Once Upon a Thigh: June/July/August 2009

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor

Where did the summer go? Well, I am combining all three months into one so I won't be too late next month as well. Thanks for allowing me to enjoy the summer like you are enjoying yours.

I have found an interesting thing again-when I exercise-I eat healthier. Are you like that? I have also found that I don't exercise as faithfully in the summer as in the winter

Remember Kristina Rowley's offer to help us be healthier? She has a new email: kristinamrowley@hotmail.com. She also has a blog: www.healthy4free.blogspot.com. You are welcome to contact her or visit her blog spot.

Elaine's Corner will return in September. She is having too much fun during the summer and needs a break. I look forward to reading her ideas and sharing them with you.

I found a great article on skin and thought I would like to share some ideas with you on something near and dear to our hearts-looking as great as we can. I think this answers some questions that many of you might have.

Saving Face - Excerpts from an Article by Cynthia Cobb, NP

Aging is not a disease, but a natural and inevitable process. The rate at which someone ages is governed by many factors. We can't stop our biological clock, but we can accelerate its movement with poor lifestyle choices. These bad choices include stress, excessive alcohol consumption, poor sleep quality, smoking, drug use, sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition and untreated hormonal imbalances. All of these put aging on the fast tract.

As women approach midlife, the ravages of time, sun, heredity, and hormones begin to take their toll. People are affected to varying degrees by these factors. This article examines the medical and cosmetic concerns associated with aging of the face in midlife women.

The Aging Face

The face ages in response to many factors. The rate and the extent to which facial aging occurs vary according to each person's unique characteristics. Two factors that have a significant impact on aging are sun exposure and smoking; each tends to accelerate the aging process.

Common skin issues in a woman's middle years are wrinkles, skin sagging, darkened skin pigment, sun or age spots, facial hair, dry skin, enlarged pores, acne, spider veins and rosacea.

Aging

The face ages in several ways. Aging also leads to a loss of the fullness and roundness of facial contours seen in youth, resulting in a flattened or sunken appearance of facial structures.

Interventions

Since 1997, the number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States has skyrocketed 457%. Women received 91% of these procedures, and men received the remaining 9%.

Botulinum Toxin A (Botox)

FDA approved this for treatment in 2003. It has been used since 1950's however off label. It is indicated for the temporary improvement of moderate to severe lines in the upper third of the face.

The effects of muscle weakness caused by botulinum toxin A are typically evident approximately 2-4 days after injection with maximal muscle weakness accomplished 7-10 days after injection. The time of onset is dependent on dose. Muscle activity typically returns approximately 2-5 months after administration and is dose dependent as well.

Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers can be used to fill pre-existing facial defects or to augment existing structures. These fillers are available in formulations that provide semipermanent, temporary or permanent results. Some of the fillers approved for cosmetic use are considered replacements while others cause stimulation of collagen production. The visible effects of dermal fillers last 2-24 months.

Other Nonsurgical Treatments

Lasers such as the fractionated lasers (Fraxel) can address many patient concerns by resurfacing the skin. These lasers can treat hyperpigmentation, rhytids, acne scars and enlarged pores. Theremage and Titan address skin sagging and stimulate the production of collagen.

Chemical peels can address many skin issues faced by women in midlife. Peels superficially injure the skin and are usually well tolerated. Repeated peels can produce significant improvement. Peels are often used to treat skin issues such as large pores, wrinkles, acne scarring, actinic keratoses, acne, rosacea and hyperpigmentation.

Microdermabrasion is an alternate choice for many of the same issues targeted by superficial peels. Microdermabrasion resurfaces the skin to improve skin quality, reduce hyperpigmentation, soften fine lines and treat acne and acne scars.

Microdermabrasion uses tiny grains of sodium chloride or aluminum oxide or diamond tips and vacuum suction to buff away the surface layer of skin.

Cosmeceuticals

In 2003, the United States cosmeceuticals market was valued at $45.5 billion, with skin care products accounting for $15 billion of that total. Heading that product list are antiaging and sun protection products.

Characteristics of cosmeceutical products should include immediate and long-lasting results, minimal side effects, preventive benefits and application to a large and varied number of skin issues.

Knowledge of the treatment options helps us as women to make appropriate choices. We have talked about slowing the aging of the FACE. Let's talk about slowing the aging of the HEART.

Four Ways to Slow Cardiac Aging
  • Control your blood sugar level: Diabetes is diagnosed when you have a 126 fasting blood glucose level. Check your sugars periodically. Even on Metformin you can become diabetic.
  • Exercise to reverse diabetes or delay onset.
  • Use low fat cooking methods and make wise food choice: helps keep LDL or bad cholesterol at less than 100, triglycerides less than 150 and good cholesterol above 50 if you are female.
  • Avoid the urge to splurge: A single high fat meal or cigarette can affect artery function.
Three Heart Age Tests
  • Stress test: An exercise stress test notes changes in your heart rate charted and compared with averages of variation for people of your age.
  • Carotid ultrasound: This test measures the thickness of the carotid artery in the neck to identify the presence of plaque and determine the arterial-wall thickness, helping doctors better predict future cardiovascular events.
  • Brachial artery reactivity: This less often used imaging procedure evaluates the aging of the blood vessels by measuring the diameter of the vessels in response to decreased blood flow.
You, as an individual, have a lot of control over how fast or slow the aging process takes place.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT-SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER

-- Carol

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