Wrinkles: Natural and Whole Food Remedies

The following information has been gathered and compiled through personal experience while traveling, teaching T'ai Chi, Qi Gong, Chinese Herbal medicine, martial arts and other health related subjects. The article also contains feedback from students and anecdotal information from readers of my columns. The following are my opinions and deductions from those sources.

Vitamin A, C and E are antioxidants and combat free radicals. Free radicals contribute to symptoms of aging, including wrinkles. As we age our skin grows thinner and drier contributing to wrinkles. Deep moisturizers, especially if applied while the skin is wet, can add elasticity and body. Heavy creams plug the pores and defeat your efforts. Rubbing a light bodied hand lotion into the wrinkles three or four times daily can soften skin to the point that eventually the wrinkles may disappear. Plastic surgery is a temporary fix if the underlying causes aren't addressed and changed. Natural remedies may take longer, but when we take the time to find out how and why they work, we're more likely to affect a lasting solution.

For skin to be healthy it needs linoleic acid. Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid; essential means the body can't manufacture it and it has to be obtained from outside sources. Linoleic acid is found in fish oils and many vegetables. Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea) contains more Omega 3 EFA's than any other vegetable source. Purslane, of which there are two main varieties, grows wild in almost every area of the U.S. Other vegetable sources are spinach, mustard greens, walnuts and walnut oil, wheat germ oil, rapeseed oil, (most rapeseed, better known as canola, is GMO contaminated, the same is true with non-organic soy products) butternuts and seaweed.