How can you prevent wrinkles? Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do; a study from Denmark shows that skin wrinkling and aging are influenced heavily by genetic factors (Age and Ageing, January 2006). However, this doesn't mean that you can smoke or spend many hours in the sun, two behaviors that are known to increase wrinkling. The authors studied twins to show that skin aging is associated equally between genetic and environmental factors. You increase your chances of having aged, wrinkled skin by smoking, exposing your skin frequently to sunlight or being thin. You are less likely to suffer wrinkling if you are married and are not poor or depressed. The researchers also found that looking older with severely wrinkled skin is associated with dying earlier. How about memory loss; will exercise protect you? Nobody really knows how exercise helps prevent loss of mental function, but every factor that helps protect you from getting a heart attack or stroke also protects you from dementia. Anything that protects blood vessels also protects your brain. Heart attacks and dementia are associated with eating too much fat, saturated fat, fried foods, refined carbohydrates, too many calories, and not eating enough vegetables, nuts, beans and other seeds; being overweight, not exercising, taking more than two alcoholic drinks a day, and smoking. The Nurses Health Study from the Harvard School of Public Health shows that exercising your muscles improved cognitive function in older women. Another study shows that more than 85 percent of middle-aged people who start an exercise program drop out in the first six weeks. Those who stay exercise with others:a spouse or friend, with a personal trainer, or in an organized group or class. |
