The Anti-Aging Law Of Compensation: You Must Apply It

The so-called civilized world we live in makes it difficult to
maintain youthful attributes and stay healthy. Fast food,
pollution, low and non-nutrition processed edibles eaten as
food, stress, medications, lack of adequate information and our
own negligence contribute to health problems and signs of
premature aging.

To get around it, you can do one of two things: just let it
happen or be on the offensive with compensating measures.

The obvious thing to do is to be on the offensive. But how do
you do that?

Let's talk about dehydration. Do you drink coffee or caffeine
drinks such as colas or so-called energy drinks? If so, then
you must compensate by drinking more water. Caffeine is
dehydrating. For every can of caffeinated soda or cup of coffee
- at least an equal amount of water is in order. If you don't
compensate, the dehydration shows up as gray, flaky dry skin.

Do you drink alcohol? It's dehydrating. That's one reason why
your face looks like the wrath of God the morning after just a
few drinks the night before. For every glass of wine or bottle
of beer, you should consume an equal amount of water - or more.
The hard stuff is even more damaging. Yes, you will be running
to the potty, but you will be compensating for the dehydration
and you will feel better in the morning because you have
eliminated a lot of the alcohol toxicity.

Alcohol also depletes B vitamins. Some folks who like a glass
of wine follow it with a B Complex capsule and a glass of
water.

Overall, caffeine and alcohol are the least egregious
offenders. Most folks don't drink an excessive amount of coffee
or alcohol on a daily basis.

There is something more damaging than daily caffeine and
occasional alcohol. It's what most people use a lot of on a
daily basis over a long period of time: prescription
medications.

Medication induced nutrient loss is responsible for more health
problems that anyone realizes. The pharmaceutical companies do
not mention nutrient loss in advertising, although warnings may
appear in literature no one reads. And chances are that
traditionally trained physicians and pharmacists aren't
educated enough about nutrition to be aware.

For example, has your physician or pharmacist ever warned you
that estrogen replacement depletes magnesium? Magnesium
depletion causes muscle weakness, depression, dizziness,
hypertension, and heart problems. That doesn't mean you should
stop taking estrogen (if in fact you choose to replace
estrogen) but you do need to make certain you are getting
enough magnesium. A physician who practices integrative
medicine will know enough to prescribe compensating nutrients.

Blood pressure medications such as Tenormin and Lopressor
deplete CoQ10 which is absolutely vital to stabilize cellular
membranes and give cells energy to function. Statin drugs that
lower cholesterol deplete CoQ10 as well.

Diuretics ("water pills") may cause magnesium, potassium, and
zinc depletion. Men with prostate problems already tend to have
zinc deficiency and if it is not supplemented the prostate can
enlarge.

Medications such as Tagamet and Pepcid cause depletion of
vitamin B12 and folic acid. A deficiency of these two vitamins
causes homocysteine levels to rise. High homocysteine causes
irritation of blood vessel walls. When cholesterol flows throw
them, it clings to the irritated walls and then you have
clogged arteries. We can't live without cholesterol. It is
vital for cell membrane integrity and hormone production among
other things. But we can't live with cholesterol when it is
clogging arteries as a result of high homocysteine.

You don't have to wait for your doctor to prescribe B12 and
folic acid. You can buy B12, preferably in the form of
methylcobalamin under-the-tongue tablets available over the
counter. Folic acid tablets are also available without a
prescription.

If you want to learn more about how prescription medications
deplete nutrients, read the Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion
Handbook by Ross Pelton, James B. Lavalle and Ernest B.
Hawkins.

Don't suffer premature aging and loss of youthful attributes
due to dietary indiscretion, neglect, or just not knowing. You
can do a lot to help yourself. When you learn to compensate, or
find a doctor who can help you avoid what you don't need, or
help with what you do need, you will stay healthier and more
youthful a lot longer.

The Anti-aging Law of Compensation is too important to ignore.
Educate, compensate, and take care of yourself! If you don't,
who will?

About The Author: Barbara Morris is author of Put Old on Hold.
Sign up for her newsletter at http://wwww.PutOldonHold.com and
receive special report, "Twelve Diva Tested Tips for Fabulous
Skin." More about medication induced nutrient depletion:
http://putoldonhold.net/DrugInducedNutrientLoss.html

.