize your risk of dementia. By the time you’re 50, you likely will experience some cognitive decline, including slower processing of information. Your eyesight and hearing can also begin to fail. But, you are likely to be more creative and productive as you move into your 50s and 60s because of all the knowledge and wisdom you have accumulated.

    According to the CDC, you might be able to delay or prevent dementia by being good to your heart. Again, exercise, not smoking or drinking alcohol, and eating a Mediterranean diet can make a difference. So can having a positive outlook about growing older and feeling useful.

    Don’t bother taking supplements. There’s no evidence that they help in otherwise healthy individuals, and there’s evidence that certain ingredients found in some supplements can be dangerous to your health.

    Your digestive system: Keep your gut and liver working well. Your liver helps to keep toxins out of your body. And, when your gut is working properly, you have regular bowel movements. You keep constipation and reflux at bay.

    To address digestive issues, you should try changing up your diet. Foods with fiber, such as avocados and oats, could be helpful. If you have GERD, try stopping drinking alcohol, not smoking and having dinner early so that your food is digested before you go to sleep.

    Your hormones: Focus on maintaining growth and sex hormones, which tend to diminish as you age. That can mean you also lose muscle and bone strength. As you lose growth and sex hormones, you might also lose some energy, sleep less well and have less of a sex drive.

    Again, both aerobic and strength exercises can help increase your growth hormone and testosterone levels, along with a good night’s sleep.

    Your muscles and bones: Focus on maintaining muscle and bone strength, as well as keeping your balance and endurance. By the time you’re in your late 30s, you will begin losing bone and muscle strength. However, if you exercise regularly, you can hold onto a lot of that strength. And, you can also keep your endurance. Balancing exercises are also helpful.

    Eating more protein and calcium can help with muscle strength and bone health. You can get protein from quinoa, nuts, lentils and soy as well as from seafood, poultry and meat.

    Your skin: Take care of your skin. Most people will see signs of aging under their eyes with a loss of collagen as they age. You might also get sun spots. No matter what your skin color, sunscreen is really important. You might also try using retinoids at night. They will dry out your skin, while encouraging production of new skin cells and boosting collagen.

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