Anti Aging Tips that Cost You Nothing

If you can neither afford cosmetic surgery or nutritional supplements, you can still look years younger by simply choosing a healthier lifestyle.

If you could give up 10 unhealthy behaviours, you could really reform the way you look and feel.

• Stress

Excess stress strains and triggers premature aging of the immune system. Chronic stress lowers immunity, makes us prone to illness, boosts the risk of heart disease and generally makes us feel lousy.

To unwind, the fist thing to realise is that u are under stress - feelings of anxiety, nervousness, feeling that the heart is racing away and sweaty. To reduce stress in the short term, do deep (abdominal) breathing exercises.

Other useful methods are to meditate, singing, aerobic exercises, practice tai chi, yoga, take slow leisurely walks or just get away from the stressful situation. Recognise stress early and take steps to deal with it positively as soon as possible.

• Alchohol

Alcohol causes mental clouding and judgement often leads to accidents and arguments. Taken in excess, it is injurious to health.. Alcohol istoxic to liver cells and can cause liver cirrhosis and cancer. Women are advised to limit intake to one drink a day, men two as studies have shown that one or two drinks a day can lower the risk of dying from heart disease by a third or so. However please take note of your religious believes on whether its allowed or not.

• Physical Inactivity

A physically inactive person suffers from poor blood circulation. This results in poor oxygenation of tissues, impaired transportation of nutrients to cells and removal of toxins from cells. This sets the stage for aging and disease to occur faster.

Exercise has many anti-aging benefits. It stimulates HGH release, improves the cardiovascular system, improves muscle strength and strengthens memory and the immune system. Even a little bit of physical activity is helpful to extend life, reduce the chances of being overweight, reduce stress and may ward of Alzheimer's disease. The first step is to make the decision to be more active.

• Taking Saturated Fats

Saturated fats in meats, poultry, milk and butter can boost 'bad' and total cholesterol. Eating too much saturated fat is bad for cardiovascular health. Switch to unhydrogenated vegetable oils. Train your palate tp prefer monosaturated fats found in canola, olive and peanut oils and polyunsaturated fats found in palm, sunflower, corn and flaxseed oils.Keep saturated fat intake to 10 percent or less of your total calories.

• Smoking

Cigarette smoke generates a lot of free radicals. These damages the skin giving rise to aged wrinkled skin. More importantly, it is the main cause of lung cancer in men and women who smoke or who are passive smokers. Over the counter nicotine gum may help smokers quit smoking and reduce the risk of cancer and early wrinkling.

• Breathing Polluted Air

Outdoor air pollution can cause coughing and irritation to eyes and is linked to asthma attacks and respiratory disease. Avoid outdoor activities as much as possible when pollution levels are high and remember to wear face masks.

• Too Much of Exposure to the Sun

Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause free radical damage to the skin. This results in accelerated skin aging with wrinkle formation, irregular pigmentation and probable skin cancer changes. Limiting sun exposure and wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 can cut the risk of skin cancer as well as wrinkles.

• Insufficient Sleep

Upsetting the diurnal rhythm and reducing the hours of sleep is very bad for the health. Sleep deprivation leads to poor secretion of HGH and is related to premature aging, poor immune status, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and memory problems, even in young adults.

The old saying "Early to bed and early to rise, keeps a man healthy and wise" is physiologically good medical advice.

• Being Overweight

Obesity increases morbidity and decreases life expectancy. It puts extra burden on the heart boosting the chances of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Worldwide there is an epidemic of obesity and as astounding 64% of adults are overweight.

Pick a high fiber, low carbohydrate, low fat diest with regular daily exercise. The latest research suggets that the type of diet you choose is less important than your vow to stick with it. The key to success : Pick a diet that fits your lifestyle and you're more likely to stick with it.

• Consuming Too much Sugar

Too much sugar in the blood is bad for health as sugar in high concentrations is toxic to body cells leading to denaturation of proteins through process of glycosylation. These damaged proteins hamper cellular function. Excess sugar can result in weight gain, diabetes and possibly heart disease.

Nutrition experts advise against 'added sugars' and high glycemic index foods. Read labels to minimise your intake of added sugars. Turn to fruits and sweet vegetables to tame the craving for something sweet.