| Alcohol |
Impacts: Alcohol dilates small blood vessels in skin, increasing blood flow near skin’s surface. It:
- Causes skin to look wrinkled
- Turns skin red and flush
What You Can Do: Limit yourself to one alcoholic beverage per day. |
| Caffeine |
Impacts: Caffeine causes water loss from your body and skin, resulting in a lack in skin’s plumpness.What You Can Do:
- Limit caffeine to 300 milligrams per day (about 2 large cups of caffeinated coffee or 3 small)
- Drink plenty of water
- Green tea has less caffeine than coffee and contains antioxidants that protect against skin cancer
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| Cold weather |
Impacts: Exposure to cold winds and low temperatures can dry out your skin. Skin becomes dehydrated leading to dryness, wrinkles and roughness.What You Can Do:
- Use a good moisturizer that protects against cold and heated rooms which can be very drying
- Consider using a humidifier to help keep your skin more comfortable
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| Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia) |
Impacts: Starving the body of important nutrients, vitamins and minerals doesn’t allow for proper cell turnover and growth. Disorders can cause:
- Thin, dry, gray or pale colored, and cold skin
- Nails to become brittle
- Hair to become thin, dry and dull or to fall out more easily and turn gray
What You Can Do: Never starve yourself…ensure you are getting the proper number of calories to keep your metabolism high and your body properly nourished. |
| Saturated Fats (Butter) |
Impacts: May prematurely ages skin causing more wrinkles.What You Can Do: Avoid saturated fats in your diet. |
| Sleep Deprivation |
Impacts: Too little sleep drains your body of needed rest and doesn’t allow skin to rest and regenerate. Lack of sleep:
- Makes you look and feel tired.
- Causes dark circles and bags under eyes
- Sagging skin
What You Can Do:
- Adults function best with 8-9 hours of sleep each night
- Reduce caffeine during the day (with none in the evening)
- Avoid eating at least 2 hours before bedtime
- Maintain a sleep routine where you go to bed and wake up at same time each night and day
- If you have chronic trouble sleeping, consult your physician
|
| Smoking |
Impacts: Smoking causes blood vessels to constrict, resulting in decreased blood flow to skin. Further, it depletes the body of Vitamin C, which is key for keeping skin plump and moist. Impacts include:
- Capillaries can become permanently damaged, causing a flushed appearance and visibly broken capillaries at the surface
- Increased dryness and skin dehydration due to a diuretic effect
- Skin looks gray
- Contributes to wrinkles, including crows feet
What You Can Do: Don’t smoke. |
| Stress |
Impacts: Stress and worry cause frowning, and over time muscles in the face actually conform to that movement. Stress can cause lines and wrinkles.What You Can Do:
- Be aware of your stress level throughout the day. Keeping stress in check, will help you keep frown lines and wrinkles to a minimum, keeping you looking and feeling younger.
- Vary facial expressions during the day.
- Incorporate relaxation/de-stressing methods such as meditation, yoga, gentle exercise or other relaxation techniques into your lifestyle
|
| Sun Exposure |
Impacts: Sun breaks down skin’s structural tissues (collagen and elastin). Impacts include:
- Skin looks mottled
- Freckles become more permanent brown sun spots
- Skin becomes dried out, leathery, wrinkled and saggy
- Increased risk of skin cancer
What You Can Do:
- Use a sunscreen all year long (even on cloudy days) of at least SPF 15 that blocks both UVA/UVB (UVB causes sunburn and skin cancer and UVA causes premature aging)
- Consider physical vs. chemical blocks like mineral based zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. These reflect light away instead of absorbing it into the skin. Further, they are natural, making them preferable for people with skin allergies
- Apply sunscreen generously and reapply after swimming, perspiring and at least every 2 hours (even water-resistant sunscreens need reapplication.)
- See your physician or dermatologist to assess sun damage you may have, and to rule out possible skin cancers. They may be able to prescribe medication to reduce existing sun damage.
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Refined sugar and carbohydrates – Low protein diet
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Impacts: Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates (white breads) cause high levels of sugar in the bloodstream cause sugars to attach to protein fibers in collagen producing compounds which has a negative effect on the skin. Further, sugars cause a spike of insulin in blood, increasing production of hormones called androgens which causes secretion of excess amounts of oil. Impacts to skin:
- Skin becomes less resilient and contributes to wrinkles and sagging
- Contributes to acne
What You Can Do:
- Limit intake of refined carbohydrates and sugary foods
- Get at least three ounces (21 grams) of protein per meal or at least 20 % of total calories from protein sources to ensure stable levels of insulin.
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| Very Low Fat Diets |
Impacts: Healthy fats help maintain oil barrier of skin, protecting body from fluid loss and infection. That said, it is possible that harmful fats, such as saturated fat, may cause negative effects in skin. Impacts include:
- Eczema
- Dermatitis (inflammation of skin)
- Acne
What You Can Do: Aim to have a diet that incorporates 20%-30% of calories from healthy fats, including fatty fish, nuts and olive and vegetable oils. |
| Source: Strong, Slim and 30! by Lisa Drayer, M.A., RD |
