Poor Diet and the Facial Wrinkle Connection

Larry Miller

17 years ago

Categories: Health & Science

Poor Diet and the Facial Wrinkle Connection

A nutritious diet, and eliminating bad habits, can promote a glowing complexion, a lack of wrinkles and a healthy spine.

The following information has been gathered and compiled through personal experience while traveling, teaching T’ai Chi, Qi Gong, Chinese Herbal medicine, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources..

Cigarettes deplete collagen. Collagen keeps skin elastic and is a major component in spinal discs.

Vitamins E and A contribute to general overall health and healthy skin. Carrots contain large amounts of vitamin A. Bugs Bunny is probably 75 years old. Is there a connection between carrots and his lack of wrinkles?

Folk remedies for skin problems:
Take fresh cucumbers wash, dry and cut into pieces, put the pieces in a bottle filled with vodka and keep in a warm place for two weeks. (if you haven’t guessed (vodka) this, and the others in this paragraph, are Russian recipes). After two weeks the solution is strained, the cucumbers are discarded and the liquid is used as a lotion to soften the skin, eliminate pimples and shrink enlarged pores. A facial beauty mask is made from one raw egg yolk, one teaspoon of honey, a teaspoon of glycerin or olive oil. After ingredients are thoroughly mixed together it’s smeared over the face and left on for two hours, then removed with warm water. It is said to remove wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin. Milk, sour cream and fresh butter were also used and after leaving on for a few minutes were washed off with warm water and followed by cold water to close the pores, then the face was dried briskly with a coarse towel.

American folk remedies that were used for skin problems include: using the seeds of quince soaked in warm water as a soothing lotion for chapped and cracked skin. Simmer beeswax together with balm gilead buds and mix with lard (I believe olive oil would work as well). Use powdered bloodroot topically to kill fungus (it also kills the skin where applied). Mix barberry and soap and applied as a plaster to kill fungus. Apply garlic to the fungus affected area (I know people who have burned their skin using garlic this way). Make a strong decoction of dried or fresh elder leaves and apply to the affected area.

For impetigo American folk healers used the mashed leaves of plantain or golden seal root topically on the impetigo. The extract of grindelia robusta or grindelia squarrosa was used topically, as were fresh mashed leaves of impetigo bush. The last remedy is said to have come from the West Indies with slaves.

Herbalists recommend aloe vera for many skin problems. I’ve had good luck with aloe for sunburn and also when using slices applied directly to canker sores. A small piece of the inner part of prickly pear cactus, minus the outer skin and spines, also works well on burns, sunburn and canker sores. Avocado, calendula, chamomile, gotu kola (studies have shown it capable of regenerating skin cells and underlying tissue), witch hazel, carrot, purslane and walnut can all be applied topically for skin problems and to soften and soothe irritated skin.

If you live in the desert you have a whole list of locally available plants to choose from including prickly pear, prickly poppy, chaparral, Syrian rue, sagebrush, desert willow also known as Flor de Mimbres (I’ve used the flowers to relieve itchy skin when all else failed) and many others for all types of skin problems. I’ve also used, and know others who have, desert willow leaves and stems as a tea to treat and prevent candida albicans. I’ll be doing a series on candida in the future.

In Chinese food as medicine, the following remedies are found for skin problems. Sesame oil rubbed into the affected area to relive sunburn and dry, cracked skin. Liquefied carrot, applied topically to relieve dry, cracked skin and as a moisturizer. One remedy is boiling a small amount of marjoram in water and applying the liquid to the skin as a soothing wash and relief of itchy skin.

Acupressure points can make a dramatic difference. Do the following once a day for the first 30 days and then 2-3 times a week thereafter. Use enough pressure to feel the effects but not enough to damage the skin. Relax! Being healthy is supposed to be fun, not something that has to be rushed through and cause pain.

Directly above the centers of each eye, at the hairline, are contact points for increasing circulation to the upper face. These points are on the meridian line related to the gall bladder and liver in Oriental medicine. Rub the area in small inward circles. Directly below the first two, and midway between the hairline and eyebrows, is a another acupoint for increasing circulation to the upper face. These are the same spots on the forehead you subconsciously massage when you’re tired, have a migraine, insomnia or a problem to solve. This contact can help relax the entire body. Use small inward circles. Another is next to the nose, on the underside of the upper part of the bone that forms the eye socket. Small inward circles, with the thumbs, work best here. Most of us at some time have held this point to relieve eyestrain, a headache or to remedy sinus pressure.

An effective acupoint for treating crows-feet and increasing energy to the eyes is at the corners of the eyes. Use small outward circles taking care not to put pressure on the eyeball. Massage using small outward circles, without putting pressure on the eyeball, on the ridges of the cheekbone below the center of the eyes, this also relieves eye tension and eyestrain.

Inline with the center of the eye, directly out from the flare of the nostrils, in the depression on the inner edge of the cheekbones, is a point beneficial for treating sinus problems and increasing facial circulation and circulation to the upper front teeth. An acupoint for dizziness, fainting, nausea and for tightening the facial skin, is located between the bottom of the nose and the upper lip. The end of the middle finger works best, use small circles.

A contact point halfway between the lower lip and the chin helps relax the lower jaw and increase circulation of the lower face. Small circles with the end of the index or middle finger works best. Massage both sides of the face at the hinge of the jaw using firm pressure, small circles and the ends of multiple fingers to relax the jaw and promote circulation in the cheeks. If you massage these points faithfully you’ll begin to see wrinkles fade, skin tighten and glowing circulation increase in the entire face.

Cocoa is good for more than a cold night in front of a cozy fire. Cocoa butter is one of the primary ingredients in most skin conditioners. Cocoa butter melts at skin temperature, penetrates into the pores and moisturizes dry skin. Cocoa isn’t recommended for acne sufferers. Since heavy creams applied around the eyes before bed can contribute to puffy eyes the next morning, cocoa butter would probably be the best choice. Cucumber, as thin slices applied directly or as a blender made mask, have a long-standing reputation for preventing wrinkles. Almond oil, castor oil, avocado oil, olive oil and aloe vera have all been used for thousands of years for softening/soothing the skin. Grapes and pineapple skins contain AHA’s, an ingredient in OTC preparations that remove the outer layer of the skin. Blend and use as a facial mask, wash off after 10 to 15 minutes.

Got Wrinkles? Natural and Whole Food Remedies. »

« Dry And Flaky Skin: Seborrheic Dermatitis.

Larry Miller: I was born in Los Angeles in 1940. My father was a fighter pilot instructor during WWll and we moved from coast to coast, maybe thatâ€™s where I got the nomad in my blood. After graduating from high school in 1958 I joined the Marines. That lifestyle wasnâ€™t for me and upon my discharge I went on with my life, and have never looked back. I worked briefly for a Caterpillar dealer in Riverside, CA before moving back to N. California where I was a welder and truck driver for a chemical company. Truck driving wasnâ€™t my calling anymore than being in the Marines, and I went back to work for another Caterpillar dealer steam cleaning dirty tractor parts and welding. They sent me to schools, lots and lots of schools. I spent as much time going to trade schools as I did at work. I went from cleaning parts to apprentice field mechanic, to mechanic to the parts department to satellite store manager in less than two years. They wanted me to move to Sacramento and be a salesman: I moved to Oregon to learn to commune with nature. I went to work for another heavy equipment dealer and was later contacted by the Worldâ€™s largest Lorraine Crane dealer and offered the position of purchasing agent and general parts manager. In 1967 I was offered a line of automotive parts and supplies and went into business for myself. My business revolved around eleven race cars that we maintained for others, driving race cars professionally and maintaining high end sports cars. I was a championship and regional champion driver. My business was the largest import parts and service, non dealer, in the state until I sold it in 1979. We went sailing in 79, first to Mexico and then Hawaii. I was an award winning Trans-Pacific sailor and sailor of the year, Hawaii, Island of Kauai. An opportunity presented itself in Hawaii during 1981 and I was back in business, importing Japanese auto body and hard parts. I also felt the pull to write and began freelancing for magazines and newspapers in 1982. My main focus in my articles is, and always has been, health, wellness and fitness. Most of us have heard the saying, â€œTime is all we have.â€ I disagree. Our health is all we have, because without our health, we have no time. I was a US Olympic team hopeful in racewalking and held all the records for the state of Hawaii. As a sponsored athlete in my forties, I finished first in nine marathons in a row in my division, qualified for the IronmanÂ® and was the state USCF cycling champion five times in Hawaii and Oregon. Celinda and I were married in 1988 after a three year engagement. We sold our businesses and organic farm and sailed back to Oregon. After our sailboat boat was sold, we moved to Joseph, Oregon, two miles from the trailhead into the Eagle Cap Wilderness. We were caregivers for my mother the last ten years she was alive. We moved to New Mexico in 1995 because it was too cold for my mom in Oregon during the winters. Celinda designed, and I engineered and built our strawbale house. I began writing the weekly health column for a local newspaper in 1996, and still do. In 2000, I took the summer off to do a four month, 4000 mile, hike, bike and kayak odyssey. Iâ€™d been writing health, fitness and sports articles since 1982 and the journey produced a full-length, nonfiction, first person adventure book, Yol Bolsun, May There Be A Road, which can be bought from Amazon.com and others over the Internet. The summer of 2001 was spent hiking. kayaking, fishing and exploring the southwest. In 2002 Celinda and I spent the summer in Canada learning the hospitality business at a resort in preparation for doing promotion for the resort in the US. Most of 2003 was spent reestablishing the trees and landscape that had died during the stay in Canada. We had a house sitter and the house sitter had an ex-husband, and thatâ€™s a long story. In July of 2004 I did a solo kayak trip on the Snake River, taking pictures, writing articles and pencil sketching the journey. I hope to do another kayak adventure on the Snake River during the summer of 2008, on the section I missed in 2000 and 2004. In 2005, I returned to Canada to the resort where weâ€™d spent 2002. I was supposed to be there for the month of June. Iâ€™d contacted people Iâ€™d met in 2002 and they came back to Canada to fish, hike and spend time at the resort, Echo Valley Ranch and Spa, while I was there. My one month became five and then it was off to Spain to do the El Camino de Santiago as a travel companion with one of the guests whoâ€™d returned to Canada in June. During the summer of 2006 a friend from Ireland, who Iâ€™d met in Spain the year before, came to visit in NM and we fished, hiked and explored the White Mountains of AZ. Heâ€™d never slept out in the wild in a tent before, and it was quite an experience, for both of us. My newspaper articles were put on the Internet beginning in 2002. I was asked to give public speaking engagements, photo and video presentations, on various subjects for the library in Deming, NM and continue to do so. In 2006 I videoed and produced a DVD for the Smithsonian Instituteâ€™s travel exhibit â€œBetween Fences.â€ NMFILMS had a conference by invitation only, which I attended. While attending the conference, I realized that film making wasnâ€™t what I wanted to do but I still wanted to use my sixteen years of experience and enjoyment of videoing and photography. During the winter of 2005, I discovered that no one on record had ever run from the Arizona border to the Texas border, a distance of 165 miles. During the spring and summer of 2006 I trained for the run and the run was completed in October, 2006. In late 2005, I began building and maintaining websites incorporating all the things I enjoyed about video, photography, travel and the out of doors. 2007 has been a summer of upgrading the home and property which resulted in a downgrading of my enthusiasm for being located in one place. If we donâ€™t like whatâ€™s happening in our life, we need to change what weâ€™re doing. Celinda and I are ready to pull up roots and move on. I guess Iâ€™ve come full circle. Iâ€™m ready to revert back to my childhood, and a nomadic lifestyle.