Aerobic exercise is anything that gets your heart and lungs working substantially harder than they do while you are sitting as well as gets your blood pumping; brisk walking, cross country skiing, jumping rope, swimming, aerobic class, zumba, etc. Aerobic exercise should be the centerpiece of your fertility enhancing exercising program.  Aim to do something aerobic on most days of the week for at least 30 minutes.  This can be broken up into three ten minute bouts of exercise.

If you are just starting an exercise program the best place to start is to walk, just start walking.  I tell my clients to walk 15 minutes one way and then 15 minutes back.  As your body gets more comfortable pick up the pace but keep walking15 minutes one way and 15 minutes back.  You’ll notice that you’ll be covering more distance.  It’s now time to move on to something a bit more intense.  You can start jogging for 1 or 2 minute intervals or go to the gym and test ride a machine.  I would start with a treadmill and play with the incline and speed.  Again, as you get

more comfortable try a cross country elliptical machine, a stair stepper or a rowing machine, but continue to strive for vigorous intensity or a perceived exertion of 15.

If you’re a gym rat you may need to pick up the intensity a bit.  I have found the easiest way to do this is to constantly change up your exercise routine.  If you’re a treadmill junky try some of the other machines, such as the elliptical or rowing machine, or get out of the gym and try a team sport that keeps you moving, hockey, soccer and basketball come to mind.  On the machines change up the intensity or incline, do intervals, break a sweat!

Taking yourself out of your comfort zone is a great way to increase your intensity. Try a zumba class, kickboxing or a boot camp class.  Every once in a while I would throw in something slow like yoga and tai chi to really mix things up.

I firmly believe you should never do the same exercise routine twice.  Every day it should be different, either a different modality (kickboxing one day, treadmill the next) or changing things up (on the treadmill walk 1 minute at incline 2 and speed 3.5, then 2 minutes at incline 4 same speed, change to 1 minute at incline 4 and speed of 3.8; tomorrow you do different intervals).

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

The expansion of industrial agriculture (or factory farming) has made it increasingly difficult for small family farmers in the U.S to stay in business. Instead, the food industry has become dominated by a handful of giant corporations which benefit from government policies that favor large-scale production.  These farms use herbicdes and pesticides.  Studies done by the University of Florida show an increased incidence of cancer and other diseases among farmers who use herbicides and pesticides.  Other major health risks of long-term exposure include the potential to birth defects, while the major health risks include vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, tremors, convulsions, and nerve damage. Small local farms tend to be less aggressive than large factory farms about dousing their produce with chemicals making their food safer for consumption.  They also don’t need to give much thought to packing, shipping and shelf life and can select, grown and harvest crops to ensure peak qualities of freshness, nutrition and taste.  And,  if we want to eat food at its freshest, most nutrious, we need to eat locally.  Food starts to loose its freshness and nutrients as soon as it’s been picked.

One of the benefits of eating locally is helping the local economy by purchasing food from these small family owned local farms.  Farmers on average receive only 20 centts of each dollar spent, the rest going for transportation, processing, packaging, refrigeration and marketing.  Farmers who sell food to local customers recive the full retail value, a dollar for each food dollar spent.  Additionally, eating locally encourages the use of local farmland for farming, thus keeping development in check while preserving open space.

I understand that the way most of us live, the thought that there may be a farm within a 100 mile radius of us is absurd, but there are ways to find them.  There are local farmers markets that we can shop at, there are CSA’s (community supported agriculture) that we can join and there are websites that we can research.  Please go to www.localharvest.org to find local farms, farmers markets and csa’s, www.localfork.com also has some good information about local eating, as well as www.foodroutes.org.  There is also www.100milediet.org.  This is actually based on a book that 2 people wrote about their year of eating locally.  A large movement has been started, they have a TV show on PlanetGreen and if you’re interested in trying to eat locally, they can lead the way.

So, next time you sit down to a meal, think about the story your food is telling.  Is it telling the story of fosal fuels, pollution, packaging and chemicals, or is it telling the story of small, family owned farms in your backyard?  The way we eat has an enormous impact on the health of the planet. By choosing to eat lower on the food chain, and focusing on local and organic produce, we can curb global warming and air pollution, avoid toxic pesticides, support local farmers and enjoy fresh, tasty food.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Stefanie Lester Coslow is a native New Yorker currently residing in Chicago with her husband and two kids and teaches at CorePower Yoga throughout their Chicago locations. In a former life, she was an accountant at a TV Rep firm who studied Psychology at school, talk about yin & yang.

I remember the days (vaguely, a foggy, distant memory) when the majority of what I wore was dryclean only. My professional office attire. And I couldn’t wait till the weekend to be “comfy” in jeans. These days, between being a stay at home mom, and spending a lot of time at yoga studios and gyms, I pretty much live in athletic wear. And those comfy jeans? Holy cow do they feel restrictive! And, well, there’s one brand of athletic wear that I covet above all us. Most of us yogis, runners, etc, do. Lululemon. Style, fit, quality, functionality…..it’s all there.

But, all that aside, I love their philosophies, their mantras. Ever read a Lululemon bag? It’s pretty damn motivational. To name a few: Friends are more important than money. Breath deeply and appreciate the moment, living in the moment could be the meaning of life (love this!). Jealousy works the oppposite of the way you want it to. Practice yoga so you can remain active in physical sports as you age (how true!). Dance, Sing, Floss, and Travel. Sweat once a day. The pursuit of happiness is the source of all unhappiness (word!). And, my all time favorite, do one thing a day that scares you.

For those of you who don’t know me personally, I am a creature of habit. Change terrifies me. And, just in case you thought I was, I am not at all tough. I can’t even watch the trailer of a scary movie without having to run and dive under the covers, heart racing. But, I’m evolving, becoming more flexible, not when it comes to horror films, mind you, but….. I’ve been trying to step out of my box a bit and do more things that I would normally be scared of and shy away from. What kind of example am I as a parent if I can’t?

I have to say, walking into a yoga class for the first time definitely fell into the category of stepping outside my box and something that intimidated me. Fast forward two years, and a few months ago, after months of teacher training and lots of yoga, I felt like I was getting into a rut doing too much of one thing, so I joined a new gym for motivation and started adding back in some more cardio, weights….mixing it up a bit, trying new things. It did renergze me for sure.

This past weekend I took an amazing yoga workshop with a well known yoga instructor, it was probably way beyond my level, or at least I felt that way. It was a lot of inversions (headstands, handstands, etc, which I am terrified of), and I was super intimidated. But, with a good friend spotting me, I was able to do them and get the feel of what it was like. Super motivational. Another thing I’m not great at/that scares me is intense cardio, running…. So, somewhere down the line I may challenge myself to pick up running. We’ll see….. It’s also the matter of finding the time to fit all of this in, easier said then done.

But, my point is, do one thing a day that scares you. Okay, maybe not everday, and maybe something really small, but step outside of your box, your comfort zone. Combine that with sweat once a day and now we’re talking.

And one more for you, Stress is related to 99% of all illness. Do I really need to go into exercise’s effect on stress?

Be bold my friends, you can do it.

Namaste,

Stefanie

My client Dan loves this so much I’ll be making a huge bowl for his Labor Day party!

MELON MINT DRESSING

Serves 5

1 ½ cups honeydew melon, chopped

1 ½ cups cantaloupe, chopped

1 ½ cups watermelon, chopped

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon fresh mint, chiffonade

Combine all the melon in a bowl.

In a separate small bowl, combine the honey, lemon juice, and mint.

Pour over the melon and place in the refrigerator to infuse for as long as possible.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

*You need to start this recipe with whole melons, cut fruit won’t work to make the pappardelle

Strength training, also called resistance training or weight training builds and strengthens muscles.  It does this by making a muscle resist an opposing force which causes damage to the muscle and, in order to repair itself, the muscle will build more muscle.  The resistance can be your body weight, dumbbells, barbells, elastic bands or exercise machines.

Strength training is a fundamental part of a fertility exercise program because it has a profound effect on blood sugar and insulin.  As mentioned, strength training builds muscle and the more muscle you have the more area for glucose to be absorbed and the easier it is to control your weight because muscle burns more calories than its equivalent of fat.  When you work your muscles they tug on the bones that they are attached to causing the bones to strengthen as well.

When you first start an exercise program consider what time of day is best for you to fit physical activity into our day.  Just as some people think more clearly in the morning and others think more clearly at night, some people prefer to exercise first thing in the morning, while others prefer to exercise later in the day.  There is no right or wrong; it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

If you’ve never lifted weights before, the best thing to do is hire a personal trainer.  If you are going to do it on your own start out slow and light.  Get comfortable with the weight in your hands.  Always keep proper body alignment (feet staggered front and back, knees soft, abs taut, shoulders back and down).  Lift with a slow and controlled movement.

To figure out the weight you should be lifting, start with a weight that you will be able to life about eight times (repetitions, aka reps).  As the weeks pass and you get stronger you will be able to add reps.  Work your way up to twelve, this is a set.  Once you are comfortable with twelve reps, take a rest for about thirty seconds and add another set starting with as many reps as you can do.  Work your way up to three sets.  Once comfortable increase your weight and start again.

You should be doing exercises that target your shoulders, biceps, triceps, back, chest, abs, obliques, hamstrings and quadriceps.  As with cardio you should always mix it up, never do the same routine twice.  There are many, many different exercises for each muscle and incorporating them into your routine will help you build muscle faster.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in pre-pregnancy care; helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering one-on-one counseling, in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Stefanie Lester Coslow is yoga instructor who came to the practice as a skeptic but was being supportive to a dear friend who had just completed her teacher training. As a teacher, Stefanie hopes to inspire others to find both their inner and outer strength and flexibility.  Stefanie is a busy mom who lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.

When we think yoga we often think of stretching postures, certain poses, breathing. And while all this is true, it’s only a part of the picture. Yoga literally means “union”, union of the mind, body and spirit. We often talk about “living your yoga” and taking your yoga “off your mat” and a big part of that is being open-minded and having an open heart. It’s about practicing non-judgement and acting with compassion.

The more I live, and thus learn, the more I realize how rewarding helping others is. It’s nothing you can put a price tag on.

About a month ago I heard an absolutely heartbreaking story. The Berry family, of Houston, TX, were on their way back from a fun family vacation, a road trip. An SUV swerved into their lane and hit them head on, the parents, Josh & Robin, were killed instantly. The 2 eldest children, 9 year old Peter and 8 year old Aaron, suffered spinal cord injuries and are paralyzed from the waist down. Their sister, 6 year old Willa, suffered some broken bones. Clearly there is a long road ahead for these children, both physically and emotionally.

I was intially drawn to the story by a connection, the childrens’ aunt, Simone Berry is a college friend of mine. She and her husband, Matt, are now the childrens’ legal guardians. But as a mother, and as a person, I’ve felt compelled to help. I know these kids are in great hands, but still, my heart breaks for them.

There’s been a huge outpouring of love and support for the Berrys nationwide and beyond, from grassroot lemonade stands and bake sales to big name celebrity involvment. Justin Bieber started the “Show your hearts” campaign to raise awareness and money for the Berrys.

This past week my friend and teacher, Piper-Lori Parker, and I led a “Karma yoga” class, a donation based free yoga class to raise money for the Berry Children. The studio where I teach donated the space and time and Piper led us through an amazing, unique and inspiring class. Her message throughout was “keep an open mind and an open heart”. It was beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, the class was hot and sweaty and physically challenging. Piper led us through a nine minute Kundalini jumping kriya, basically jumping rope minus the jump rope, in a heated, humid room, no less. But beyond the physical was the amazing energy and spirit in the room. All I can say is that my heart is filled with love and gratitude. As Judith Lasater states in her book “Living your Yoga”, “I have the courage to act from my heart and the compassion to stay open.”

For a physical heart opening exercise, sit up very straight and tall. Broaden out your collarbones, draw your shoulder blades down your back, pull your shoulders away from your ears. Notice that the more you squeeze your shoulder blades together and elongate your spine, the more your heart lifts towards the sky and becomes open. Now take a few deep, slow breaths in and out and breath into your open heart. Feel alive and love who you are, be grateful for your life and all it’s wonderful blessings.

From my heart to yours…..

Namaste,

Stefanie

For more information on the Berrys go to:

http://www.showyourhearts.org

www.theberrychildren.com

All that we consider today as nutrition is really just a secondary source of energy.  Primary foods feed us, but they don’t come on a plate.  Healthy relationships, regular phsical activity, a fulfilling career and a spiritual practice can fill your soul and satisfy your hunger for life.  When primary food is balanced and satiating, your life feeds you, making what you eat secondary.  Remember when, as a child, you were playing outside, having fun?  Suddenly, your mother announced dinner was ready, but you were not hungry.  The passion of play took all of your attention.  Sometimes we are fed not by food but by the energy in our lives.  These moments and feelings demonstrate that everything is food.  We take in thousands of experiences in life that can fulfill us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, we hunger for play, touch, romance, intimacy, love, achievement, success, self-expression, excitement, adventure and spirituality.  All of these elements are forms of nourishment.  The extent to which we are able to incorporate them into our daily lives determines how enjoyable and fulfilling our lives feel.  When you start looking at nutrition in this manner, you attain a more complete view of the things in life that truly nourish you.  Without a healthy balance of primary foods in our lives, it is virtually impossible to be as vibrant, healthy and nutritious as we can be.

Think about it this way:  Jane Healthy is the healthiest eater you know.  Her diet is filled with a variety of whole foods, vegetables, fruits and complex carbohydrates.  Because of her healthy eating you are surprised that Jane is constantly in a bad mood, frequently ill, or even depressed a lot of the time.  How could this happen to such a healthy eater?  The answer lies somewhere in the matrix of Jane’s primary food—she probably lacks significantly in some area of her life such as relationships, career, exercise or spiritual practice.  Therefore delving into what you are missing in the area of primary food may be a place to look when you are not feeling well.  Your nutrition is not just about the food you eat, it’s about everything going on in your life at the present moment.  The more primary food we receive, the less is our dependency on secondary foods.  The opposite is also true.The more we fill ourselves with secondary foods, the less we are able to receive the primary foods of life.

From a very early age, we’re taught to feed feelings.  When a child has a scratch, he gets a treat.  When someone loses a loved one, we bring food.  When you’re celebrating a new love — or mourning its loss — we indulge in chocolate.  But food rarely crosses your mind when you’re involved in an engaging project or engrossed in a best-selling thriller.  Your stores of “primary food” are full, making you less likely to eat for emotional needs.  When primary foods are present, your hunger for living is satisfied, making what you put in your mouth secondary.  Without them, individuals may express an unmet need in various ways, including food cravings.  Intense food desires provide critical information about what our body needs to maintain balance.  When we don’t sleep well, we may crave caffeine to stimulate our bodies and minds.  If we’re lonely or depressed, we might reach for chocolate or some other form of sugar to lift our mood.  When we feel weak or empty, we long for eggs, steak, chicken or fish that will fill us.  And the vicious cycle of relying on foods to fill emotional needs begins.  By keeping a journal of what is going on in your life and how you are eating you may be able to pinpoint what is stimulating your cravings.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

I prepared this recipe a few weeks ago for a party and filled the cups with fresh fruit with a sprinkle of cloves and cinnamon.  Oh YUM!

PHYLLO CUPS

Makes 2 cups

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 sheet phyllo dough, defrosted

Preheat oven to 350.

In a small bowl combine the butter and cinnamon.

Lay 1 sheet of phyllo in front of you

Brush with the melted butter.

Fold the top half down

With a sharp knife cut in half.

Press the phyllo into it to form a cup.

Bake about 6-8 minutes, until golden.

Remove from the muffin tins, cool and fill with fresh fruit, yogurt or ice cream

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.

Stefanie Lester Coslow is yoga instructor who came to the practice as a skeptic but was being supportive to a dear friend who had just completed her teacher training. As a teacher, Stefanie hopes to inspire others to find both their inner and outer strength and flexibility.  Stefanie is a busy mom who lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Hanging in our courtyard the other day, kids running around chasing balls, riding bikes, etc, I was having a conversation with my neighbors and used the word “chaturanga”. They laughed and looked at me like I had ten heads. Really, not everyone speaks sanskrit?? Okay, I guess I live in my own yogi world sometimes.

So, for those of you not familiar, chaturanga (short for chaturanga dandasana, not chimichanga, as my husband likes to call it) is pretty much a yoga push up, a flow of high plank to low/mid plank. Most vinyasa, or “power yoga” classes have frequent chaturangas in them.

The significance, my friends, is two-fold. A. I believe planks, or any exercise done from a plank position, are the number one best core toner and strengthener out there, done correctly, that is. Which leads to my next point, B. chaturangas are probably the position I see misalignment in most frequently. Not only will improper form make the exercise less effective, but it will also lead to injury over time.

And, just so you don’t think I’m on my soap box, when I first started out my alignment was terrible. My elbows were splayed out wide (we’ll get to that), and I was pulled aside and told that, over time, I would damage my rotator cuff doing it this way. Seeing as my mom had just had rotator cuff surgery 6 months prior, that struck a chord. During my teacher training we had one afternoon strictly just focused on chaturanga alignment, and belief me, it was full of a lot of “a ha moments”, not to mention I was ridiculously sore afterwards. Proper form does make a difference!

So, here goes:

1. Come to a high plank position, palms planted flat down, shoulder width apart, wrist, elbows and shoulders all stacked in one line, “eyes” of your elbows facing foward. Come up on the ball mounts of your feet with your heels reaching back. Keep your tailbone pointed downward, legs are active and turned slightly inward.

2. Engage your abdomen. This is key. Draw your belly button up and in. This is called your abdominal lock, or your uddiyana bandha. Basically, prepare as if your about to get punched in the stomach. Now keep it that way….the whole way through.

3. NO COLLAPSING IN YOUR LOW BACK. I repeat…..NONE!! Keep a straight, strong line from your shoulders to your hips. Feel free, if you have it accessible, to look at your profile in a side mirror to ensure this.

4. Broaden your collarbones and draw your shoulder blades (scapulae) down and towards one another. Keep the back of your neck long and gaze down in front of you.

5. Keep your elbows tucked into your ribs, exhale and slowly move your chest forward and down bending your elbows to a 90 degree angle. Lead with your chest. Make sure to stop at 90 degrees, keep your core engaged and your elbows glued into your ribcage!! Shoulder blades remain drawn together and down, pelvis is in a neutral postion, and tailbone is pointed to your heels. Keep your gaze down, back of your neck long.

*please note, if you are just starting out, it is okay (more than okay!!) to come to your knees to do this. Remember, proper alignment is KEY!!! This is not about pride or ego, it’s about safety and technique. You will still get amazing core and upper body benefits from taking chaturangas on your knees. Another great modification, if high plank bothers your wrists, is to drop down to either your forearms or wrists. And, you can always just hold your high plank (start at 30 seconds, build up to a minute) instead of lowering down. Also, practicing while standing up, palms against a wall is a great way to learn alignment.

Chaturangas are typically done as part of a Sun Salutation and are followed by Upward Facing dog to Downward facing dog, but also can be done just on their own as a great strength training move.

So, in case you want to, to come to Upward Facing dog from low plank, roll on to the tops of your feet, tops of toes pressed firmly to the ground, knees and thighs lifted. Straighten your arms and stack your shoulders directly over your wrists. Open your chest forward, shoulder blades are still drawn together and down your back. Gaze forward and slightly up, again keeping the back of your neck long.

From Up Dog, to come to Down Dog, draw your belly button in, push your hips up and roll over your toes. Press down through your palms, arms are strong, tailbone is lifted high, heels are reaching towards the ground. Relax your head between your upper arms.

Pfew, …. you did it!! Nice job.

Any questions? Let me know….

Namaste,

Stefanie

The foods we eat really are the best resource our skin has to help it fight the signs of aging.

Our entire body needs nutrients in order to work properly, and give us a healthy appearance, unfortunately, stress, processed foods, and diets lacking in nutrient-rich foods are common elements in most people’s daily lives; and the result is the faster aging of our skin.  But, eating the right foods can give your skin all the nutrients it needs to fight aging, disease and damage.

Skin is actually an organ, it is the largest one we have.  The average adult’s skin has a surface area of up to 21 square feet and accounts for about 15% of our total body weight.  It functions as a sensing organ, an oil producer,  a detox organ, a temperature regulator,  a protective covering, and a barrier between the body and the environment.  It is constantly subjected to the abuses of ultraviolet rays from the sun, tanning & chemicals from our clothing and in the air, but it also reflects our internal health, a healthy person has glowing, smooth skin.

The components that keep our skin look healthy are the same components that keep our bodies healthy.  They are carbohydrates, fats and proteins, as well as vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

By consuming these nutrients our skin can repair its damage, build it’s support structures, stay moist and prevent disease.

Research proves that consuming healthy foods can help your skin have a healthy appearance, fight acne, reduce redness and inflammation, resolve moisture problems, and even reduce wrinkles.  For example, collagen is the skin’s main structural component and the body cannot make it without Vit. C., so, if you don’t eat foods rich in Vitamin C, your skin can begin to loosen, age and wrinkle.

The skin is made up of 3 layers.  The outer most layer is called the epidermis.  This layer makes us waterproof and protects and shields us from injury and the environment and is also responsible for water lose and retention.  The top layer of our skin is dead skin cells.

The second layer of skin is called the dermis.  It consists of connective tissue and cushions the body.

The third layer is called the hypodermis, it is the innermost layer.  As we age, we naturally lose fat stores in this layer of skin and that is what contributes to loose, sagging skin.

There are 3 key elements in the skin that play a role in its health.  The first, called keratin, is in the dermis, the second layer of skin.  It is an extremely strong protein that is found in the skin, hair and nails and helps keep us waterproof, while not allowing chemicals and pathogens from entering the body.  It also helps prevent sagging and wrinkles.  Keratin cells are also the dead skin cells on the top layer of our skin.  Having too many dead keratin cells can dull your appearance.  Facial scrubs are designed to remove these excess cells.

The second key element is collagen.  Collagen holds the dermis together and supports the epidermis.  It gives the skin its strength and durability and is responsible for smooth, tight skin.  Collagen is so strong that its tensil strength, which is its ability to resist force without tearing, is greater then steel, which explains why skin is so strong.  Healthy levels of collagen give the skin a smooth, plump, young, healthy appearance.  Vitamin C is known to support collagen production.

And the last key element to skin health is elastin.  It is a coil-like protein that helps the skin resume its shape after it has been poked or pinched.  A decrease in elastin can cause the skin to lose its firmness.  As we age elastin production decreases and the resilience of existing fibers is diminished.  This results in areas of decreased firmness.  Iron-rich foods have been linked to increased elastin production.

Now let’s talk about the things that happen to our skin when we don’t eat a healthy diet.

Wrinkles are caused by many factors – diet, age, genetics, sun exposure and smoking.  Where the prevention of wrinkles is concerned the integrity of collagen and elastin is most important.  Although wrinkles are a sign of aging, they are also a sign of damage and the skin will attempt to repair the damage if the right nutrients are present and the rate of damage is not overwhelming.  More pronounced wrinkles were found in those with a higher intake of bad fats and processed carbohydrates, while a diet rich in Vitamin C was known to reduce wrinkling later in life.  If you already have wrinkles, something you absolutely want do is to make sure to keep your skin moisurized.

Dry skin doesn’t cause wrinkles, but it can make them more pronounced.  Vitamin E has been known to improve skin moisture, increase smoothness and provide mild protection from ultraviolet sun damage.  Omega 3 is a great source of moisture for the skin as well as being an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant

Sagging skin is a sign of aging and is due to several environmental and internal factors one being hormones.  Another is silica which is a trace mineral that strengthens connective tissue, and skin is a connective tissue.  A dificency in silica can result in sagging.  The tightness of your skin’s appearance on your face is affected by the health of your facial muscles.  Iron and protein can help these muscles stay toned, giving your skin a tighter appearance.

In order to age gracefully, there are a few things that we can do for ourselves.  The first is to increase the intake of high antioxidant foods.  Antioxidants are compounds in our foods that seek out and neutralize free radicals, which are the unstable molecules that cause inflammation and damage to both the skins structure and the cell’s ability to produce collagen and elastin.  There are other compounds in plant foods that are important to skin and overall health called phytonutrients.  They are found in fruits, vegetables and legumes that give them either their color or smell.

The second thing you can do is include the regular use of olive oil, which is a good source of monounsaturated fat.  It is an important component of healthy skin membranes, helps with cell structure and communication, as well as the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as Vit E, which is one of the main antioxidants in your body.

The next thing you can do for your skin in to cut out high-sugar foods, such as soda, candy, white bread and processed foods.  Midly high blood sugar levels (prediabetes) or low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can speed up the aging process.

Donna Mintz is the owner of Basil & Barbells, Inc., a NYC based personal chef and personal training service that helps busy people fit healthy meals and exercise into their hectic schedules.  She specializes in helping couples achieve optimum health to increase their chances of getting pregnant, a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby by offering in-home cooking classes, personal training and personal chef services.