Wow is that a painful comment! With the rise in sexy magazine covers and the desire to look like the cover girl or guy, Americans are constantly looking for the way to look and feel better. Is beauty only skin deep? My experience is that you need to work at your outer appearance two ways; what you put in your body and what you put on your body. Let’s start with what you put in your body. The foundation of my four pillars is supplementation which is designed to make up for what is missing from your diet. Healthy skin grows from the inside out-right? Well, then proper nutrition is the best way to achieve the skin you have always wanted-regardless of your age. Antioxidants are a great start. Antioxidants can help your body fight the free radical damage that causes us to age. Free radicals cause us to “rust” and that “rust” leads to break downs in your skin (the largest organ of the body). Wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer all have links back to free radical damage and the one thing we know is that consuming antioxidants helps neutralize free radicals. The following are a few of the more popular antioxidants I would use to help reduce free radical damage:
• Alpha Lipoic Acid
• Bilberry
• Co Q10
• Grape Seed Extract
• Green Tea
• Lutein
• Lycopene
• Mixed carotenoids
• Pycnogenol®
• Selenium
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Zinc

This list could be endless because many of the herbals like Green Tea are high naturally in Antioxidants.

Another important supplement for skin health is Water. (Why do you think they use the phrase “dried up old person”?) It may sound funny, but most of us don’t consume enough water and therefore I call water a supplement. How much depends on you and your activity levels. The bare minimum should be 1⁄2 your body weight in ounces of water per day. Example: 150lbs x 1⁄2. = 75oz of water/day. If you are an active person, then you will require more. Since your body is made up primarily of water, it is important to make sure you are well hydrated. I have seen many people have wrinkles disappear just by consuming more water alone. Give it a try; your body will thank you.

The last internal supplement suggestion is to use a good EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) supplement. Vegetarian products containing Flax, Borage or Evening Primrose oil are very effective, or a blended product like Udo’s Perfected Blend (Flora®) can provide the extra good fats needed for healthy, smooth and supple skin. Fish oil products like Coromega® (my personal favorite) can also provide you with the EFA’s needed for healthier skin. On a personal note, many of my friends and family have used EFAs to eliminate the dry skin and other skin issues that have affected them for years. Generally, follow the manufacture’s label instructions or consult your natural health care provider for the dose that is right for you.

Externally there is also an abundance of things you can do to support healthy skin. Just walk into your local full service health food store and see how the personal care section has grown. Many of these topical products contain moisturizing agents such as palm oil, almond oil or shea butter. They even taught us about these in my pharmacy school program. Often time’s herbal extracts will be added to these types of ingredients to achieve other benefits. I usually recommend adding calendula, lavender or chamomile if you have itchy or irritated skin. Adding antioxidants like Co Q10, Green Tea, E, Alpha Lipoic acid and even berry extracts has become popular now. The belief is that by applying these directly to free radical damaged skin (from sun, chemicals, perfumes etc) you can attack the damage at the point of contact. To date, there is limited research showing that this will work effectively. Having said this, I am still a firm believer in using antioxidants topically to assist in the fight against free radical damage. The more popular brands of natural products to consider are Aubrey Organics, Kiss My Face, Jason Natural Cosmetics, Burt’s Bee’s, Avalon Natural Products and Tom’s of Maine. It may not even be fair to stop at this short list, but you can consult with a store expert for more information on the line of topical products that will be right for you.

Other aspects that will positively impact your outer appearance are:
Limit exposure to UV rays (Sun)
Avoid applying products with synthetic colors or fragrances
Avoid petroleum based products
Avoid methyl- ethyl- and propyl- paraben containing products
Avoid foods that may trigger skin conditions such as: wheat, dairy and eggs)
Keep Clean
Buy Organic

Finally, it is important to stress that beauty is not just skin deep. You are on the outside what you are on the inside. There is a philosophy in natural medicine that your skin is a direct reflection of your bowel health. This may sound gross, but I believe it to be true. If you are having other issues like acne, eczema or psoriasis you may wish to cleanse. Using the pre-packaged products like Cleanse Smart, Ultimate Cleanse or even the tea Flor*Essence are great for eliminating toxins from the body and can have remarkable effects on skin health. Even if you don’t have “bad” skin, it is recommended to cleanse internally at least two times yearly.
Remember, looking young is not something that happens overnight. It takes weeks and even months of taking care of yourself inside and out to achieve the looks you want. Be patient and committed to the program. You will love what you see in the mirror.

All that special holiday food often causes even the healthiest eaters to overindulge causing heartburn, reflux, indigestion and bloating. Perhaps you are eating too much protein, or combining the wrong foods. Your solutions could be as simple as a few natural supplements. First, let’s define what may be going on in your body. Indigestion can mean either gas and bloating, or upset stomach. Heartburn, on the other hand, is usually a burning feeling that is caused by stomach acid backing up into the esophagus and causing pain and discomfort.

The overeating of the holiday can even turn those with a “cast iron” stomach into a miserable people. Before we get into the supplements that may assist in your relief, we need to cover a few other issues that may contribute to your condition. First of all, try to maintain a balanced diet– carbohydrates, protein and fat. Avoid drugs that may exacerbate your condition like aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Avoiding alcohol and caffeine at the holidays may be difficult for many, but this may be all you need to do. Lastly, try to decrease stress. This may be the most difficult thing to do around the holidays, but decreasing stress will have a huge impact on your digestive health. All of these ideas are easier said than done this time of year but nevertheless, helpful reminders. Now for the natural alternatives...

For assisting the body in being able to break down the foods you have just consumed, I recommend using a digestive enzyme. Combination products that contain protease (digests proteins), amylase (digests starches), lipase (digests fats) and even lactase (breaks down lactose) are the best. There are many excellent combination products on the market and it is best to consult with your full service health food store for a high potency product. I recommend that you take your digestive enzyme supplement right before or during your meal. If in an hour or so you are still feeling too full or bloated, repeating the dose can be helpful. Artichoke is another supplement that can be used regularly to help reduce the issues with indigestion. This supplement helps improve bile production and support your body’s natural digestive process.

For those who need more immediate relief, Mother Nature offers a few other alternatives. Something as simple as peppermint can provide you immediate relief from issues with gas, cramping and indigestion. Why do you think that most restaurants have mints at the counter when you leave? They don’t want you to remember how bad you felt after overeating at their establishment. I find that a cup of Ginger tea (or capsules) is great for relieving the discomfort of your digestive woes as well. Ginger has many digestive support properties such as decreasing inflammation, assisting with nausea, relieving gas and supporting digestion. The final supplement to provide immediate relief would be DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice). This form of licorice has been altered to remove the component glycyrrhizin which has been associated with increased blood pressure and fluid retention. DGL is great for immediate relief of heartburn and indigestion.
The bottom line in addressing holiday indigestion is usually lifestyle. Avoid the things that contribute to this condition and you should be fine. But, for those cases when overindulgence is not avoidable, you now have a few things to add to your holiday “herbal” medicine cabinet to get you through the season.