Magic pills, magic creams, magic injections, or surgery? Which is best for you?

What really works? The answer is all of the above. You can find numerous examples of people who have had success with every one. So lets examine each one.

Let's start with anti-aging, anti-wrinkle creams based on various ingredients using vitamin A, vitamin E, collagen and numerous others. Many of them do work. You can also find numerous examples of how people wasted their money on these creams–charged hundreds of dollars for one that works no better than a cream they could have bought at the dollar store. How do you know what to buy? First, stick to what is backed by good science and has shown itself to actually show marked improvement in clinical randomized placebo-controlled studies. Make sure it contains a therapeutic amount of the active ingredient. If it does not list the actual amount, do not waste your money.

Below is a list of some that have been proven to be effective:

VITAMIN A (TRETINOIN, RETINOL, RETINOID CREAMS)

ALPHA-HYDROXY ACIDS

FURFURYLADENINE (A PLANT DERIVED WATER RETENTION COMPOUND)

CO-ENZYME Q10

GREEN TEA EXTRACT

Ingredients to avoid:

SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE

SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE

The above ingredients will dry out your skin and remove essential fatty acids from your skin.

If you are able to get a prescription from your doctor, I feel that might be the best way to experience the benefits to make sure you are not wasting your money. However, if you are like me and generally prefer to avoid the doctor’s office, I can recommend you click on the VITACOST search engine on our homepage and check out the many brands they offer. I have tried a few over the years but being a typical male I generally do not like putting skin creams on my face, so I have not tried any long enough to suggest just one. Instead I avoid staying out in the sun for long periods of time.

Another alternative is to go to your doctor for BOTOX INJECTIONS. This can be expensive and in some cases painful with unwanted side effects. BOTOX is a powerful neurotoxin and will help remove wrinkles by causing a relaxing of the surrounding tissue.

Of course there are various surgeries you can have that can make you look like a movie star. You have probably seen many people, including movie stars, who have had both good and bad experiences with cosmetic surgery.

Then there are magic pills. Some you can get from your doctor do things like help you sleep, which will help keep you looking younger. There are also pills to help your Thyroid function in a more efficient manner, which in turn will make you feel better and look younger.

Then there are magic pills in the form of health supplements. Of course you have your multi supplements, which help to provide the recommended daily intake of essential vitamins and minerals that we all need just to survive. There are also supplements that target specific functions—such as antioxidants, which reduce free radical damage and inflammation, thereby slowing down the aging process.

Some natural vitamin E and vitamin C products will show immediate effects if absent from the diet and show immediate benefits once restored. That is why sailors suffered from scurvy caused by vitamin C deficiency for centuries. It was not until they discovered that taking citrus fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C did they begin to conquer the illness.

Lately there has been promising research being conducted on supplements containing anti-aging compounds primarily found in fruits, vegetables, leaves, and roots. One of the more promising is a substance called RESVERATROL. Resveratrol can be extracted from numerous substances in the plant world but one of the more recognizable sources is grape skins. In all of the available research we have found to date, several different species of animals fed Resveratrol have had significant health improvements leading to substantially longer life spans, in some cases by one third longer.

While we cannot always achieve identical results in human trials, I do know that there must have been some promising results to date on humans. The company that obtained a patent on the highly concentrated form of Reserveratrol, known as SIRTIS Pharmaceuticals, was conducting long-term human clinical trials when they were bought by GLAXO SMITH KLINE for $720 million.

Although the human clinical evidence available to the public to date is not enough for us to conclusively recommend Resveratrol, the amazing results obtained in animal studies and the overall science behind the cell-protecting properties found has lead us to take this product for ourselves.

TOP TEN TIPS FOR LOOKING YOUNGER

1. GET TO KNOW JACK LALANNE-- You probably won’t be able to acquire him as your own personal lifestyle coach or personal trainer, but if you visit his website you can learn a lot about this incredible Herculean living legend. Jack LaLanne celebrated his 93rd birthday by swimming 28 miles underwater in the Pacific Ocean from the Catalina Islands to the California Coast. Although this seems incredible, I can assure you it is almost wimpy compared to some of the other ways he has celebrated his birthdays in the recent past. From Mr. LaLanne you will learn the importance of daily exercise and proper diet. In one interview with Mr. LaLanne, he is quoted as saying he takes about 70 supplement pills a day. I hope to find out exactly what they are so I can pass that on to you. Whatever Mr. LaLanne is doing, it must be working for his beautiful wife Elaine as well. I recently caught them in an interview dancing! Believe me when I say the Dancing With The Stars cast would have a hard time keeping up with those two.

2. GET PLENTY OF DEEP, RESTFUL SLEEP-- It is imperative to be in a deep, restful sleep for your body to produce growth hormone and other essential hormones to repair all of your body’s organs including the most important one, your brain.

3. EXERCISE ON A REGULAR BASIS-- Even if it is just a 15-minute walk a day, a simple stretching routine, or wheeling yourself around in a wheelchair. Next to sleep, it is one of the most important things you can do to build lean muscle, burn fat, and release beneficial hormones to reduce stress and repair the body both physically and mentally. It’s even better if you can include some resistance training to build strong bones and lean muscle, which in turn will help burn fat.

4. EAT WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU-- Except for rare special occasions, every time you eat you should be asking yourself: Am I eating this because it is what my body needs? Is it good for me? Or am I eating it only because it tastes good, or is cheap? Think of food as fuel, not fun.

5. EAT FOODS THAT ARE HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS-- This means Fruits and Vegetables. Epidemiological studies confirm that people who eat the highest amount of antioxidants are generally healthier.

6. TAKE A GOOD MULTI SUPPLEMENT-- Most studies show significant benefits to taking vitamins minerals and various other nutrients when it is done in an informed manner. Some doctors in well-known hospitals are now routinely prescribing substances like Vitamin C to improve and speed up the healing process after surgery.

7. SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE-- All of us emit energy that is transferred to the people around us and we in turn are penetrated by their energy. Ask yourself, where would you rather live, next to a coal plant emitting thousands of tons of pollutants, or next to a beautiful park by the ocean? Which environment would give you a better life? We all wear stress on our face. It is extremely hard to hide.

8. AVOID NEGATIVE PEOPLE LIKE THE PLAGUE-- While we can’t always accomplish this, choosing to be poisoned when it is not necessary will catch up to you. Believe me, I know from which I speak.

9. LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A WAY THAT WILL BENEFIT OTHERS-- Most people that have a long, healthy, prosperous and productive life are those who focused on helping the people around them. Rather than worrying about and being absorbed with their own life, they focus on helping others. That positive energy comes back to them in numerous ways.

10. STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING--HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING is a book by Dale Carnegie, and one BSG most definitely recommends. WORRY ages, paralyzes, and destroys. All worry should be replaced by CONSTRUCTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. Read the book to learn more if you need help overcoming this age-accelerating enemy.