Red Wine- Is this the Fountain of Youth?

While everyone has been searching for an anti aging pill or developing a formulation of a cosmetic cream, Lo and Behold, one of the most potent anti aging chemicals has been found in one of men’s favorite beverage. Researchers believe that they may have found the fountain of youth in red wine. For decades it was not understood why individuals who drank red wine regularly showed very beautiful and youthful looking skin. At first, everyone thought that this was simply genes, or perhaps the food or the French Riviera or perhaps the French were simply lucky. Little did anyone suspect that it was the red wine.



A few years ago the ingredients in red wine were analyzed and found to contain a substance called Resveratrol. This agent has been extensively studied in the laboratory and found to be a natural anti oxidant. Other studies have shown that many life forms studied in the laboratory were prolonged when minute amounts of Resveratrol was added as a nutrient.


Resveratrol is commonly found in the skin of red grapes and functions as an anti fungal agent in the vineyards. During the fermentation process, the Resveratrol is preserved and remains functional.


How Resveratrol functions as an antiaging agent is not fully understood but there is strong belief that it limits the calorie intake. It is known that individuals who eat less, usually live long. With Resveratrol life extension has been seen in rodents, monkeys and other primates. When the calorie intake is lessened, the blood sugar and cholesterol levels decline, the blood pressure drops and there is excess mobilization of the fat deposits. And this scenario is evident in the French.


When it comes to humans, the French who drink red wine predominantly live a lot longer than most people around the world. These individuals also have much lesser cardiac disease than their American counterparts. And when the skin of these French individuals is examined, there is very little evidence of aging and wrinkles are non existent.


So should we all drink red wine?

Yes, but even among red wines the concentration of Resveratrol varies. Wines from Canada generally contain more of this ingredient than those bought from California. The reason is thought to be the increased moisture and humidity in the north. The increased humidity allows the fungus to thrive and thus grapes produce more Resveratrol to kill the fungus.


How much red wine to drink to produce healthy aging is not really known. Currently some experts recommend drinking one glass of wine on a daily basis.


So the next time you lift your Pinot Noir to a toast, remember, besides friendship and a good dinner, you are also gaining your youth with a glass of red wine.

The Agony of Acne- Men’s Skin Care

Men are pretty hardy humans and ignore such subjects as men's skin care. They can withstand many things in life- like a nagging wife, obsessive girlfriend, snowstorms, ice, tornadoes, no car and so on- but one thing men fall apart is when it comes to acne. Acne is a terrible skin disorder and can create havoc in a man’s life.


Millions of individuals are affected by acne. Acne strikes men in their prime and no one is immune to this dreaded condition. Every race, culture and ethnic group gets affected by acne. The skin disorder is embarrassing, unpleasant to look at and often presents suddenly when you wake up in the morning. Some unlucky individuals develop many acne pimples over the face, neck, back, and chest. Current estimates indicate that at least 80% of men are affected by acne at some point in their lives. There is absolutely nothing worse than acute acne- then perhaps having a small penis.


In the majority of cases, acne comes and goes. However, for some unfortunate individual acne can be very disfiguring. It can impact self esteem, cause anxiety, lead to depression and even social isolation. Men skin care is the only solution - to take care of your skin.


Acne generally occurs soon after puberty and peaks around the later part of the 2nd decade of life. Acne is not seen after the 3rd decade of life.


When acne is not treated in a timely fashion or if one mucks around with the pimples, it can lead to ugly scars. And these acne scars are like herpes- they never completely disappear. However, all is not bad news for acne suffers. Today, we have a few effective medications that can improve the facial cosmetics.


Because no one knows what really causes acne (not even Dr Spock), there are a lot of myths surrounding this skin condition. Firstly, acne has nothing to do with poor facial hygiene. One can clean the face every single day with Dove soap and still get acne. Acne is not acquired from smog or from any environmental pollutant. Acne has not been linked to any genes and so it is very unlikely you got it from your parents. Every single type of food has been linked to acne but there is no scientific evidence that any food in particular can cause acne. Some individuals believe that acne can only be treated with herbs and nutrients. Buying expensive soaps and creams can heal acne is also another far fetched myth.


To treat acne one must understand the disease process. First, you must follow a process of mens skin care. Everyone has hair on their bodies and each hair follicle has a gland. These glands secrete oils that travel up the pores and cover the skin surface. When these pores get blocked, either from the excess oil or dead skin or other debris- acne results. Because the oil continues to be secreted at a constant rate, a pimple starts to form. This explains why when you squeeze a pimple; you extract fatty or oily junk. Sometimes the pimples get very large and rupture on their own. We also have a variety of bacteria which live on the skin. If the environment is great, these bacteria will start to grow in the pores, mix with the oil and produce the typical redness and skin rash that is common with acne.


To treat acne, one must follow a men's skin care routine and find a medication that will either clear the oils, kill the bacteria or do both.

Anti Aging Diet

If there is one way to sell a product, simple label it as anti aging and despite the bad economy the product will sell. There have been many diets in the past which have been hyped up to reverse or prevent aging. But what should the consumer look for in an anti aging diet? For one, it is important to make sure that it recommends that you eat lots of fruits, vegetables and drink a lot of green tea. It is claimed by the food experts that diets which are high in anti oxidants probably come closest to the ideal anti aging diet.


The question is can diet reverse aging? It is doubtful that there is any antiaging diet that can erase the fine lines and wrinkles, but there is every reason to believe that certain foods can help delay or prevent the formation of signs of aging. Even though diet is important, one must also lead a healthy life style, not smoke, exercise regularly, get adequate sleep and drink ample water. There are lots individuals who have maintained a healthy life style and eaten right and not developed wrinkles or fine lines on the body. Diet is critical to delay the onset of aging.



Aging is part of nature and with time, our organs start to malfunction, our skin is exposed to more toxins from the environment and we tend to lose more water- all these eventually cause wrinkles to appear. While an anti aging diet can prevent some tissue alterations, there is never a return back to the younger and more toned looking skin.


The best prevention for aging skin is to eat diets consisting of fruits and vegetables. Red meat should be avoided and sea food is encouraged. Some of the foods thought to be have potent anti oxidant activity include fish, whole grains, legumes and olive oil. Legumes have few calories but have high protein content. Some of the other foods that are known to possess both anti oxidant and anti inflammatory activity include Acai berry, barley, buckwheat, beans, sprouts, garlic, onions, yogurt and kefir.


One of the key features of an anti aging diet is to drink lots of green tea. It is claimed that tea contains a variety of tannins and catechins- both of which are powerful anti oxidants and have other health benefits also.


Despite all the fuss about anti aging diets, one has to remember that aging is a part of nature. Everyone gets old, some faster than others. While eating proper may help delay the signs of aging, it is highly recommended that one avoid excess sun exposure and not smoke. These two factors are the major cause of premature aging and formation of wrinkles. Other important preventive factors include wearing sunscreen, regular exercise, decent amount of sleep and perhaps praying. While your prayers may not always be answered, it will give you inner peace and make you feel young at heart.

Anti Wrinkle Diet

Most people believe that the only way to get rid of fine lines and wrinkles is to use creams, ointments and botox. Perhaps the best way to look young is to eat proper and look after the skin. Over the years, there have been many diets formulated which are healthy and nutritious. And there are many diets which have been developed strictly for the purpose of making one look young and beautiful. There is no one best anti wrinkle diet. Different people respond differently to different diets but in general, fruits and vegetables should be essential in all anti wrinkle diets.


Some of the anti wrinkle diets which has been touted to erase fine lines and wrinkles include the following:


Raw Food diet is based on foods which are not cooked. The diet includes lots of raw vegetables, fruits and almost no meat products. This type of diet contains a lot of anti oxidants, vitamins and minerals- all useful ingredients to keep the skin looking young.


The Perricone diet is also highly recommended for individuals who want to have a fresh smooth anti wrinkle skin. This 28 day programmed diet is also known as the face lift diet. The diet is rich in various fruits, sea food, yogurt and whole grains. The ingredients in the Perricone diet are readily available in most groceries and the foods are easy to prepare. Individuals who have been on the Perricone diet swear that the diet can make the face look younger in just over a few weeks.


Coconut oil diets have also been hyped up to make the skin look young, radiant and wrinkle free. Coconut oil has been studied for years and been shown to lower blood cholesterol and help to reduce weight. While coconut oil in small amounts is great, higher levels of coconut have been associated with a greater incidence of heart disease.


No matter what type of anti wrinkle diet you adopt, it is essential to drink enough water on a daily basis. Water hydrates the skin and prevents dryness. The amount of water one should drink on a daily basis is variable and there is no exact number of glasses that one should drink. If you are thirsty one should drink water. Water is also much better than drinking beverages containing sugar and artificial sweeteners.



Aging is a complex process and there is no one single remedy to reverse the effects of nature. Even though an anti wrinkle diet is helpful, there are other things one can do to prevent premature aging of the skin. Foremost among these interventions is to quit smoking; smoking can hasten the appearance of wrinkles and make you look much older than the stated age. There are many anti aging creams available and the majority work well as moisturizers and contain a fair number of anti oxidants.


Adopting a healthy life style, getting adequate sleep, exercise, keeping the skin moisturized and eating right is the key to keeping young and beautiful. Rather than relying on a single anti wrinkle diet, the best advice is to eat lots of vegetables, fruits and less of red meat. In the end, developing wrinkles like most things in life has more to do with luck than anything else.