Look Younger, Naturally

Eat Well

Your body may be a temple, but when free radicals come calling, they cause cellular damage that can lead to aging and disease. To fight back, you need to eat foods that contain antioxidants, which combat free radicals. There are different types of antioxidants—such as vitamin C, vitamin E and carotenoids—explains Bonnie Conrad, registered dietitian and workplace health and development consultant at Capital Health in Halifax. Blueberries, strawberries, oranges, red and green peppers are good sources of vitamin C. Dark leafy vegetables (broccoli, romaine lettuce, kale, spinach), whole grains and almonds are good sources of vitamin E. And dark green and orange veggies, such as pumpkin, squash and carrots, contain carotenoids.

Drink Water

Let you in on a secret. Drinking water is like drinking from the fountain of youth. It keeps your body hydrated and your skin soft and supple. Drink throughout the day because if you feel thirsty, you’re already starting to become dehydrated, warns Conrad.

Get Moving

A toned, fit body just looks more youthful than a flabby one. Exercise, along with diet, will help you create a beautiful body. To get the best results, you’ll want to do cardiovascular, strength and stretching exercises, says Ron Zalko, owner of Ron Zalko Total Body Fitness and Yoga in Vancouver. Try the treadmill or a spinning class for cardio, weights for strength, and yoga or pilates for stretching. At a minimum, plan to work out three times a week for one hour. Give it six weeks and you’ll start to see results.

Get Your zzzz’s

It’s not called beauty sleep for nothing. During sleep the body renews and regenerates itself, according to the Better Sleep Council of Canada. The blood supply to your muscles increases, for example, allowing your body to recover from physical stresses. Tuck in for the night because getting six hours of solid sleep is better than eight hours of fragmented sleep.

Use Sunscreen

In addition to the health hazards they cause, ultraviolet rays from the sun can age your skin. Too much sun can also cause discoloration (a darker pigmentation) and sunspots, notes JoHanne Doyon, makeup artist at Montage, a modeling agency in Montreal. When you go out, make sure to use sunscreen (chemical protection) or sunblock (a physical barrier) to reduce the amount of UVA and UVB rays that penetrate the skin. A sunscreen or sunblock with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 is typically adequate for everyday activity, but you may need a higher SPF if you’re going to be active or in a very hot location.

Try Age-Defying Makeup

Okay maybe this isn’t entirely natural, but foundation can hide a multitude of imperfections (colour inconsistencies, redness, etc.); trouble is it will also accentuate wrinkles and pore size. The good news is some makeup companies now offer age-defying makeup. “These age-defying products contain ingredients that smooth out pores and fine lines, so they aren’t as visible, and they contain light-reflecting minerals that reflect light in areas around the eyes, as opposed to soaking in light,” Doyon explains.

Update Your Haircut or Colour – or Both

Still wearing the same hairstyle you had 20 years ago? This will date you, according to David Lake president/owner of Sweeny Todd’s Creative Hair Design in Toronto. For a more youthful look, get a current haircut that suits you now and go shorter as you get older. Colour can also come to the rescue when grey starts to appear. For example, adding some highlights that are a shade or two lighter than a brunette’s natural colour will help disguise grey hair. “You’re making the eye look at the other colours,” Lake explains.