Whenever I tell people my age, they always look shocked and exclaim "What! I would never have guessed." It doesn't happen occasionally; it happens every time I reveal my age. Thank G-d, I look younger now in my early 40s then I did in my mid 30s.
Since anti-aging is a topic that so many women, and men, care about, I want to share my daily anti-aging routine and hope it can help other women look, and feel, younger.
Side note: Although learning to embrace my age is something I'm working on, I think that the skin reflects the inside of the body, if your skin is aging too rapidly, then your insides are probably aging too rapidly.
We should all be concerned about following an anti-aging diet and lifestyle not just for outward appearances but also for internal health.
The 3 pillars of younger looking skin are:
1) Diet
2) Lifestyle
3) Daily Skincare & Moisturization
When I started putting effort into all 3, that's when I started seeing results.
It's important to understand that a real anti-aging diet is an anti-inflammatory diet.
Eating inflammatory foods accelerates aging. That's why keto dieters age rapidly. Consuming animal foods including red meat, fish, and chicken causes inflammation in the body.
That's because virtually all the animals and fish are sick, maltreated, and abused. Eating sick animals will make us sick. Even "wild" fish are raised in overcrowded disease-ridden ocean pens.
The modern Western Diet is pro-inflammatory. It fills the body with damaging free radicals which causes a process similar to rusting. These free radicals damage mitochondria, the energy producers of the cells.
If you want younger looking skin - diet is key. More about proper diet later.
Without further ado, let's get into my daily anti-aging routine.
My daily Anti-Aging Routine:
1) Daily Skincare
A) Every day, without fail, I moisturize my face and I do it in a specific way to prevent wrinkles. I put extra virgin organic coconut oil, on the index finger of both hands and I use my fingers to spread it on my cheeks in an upward motion from the base of the jaw, on both sides of the mouth, moving upwards towards the nose and then along the cheekbones. I do this 2-3 times. I use the coconut oil as my base (sometimes I use other oils like moringa oil, or jojoba oil as well to switch it up and give my skin other nutrients, but coconut oil is what I usually use as my base.)
The upward motion Is like an anti-wrinkle massage for your face.
Step B) I nourish my facial skin with a special cream that I formulated. It's loaded with plant oils from ancient trees and essential oils, to provide essential nutrients to the skin. I Spread it on my face from jawline upwards (same as the coconut oil). This cream will be coming to market soon- Send me an email (josephsorganicbakery@gmail care of Miriam) if you're interested and I will notify you when it arrives.
You can start with the coconut oil, it's essential to moisturize daily. You can always add the other cream into your routine later. I can guarantee that the skin on your face will brighten and wake up just after a few weeks of applying daily moisturization with coconut oil.
Do not use any commercial moisturizers as they are full of harmful preservatives and chemicals.
2) Consume fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and Vegetables are full of anti-aging antioxidants and must be a part of any anti-aging routine. Try to consume a variety, all colors of the rainbow, to get as many different nutrients as you can.
Every night for dinner without fail, I eat a lot and I mean a lot, of cooked vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, onions, zucchini, sometimes i add sweet potato or butternut squash. I never overcook them, they should be a little soft so it's easier to digest, but not overcooked so that the vegetables should still maintain their color.
I also eat some fresh fruit every day, preferably local, not sprayed with pesticides.
I try to eat a homemade salad every day (skip the store-bought dressing). Fresh green leaf lettuce from a local farm, with some cucumbers, fresh herbs and avocadoes. I drizzle it with Extra Virgin olive oil and sprinkle with bamboo salt click here.
3) Green Tea
I've consume at least 3-4 cups of green tea per day for many years. The green tea I use is not bagged, its the whole leaf. Here's the link Longjing Green Tea
Green tea is a potent anti-aging agent primarily due to it high concentration of polyphenols, specifically EGCG, which fight free radical damage, boost collagen production, and protect against UV damage.
Asian cultures have long understand the health benefits of green tea. in my trips to China 20 years ago, i observed that all the cab drivers drank green tea out of a glass thermos all throughout the day, this protected them from the terrible car pollution they were breathing incessantly and from the packs of cigarettes they smoked.
It's important to choose your tea wisely as tea is absorbent and if its grown in polluted soil can actually cause heavy metal accumulation in the body.
4) The Anti-Aging Diet:
Proper Diet is key to looking younger. As we explained above the Western Diet is an inflammatory diet.
I don't eat meat, chicken, or fish. I'll eat eggs from a local farm a few times per week. My main protein source is Einkorn bread (high in protein) and eggs
I don't eat any processed foods, as they are full of hidden harmful ingredients.
I don't eat out at restaurants - I order water or tea if I'm out with friends.
INFLAMMATORY FOODS TO AVOID
Avoid meat chicken and fish (except eggs from local farms)
Avoid all dairy especially cheeses (full of cellulose and saturated fats), and yogurt (full of gums and binders). If you can find good milk you can drink just a teensy little bit
Avoid all processed foods
Avoid Trans fats
Avoid Omega 6 fats- avoid corn oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, canola oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil or safflower oil.
FOODS YOU CAN EAT
What to Eat: Vegetables (cooked and raw) and fruits, and wholegrain sourdough breads like our Einkorn Breads - which I eat every day, and some buckwheat, 1 ounce of nuts per day.
Oils & Fats you can consume raw or cook with: Extra Virgin Olive Oil click here for the link for the one I use
5) Wholegrain Ancient Grain Bread
If our diet doesn't contain adequate nutrients, even if we are eating a lot, all the cells of our body including our skin cells will age.
Modern Commercial Bread causes inflammation and weight gain.
At Joseph's Organic Bakery, their breads are made with ancient anti-inflammatory grains. Their ancient grain sourdough breads are ALKALINE superfoods. Unlike toxic and acidic modern GMO wheat, ancient grains are non-GMO and actually have anti-inflammatory effects.
I eat 4 slices per day (2 for breakfast 2 and lunch with a salad and vegetables)
6) Get Sun (vitamin D)
I make sure to get sun every day. If you're worried about sunburns, you can use a bit of coconut oil as a sunblock, or just avoid the hours of the day where UV is strongest. Take walks in the early morning or evening. Don't use sunscreen.
Our skin loves the sun. Vitamin D from the sun stimulates genes to release vitality impulses into every cell. It keeps skin cells young. Just be sure to moisturize afterwards.
7) Exercise
Exercise supplies connective tissue with energy, it increases cell metabolism by 100%. Light to Moderate Daily exercise is essential for anti-aging, at minimum 5 x a week.
AVOID INTENSE exercise. It accelerates aging.
Walking, Dancing, lifting weights, stretching anything that makes you happy.
Try to come to a sweat every day to eliminate toxins.
Longjing Green Tea -
Ultimate Anti-inflammatory anti-aging tea