I have a love/hate relationship with Nicholas Perricone MD. For years, I swore by his wondrous concoctions in the brown bottles full of ingredients straight out of the lab like DMAE, Alpha Lipoic Acid, neuropeptides, Acyl-glutathione, and several ingredients that baffled even me. For awhile my skin drank up these mysterious elixirs (and my wallet emptied faster than a leaky fountain) and glowed. Of course, as with pretty much every chemical laden beauty products they stopped working and I started needing more and different products and, luckily, (can you hear the dripping sarcasm???) Dr. Perricone accommodated by coming out with a new and more expensive product every month. Questionable ingredients, an ever increasing price point, and a switch to organic products thankfully got me off the skincare hamster wheel and actually created the jumping off point for truly glowing skin.
The one thing Dr. Perricone and I do agree on is that inflammation in the body is the number one cause of aging and we agree, in principle, on the proper nutrition to balance inflammation. (with one or two differences in opinions) Yes, I said it. The NUMBER ONE cause of aging. I am sure you are scratching your head wondering how that could be when the experts say the sun is the number one cause of aging…..or smoking….. or an unhealthy diet. And it is all true. ALL of these things cause inflammation. The sun, in small doses, is responsible for the production of very necessary Vitamin D (I hear a post coming on….). UVA rays, however, if left unchecked, cause micro-inflammation that penetrates into the deepest layers of skin. Hyperpigmentation is caused by inflammation. Skin sagging is caused by the breakdown of collagen fibers which can be caused by any number of reasons, and those reasons are caused by inflammation.
I don’t buy into Alaskan wild salmon three times a day, (for many reasons, overfishing and pollution being two of them) nor do I believe many women would even be able to stomach it more than a few times a week. There are always sardines, herring, mackerel, fresh tuna and anchovies but you still must be very careful to limit these to a few times a week if you eat them because of the high levels of mercury in many waters in which they are fished. I do believe there are many ways to get your Omega-3, through flax, chia, and hemp seeds and oil and walnuts, to name a few. Bear in mind Omega-3 from plant sources is not bio-available immediately and must be processed by the body before the fatty acid can be utilized. It means these sources need to be eaten several times a day and if you are suffering from chronic inflammation I recommend an Omega-3 supplement from a WILD source such as Nordic Naturals Kenai Wild Salmon Oil or NutriGold Krill Oil both of which are sourced ethically however never from farms. I trust both of these companies for the purity and efficacy of their products. For vegans I recommend eating as much flax, chia, hemp, and walnuts as possible and getting plenty of Vitamin D as well as taking Deva Vegan Omega-3 sourced from algae.
The above graphic describes a very good anti-inflammation “diet” that, if followed, does produce tighter more glowing skin, brighter eyes, and shiny hair. {For more information on eating for inflammation see our 10 Superstar Foods that Fight Chronic Inflammation.} I don’t recommend dairy (though I do recommend yogurt for my clients that tolerate it or don’t want to give up dairy) unless it is raw and grass-fed (and FULL FAT). Organic or goat milk is my second and third choice but including coconut, almond, or hemp milk is a great way to substitute dairy. With reference to the whole grains Dr. Perricone recommends gluten-free grains. Like me, he recognizes wheat to be, by and large, inflammation causing. The grains he recommends, as much of his diet recommendations, also are wonderfully alkalizing to the body.
Wishing you peace and balance,
Jacqueline
Comments
Thanks for the tips! Although I think the sun may have already gotten me. Dumb, young days of lying by a pool with baby oil. Oh to reverse the clock!
Mommys Juice recently posted..Get Me Outta the Outhouse!
Twitter: flawedmommy
I’m not a fan of skin care products since I try to limit the chemicals that I expose myself and my kids to and prefer to use more natural products. Lucky for me, through genetics, I’ve been fairly lucky that healthy glowing skin runs in my family, so I don’t have much of a need for a lot of expensive products. My mom is in her 60′s and people are always asking her what skin care products she uses, and her answer “nothing but an inexpensive moisturizer”, always amazes them. My mom is extremely health conscious and very careful of what she puts into and on her body. I do believe that her diet plays a key role in the look of her skin, as well as her general well being. As they say, you are what you eat!
Flawed Mommy recently posted..The Missing Milestones: What All Parents Need to Know
Twitter: chocolatepeaces
I will take one of each! Especially the berries. Wouldn’t it be nice to know really what affects what and what makes the difference? Anyway, i try to focus on nutrition as opposed to drink concoctions, but that is just me. Thanks!
Gina recently posted..A Chocolate Video to Melt Your Heart
I’ve included much of that list into my diet—now I just need to get the right amounts for my body =)
Pamela R recently posted..I’ve reached 500 followers!!!!AMAZON GC GIVEAWAY TO CELEBRATE!!!
I love the graphic. I try to eat as varied and healthy a diet as possible. I agree, salmon three times a day would be a bit much, but three times a week, or at least once would be a nice balance to maintain. Love the berries and avocados too. I do not understand all the hype over coconut oil since it’s high in poly saturated fats, I was always taught to avoid it, now everyone says to use it. This gets very confusing!!! Thanks for the great tips!
Kathy Radigan recently posted..Portraits of a Mother by Ewa Samples
Kathy, coconut oil IS overhyped however it is also EXTREMELY good for a lot of people. It is not high in polyunsaturated fats, rather saturated fat but rather than being hydrogenated (as in seed oils) it is saturated in a different way. Hydrogenated oils (like Crisco or commercially raised beef tallow) are full of long chain fatty acids which are incredibly difficult for the body to break down. Contrast this to coconut oil full of lauric acid (the only other thing on the planet that lauric acid exists in is breast milk) which converts to monolauric acid which is anti-viral and anti-bacterial and medium chain fatty acids which are easily broken down in the body and used for energy WITHOUT the insulin spike. I am going to do a full on article about the wonders of coconut oil (good and bad) very soon just for you I think!
Hey, my fridge and pantry really are healthy. I’m so not aging. Who invented aging anyway. Ugh. Great blog post. All of this is so good. Keep up the great posts!
Emiliana Martin recently posted..Day 10 of 31 Days of God-related attitude
Twitter: Twinfun1n1
Where is the beef? Just kidding!
The graphics are beautiful – did you make them or get them from somewhere?
I ate so well when I was pregnant – now I feed my kids a fantastic diet – fruit, veg, fish etc but I often forget to eat the fruit myself. I need to work on that.
Leigh
Leigh recently posted..The Year of The Skunk Continues!
I too am trying to live more healthy by cutting out all the red meats and replacing them with whites.
Dominique recently posted..Writer’s Workshop: U Never Thought of it
Twitter: carlabkaram
Jacqueline… YAY!! I have a healthy pantry!! I not only love learning through reading your blog… but I also LOVE finding out that I do things right. Grace, peace and belssings, Carla
Carla Barilá Karam recently posted..Day 490 ~ Wordless Wednesday for Calley
You are so on it girl!! Glad to know you are already living a very healthy lifestyle! No wonder you are such a beauty!
Twitter: laurirottmayer
Awesome post! I’d go as far as to say that inflammation is the cause of a lot of the disease that people experience. I’m very clued in to my own body. I KNOW that when I eat something sugary that I will feel aches and pains that I don’t feel if I don’t eat sugar. It starts in my knees, goes to my hips. Pretty soon, my forearms hurt. It also keeps me from sleeping well. It sounds crazy and I haven’t done that in a long time but it’s something I noticed in myself. When we eat clean, we thrive. Our skin looks great, we feel great and we sleep great. My husband and I are 52 and neither of us are on any prescription medicines. It seems like everyone we know is taking something for some ailment or another. If you eat clean, exercise, get sun (yes! not a lot but 20 minutes a day) and proper sleep, you will be super healthy.
LauriRottmayer recently posted..Terrified of propane
It is so great, Lauri, that you are that in touch with your body. I wish my clients would learn to read what their bodies are clearly telling them! I totally agree with the lifestyle you lead!! Including the sun and sleep.
I have a love-love relationship with the detox diva. Another great post. And I just finished a glass of cucumber, beet, carrot, kale, apple and celery juice. I had a soccer game yesterday and have that sort of inflammation going on and my upper back feels better already.
cheers
richard monore recently posted..Dancing With The Deaf
Aww Richard, The Detox Diva thinks you are the cat’s meow too! Your juice is just one (but a great one) example of how you can heal inflammation from all kinds of injuries and trauma (hint: chemotherapy is a trauma!) so you knowing this already makes you a step ahead…..