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Your skin's worst enemies

Apart from too much sugar, alcohol, stress, dehydration, excessive exercise and the wrong sleeping position, poor oral hygiene and exaggerated facial expressions (read frowning all the time) also contribute to ruining your skin and making you look older than you really should. And among them, stress is the biggest evil of all: both emotional and environmental stress contribute directly to skin ageing, and therefore to the loss of good looks.

While there are many miracle lotions and potions on the market, most of us cannot afford them. And even if we could, nothing beats positive lifestyle changes when it comes to brightening the complexion and minimising worrying wrinkles.

With common sense firmly in hand, let's take a look at the biggist skin evils and start neutralising them.

Sugar
A diet high in sugar affects the appearance of the skin and accelerates the ageing process. Sugar causes a chemical reaction in the body that results in the sugar binding to the proteins in collagen. The sugar attaches itself to the elastic fibres in the skin and makes them stiff and inflexible, which means they can no longer perform their repair function efficiently. Research shows that the skin of diabetics ages up to three times faster than that of those with normal blood sugar levels. Even i you're not a diabetic, consuming too much sugar can damage the structural proteins – the building blocks – of skin. Bear in mind that your body converts starch (found in rice, pasta, bread and cake) into sugar. Therefore, a carbohydrate-rich diet is not good for your skin either.

You do, however, need fat in your diet because it is a source of the good fatty acids that are essential for growth. Sophia Loren once said that she owes her youthful looks to olive oil. Similarly, iron-rich food is important because it prevents skin becoming dull and sallow. The best dietary change you can make for your skin is to reduce your consumption of starches and to eat one form of protein, such as fish, meat, chicken, cheese or nuts, at every meal.

Smoking
Besides too much sun and sugar, smoking is probably the most harmful thing you can do to your skin. It starves the skin tissue of oxygen, giving you a grey complexion. Smoking is also direct cause of lines around your mouth and eyes as a result of the sucking action and screwing up your eyes. Skin blemishes also hear far slower because the tiny blood vessels in the skin contract owing to the lack of oxygen.

Alcohol
Tiny red veins become prominent on the skin of people who drink heavily, and their complexion takes on an unhealthy red tinge because the blood vessels dilate and eventually stay that way permanently. They may then be stuck with a purply red nose, forever.

Stress
This is probably the greatest evil of them all. Environmental stress is the result of ultraviolet radiation, the hole in the ozone layer, pollution and smoking, all of which release harmful free radicals in the body. Emotional stress, on the other hand, damages the skin via the nervous system. Scientific studies have shown that the skin of women who have gone through a traumatic divorce is often in poor condition. When someone is writing exams or working on a difficult project, their skin's defence mechanisms work overtime. Compare a stressed skin with the glow of someone who has recently enjoyed a relaxing holiday, and you will get the picture.

Excessive Exercise
Enthusiastic athletes usually exercise outdoors where their skin is continually exposed to the elements. People who exercise fanatically may also find that their face becomes gaunt. The redistribution of body fat, or very low body fat, is not necessarily a good thing when you get older, because your skin could lose its youthful plumpness and elasticity. On the other hand, regular, moderate exercise will give you lots of energy and keep you looking youthful: your skin detoxes when you build up a sweat and the increased blood flow is excellent for feeding your skin cells life-giving oxygen.

Sleep
Night-shift workers often complain of skin problems. The latest research indicates that skin needs a good night's rest to build up the energy it requires to do its work. According to Dr Ken Marenus of Clinique's research lab in New York, sleep is needed to give skin a chance to repair itself and build new cells. Based on the findings of this research, the new Clinique products are designed to help his repair process.

Sleep lines
If you regularly wake with 'bedding lines' on your face, it means you're not sleeping correctly and that your skin is losing its elasticity and suppleness. Learn to sleep on your back so that your skin doesn't get squashed.

Dehydration
If you're always dehydrated, your skin will soon start feeling and looking like dried-out parchment. Drink plenty of water and your skin will retain its suppleness. Tissue, proteins and collagen all function optimally in a moist environment.

Oral hygiene
Your jaw will be healthy if your teeth are healthy. Once you lose teeth, you lose jaw tissue. If the bones in your face start to shrink because of a lack of supporting teeth, your face will start to droop.

Facial expressions
The more you stretch and pull your face as you talk, screw up your eyes or frown, the more lines and grooves will develop. Concentrate on your facial expressions and wear prescription spectacles and sunglasses if you battle to see without narrowing your eyes.

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