How not to look your age

WAG Wellness columnist Giovanni Roselli shows us why caring for your skin, hair and nails is particularly important as we get older.

“How you live is connected to how you feel, which is connected to how you look.”

– Howard Murad, MD

You can tell a lot about a person’s self-care by his or her hair, skin and nails. As I’ve spoken about in several past WAG columns over the years, we all want to live and age as gracefully as possible. Good proper hydration, movement and exercise and adequate rest and recovery all play a part. If one and/or more of the pieces are not cared for then your hair, skin and nails will be affected (not to mention what goes on in your insides).  

Father Time is someone who catches up to everyone, and it is inevitable for our bodies and features to change. However, I am sure you can think about the older person who still has immaculate skin, as well as a middle-aged person who looks drawn and older than his or her age. 

Nutrition

The foods below have all been shown to help with hair, nails and skin:

• Fatty fish such as salmon 

• Avocados

• Walnuts

• Sunflower seeds

• Broccoli 

• Dark chocolate 

• Green tea 

Interestingly enough, these items also make many other health lists as well.  Success leaves clues. If you keep hearing about the same foods in multiple sources, there’s a good chance you — and they — are onto something. I’ve mentioned these same exact items in articles discussing heart disease, diabetes and weight loss.    

Vitamins and minerals   

Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can help protect your cells from damage, promote skin hydration, protect against free radicals and assist in the production of new cells.  This allows for optimal growth of thicker, fuller hair, glowing skin and stronger nails.   

One product that I have found to work very well and recommend to clients is  Ultimate Nutrition’s Hair, Skin & Nails. The company has been providing top quality nutritional supplements for the last 40 years and manufactures its own products. This means that while many companies in the health and nutrition supplement market have third parties create their products, Ultimate Nutrition has total control over quality and distribution.    

Here are some of the benefits that go along with taking this gluten-free product:

• It promotes healthy,  fuller hair;

• May increase nail thickness up to 25 percent;

• May reduce skin roughness and promote smooth skin; 

• May improve skin hydration by up to 33.3 percent;

• May improve skin texture and appearance; and

• May improve skin elasticity by 9.51 percent.

Be preventive 

On another note, just as we all should be keeping up with regular medical visits, we should be going to the skin doctor at least once a year for an annual checkup. There are literally hundreds of skin diseases, and thousands of people are affected every year by some type of skin disorder.    

I urge everyone to 1) get your skin checked out if you don’t do so regularly; and 2) consider adding some vitamins and minerals to your daily routine (especially if you are noticing undesirable parts of your hair, skin and nails). If you do have strong nails and hair and pliable skin, it still wouldn’t be a bad idea to add some type of additional nutrition and/or supplement so you stay ahead and on top of it — being preventive versus reactive.  Just like if you take care of yourself so you are less likely to get sick versus waiting to do something when you get sick.  

Howard Murad, MD, whom I quoted at the beginning of the article, is recognized as a leading visionary for his scientific innovations. He gives us hope with this thought-provoking statement, “Aging is a fact of life.  Looking your age is not.”

Reach Giovanni on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli and on his website, GiovanniRoselli.com.

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