Your Skin and Healthy Aging

Our skin is the largest and fasting growing organ in our body. It is imperative that we focus on taking care of our skin just like we focus on our overall health. As we age, our skin becomes drier and we lose elasticity in our skin, which may cause sagging and fine lines to appear.  The most helpful tips to keep in mind when preventing skin damage are:

• Limit direct sun exposure for longer periods of time and use at least a SPF30 sunscreen.
• Wash and moisturize your skin regularly.
• Sleep for 7-8 hours daily to boost a clear complexion. 
• Stop tobacco use and limit alcohol consumption.
• Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. 
• Eat a healthy diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans.

“A healthy diet shows with healthy skin”, says Elaine Montemayor-Gonzalez, Extension Program Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.  Montemayor- Gonzalez continues, “What we put in our bodies greatly affects the aging of our skin, so foods with antioxidants and essential fatty acids are the most important foods to consider for keeping your skin healthy”. Antioxidants help prevent free radical damage, which can lead to skin problems such as sagging, wrinkled, or blemished skin. Some of the best antioxidant rich foods are berries, beets, spinach, kale, and 70% cocoa dark chocolate.

Other antioxidant rich foods that are also beneficial for healthy skin are loaded with fatty acids and vitamins A, C, and E. 

These essential nutrients all work together to help support, protect, and produce new skin cells for your body.

• Omega 3 Fatty Acids are healthy fats that naturally help moisturize your skin, keep skin flexible and protect from sun damage.  Try foods such as salmon, walnuts, and flaxseeds.
• Vitamin A can be sourced from food we eat through beta carotene.  Vitamin A helps with new cell production, growth, and helps prevent wrinkled skin. Excellent sources to include in your diet are sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and mango. 
• Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects your skin from oxidative damage caused by the sun, which can lead to visual signs of aging.  It also helps support collagen formation to keep skin strong and firm.  Vitamin C is added to many topical serums and creams due to its superpower to help reduce the appearance of brown spots, red marks, and skin irritations.  Top foods high in vitamin C include chili peppers, yellow bell peppers, tomato, lemons, oranges, and strawberries.
• Vitamin E is an essential nutrient with anti-inflammatory properties that aids in supporting cell function and skin health. Vitamin E is beneficial at reducing UV damage to skin and with the help of nutritious foods, can be absorbed better when combined with vitamin C. Vitamin E is also available for topical use in anti-aging creams, eye serum, sunscreens, and makeup. Sunflower seeds, avocado, salmon, trout, nuts, and olive oils are some of the foods with vitamin E.

Keep your skin and body healthy by adding a variety of foods to get the best all-around nutrition.  Your skin will age with time but preventing skin damage is key to a longer radiant glow. 

Try new recipes that incorporate more antioxidants and fatty acids, visit dinnertonight.org to help you plan your meals.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me, (903) 473-4580 or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu. Follow Rains County AgriLife onFacebook for additional information and upcoming events.

Eat Smart to Live a Heart Healthy Life

Following a healthy lifestyle by eating balanced nutritious meals, engaging in daily physical activities, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol consumption may help reduce the risk factors of heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among American men and women causing about 647,000 deaths per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Heart disease can be prevented or delayed by controlling several underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol levels, and weight gain.

Several diet-related chronic diseases including heart disease can be prevented or managed by following a healthy eating pattern—one that is nutritionally adequate with appropriate calories (Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020). Sumathi Venkatesh, a Health Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service shares a few tips to eat smart for a heart healthy life:

• Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet. However, most people do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. A person consuming 2000 calories should include about 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruits every day. You may include them in a variety of forms—fresh, canned, dried or frozen.
• Choose low-fat dairy products. They provide the same nutrients as the regular kind but with less fat and calories.
• Avoid trans fats and limit saturated fats to less than 10% of your daily calories. Replace butter with spreads made of monounsaturated fats (canola, olive, peanut, and sunflower) or polyunsaturated fats (corn, sunflower, and soybean). Mono- and polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are ideal for daily cooking.
• Limit refined grains by making half of your grains made up of whole grains. Whole grains are good sources of dietary fiber and many nutrients.
• Include at least 8 ounces of seafood per week. Including seafood that are high in omega 3 fatty acids may protect your heart by reducing inflammation.
• Reduce sodium intake to less than 2300 mg per day. However, the ideal limit for most adults and those who are at risk for heart disease is no more than 1500 mg per day. Excess dietary sodium increases blood volume and may increase the risk for high blood pressure.
• Avoid excess calories from sugar sweetened beverages. The calories from added sugars should be less than 10% of your daily calories.
• Lastly, practicing portion control is key. Excess calories may lead to weight gain.

If you have questions, concerns, would like additional information on heart health, please call (903) 455-9885, email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.  For additional information on area issues and events, follow us on Facebook, by simply searching for Hunt County AgriLife. 

Rethink Your Drink - Infused Water Recipes

One of the biggest complaints when trying to increase your water intake is that it gets boring. If this is the case for you, try infusing your water with fresh or frozen fruit. Water bottles with infusion compartments are now easy to find, but you don’t have to have a special water bottle you can just place the fruit directly in your bottle and drink up. Check out some of my favorite flavor combinations in here.

Improving My Diet - Part 3 (Drink Up!)

This article is the third installment of my series on improving my diet (and maybe yours too).  This week I will address water intake.  We all know that drinking water is good for us, but do we know why?  Even if you do know why, it is never bad to re-read it and to re-evaluate your current intake.

Because each person is different, we need different amounts of water.  But regardless of our shapes and sizes, we are all roughly two-thirds water and it makes since that our bodies would function best when properly hydrated.  A good rule of thumb is to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.  So if you weigh 150lbs you should try to drink 75oz of water each day.  Start out with a glass of water when you first wake up; you’ll be surprised at how awake you feel.  Once you get into a habit of drinking water, it will come naturally.  You will start to crave water over sugary drinks.  

So why is water so important?  Let’s review a few of my favorite benefits to drinking water.  We all know that water has zero calories, but did you know that if you drink cold water, your body has to use energy (burn calories) to warm it up. Who doesn’t want to burn a few extra calories here and there?  Water is also a terrific appetite suppressant and it is an inexpensive alternative to sugary drinks when eating out. Drinking a glass of water before a meal helps you feel full faster and eat less.  When we get to the installment on portion size, you’ll be thankful that you are already in a habit of drinking water before eating!  There is no doubt, being well hydrated keeps our body functioning properly but have you heard that water is also helps keep skin looking young.  Think about a dried up grape, it turns into a wrinkly raisin.  Dehydration has a similar effect on our skin.  So drink up!  

I am not going to go into all of the beneficial effects water has on our internal organs because this article would become a book.  Just trust me, we need water because it’s really good for us!  A few tips I have found that help me drink more include starting out my day with a glass of water, drinking ice or cold water, and adding fresh lemon to my water.  Try some of these to help get started if you feel like water isn’t the drink for you.  Like I said earlier, the more water you drink, the more water you want!

Here is a great infographic that details the benefits of staying properly hydrated.  

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.