Anti Aging Supplements

The recent push to television of a variety of doctor shows has created a jump in the number of people now interested in finding more information about anti-aging products. With so many options on the market and claims of amazing results, how can you determine what actually works the best for you? By taking the right anti-aging supplements and by eating a proper diet, it may be possible to slow the aging process down. The large majority of supplements don't live up to what they promise because they only go after free radicals in attempts to lower them.

Free radicals are a strong enemy that are electrically-charged molecules that attack your bodies healthy cells. A free radical can lead to others in a damaging chain reaction known as oxidation, which causes aging and skin damage. It also shows up as fine lines, wrinkles, dull skin and can cause the loss of elasticity and firmness in the skin.

Free radicals are cause by things outside and inside the body. Here is a look at some of the factors that cause this:

Internal Factors

• Eating fatty foods, processed foods, drinking alcohol and caffeine
• Chemicals produced by stress
• Standard energy production processes in our body

External Factors

• Smoking
• Pollution
• Fatigue
• UV Exposure

When looking at anti-aging supplements, here are some of the ingredients to focus on based on the impact in terms of aging.

Antioxidants serve as the adversary to free radicals and oxidation. While some antioxidants are produced in the body naturally, others we can get through supplements to add on to what our body produces. This is critical because as we grow older, the antioxidant levels in our body decreases so supplements are a necessity.

Every antioxidant is not the same though, there are some that are much more powerful than others. Often times an anti-aging supplement will advertise the product contains antioxidants, without promoting it contains the least powerful ones. You need to check the label and look for a strong antioxidant like L-GLUTATHIONE. L-GLUTATHIONE is absorbed for the most part in the liver and helps fight the damage of free radicals. It is also found in foods like tomatoes, watermelon, avocado, potatoes and asparagus.

L-GLUTATHIONE needs to be in a reduced form because at normal size it will not pass through the intestinal walls. Any tablet you take that contains L-GLUTATHIONE also needs to have an enteric coating which will protect the L-GLUTATHIONE from being broken down by stomach acid.

Also look for strong antioxidants like Green Tea, Gingko Biloba, Grape Extract and Lutein when looking at labels.

Chronic inflammation causes damage to your overall heatlh which helps contribute to the aging process. One of the top anti inflammation ingredients is Omega 3 fish oil. In addition, look for other anti inflammatory ingredients such as Resveratol (look for it in 'trans form'), Turmeric, Carnosine and Glutathione.

The more of the ingredients you can find in your anti-aging supplements, that better your chances are of fighting off free radicals. The free radicals play a role in illnesses like hear disease, osteoporosis, cancer and Alzheimer's.

As you grow older, methylation which is a normal process in your body, becomes unbalanced and not as efficient, leading to some potential risk for bad health and the beginning of degenerative disease. To keep methylation balanced, look for these ingredients in the supplements:

• SAMe (S-Adenosyl-Methionine) - because this is expensive, it will only be found in the top of the line supplements.
  
• Tri-Methyl-Glycine (TMG) - also known as 'Betaine'
• B Vitamins - B6, B12 and Folic Acid

Glycation can be avoided by preparing foods correctly. Cooking at high temperatures can lead to glycation. Eating a lot of junk food is not a good idea as well. If your blood sugar level is above 100mg/dl, glycation is much more likely to occur. If this happens to you, immediately cut back on the starchy foods in your diet and load up on extra veggies, salads and protein.

Glycation causes premature aging as well as is a leading cause of health problems in diabetics. To help avoid glycation, look for supplements that contain benfotiamine and carnosine. Benfotiamine helps to protect the nerves and blood vessels against damage from glycation. Carnosine protects proteins from getting attacked by glycotoxins.