People who suffer from mild or even moderate acne will usually recover without any serious scars. In severe cases however, scarring is almost an inevitable problem. Don’t lose hope – new treatments can help to minimize scarring and there are new techniques that can even remove existing scars.

Pimples will often leave behind a patch of discolored skin. This discoloration isn’t actually a scar – it usually clears up within a few months. Marks that remain for more than a year are considered to be scars.

The healing process can sometimes be accelerated by using medications like Retin-A, Renova and Alpha-Hydroxy. Sunshine can lead to further skin damage so always be sure to wear sunscreen when you are exposed to the sun for any length of time.

How To Prevent Scars

Scarring can be prevented with active treatment and self control. One of the most common things to lead to scarring is picking or squeezing acne. People often squeeze pimples, but this is one of the worst things they can do. This can cause skin damage which can lead to scarring, plus it can cause the bacteria that causes acne to spread, making the condition worse.

You also need to avoid picking scabs that form over acne lesions. These scabs are a part of the healing process and if they’re picked off, it exposes the skin underneath which can lead to it not healing properly and scarring.

How to Treat Scars

Acne scars can be treated in a number of different ways. If the scarring is not too severe, a chemical peel may be an effective treatment. This will remove the top layer of skin and allow the cells beneath to rejuvenate themselves.

Severe cases of scarring can be treated with lasers or dermabrasion techniques. Lasers will remove the damaged layer of skin and tighten the underlying skin, raising the depression that the scar has caused.

Dermabrasion gets rid of scars by literally scraping away the surface of the skin where the scarring occurred. A new layer of skin is formed during healing, replacing the layer that was removed.

John Lenaghan writes about herbal acne remedy choices on the Acne Squad website. For more information visit http://www.acnesquad.com

Six Reasons Why the Mediterranean Diet Contributes to a Longer, Healthier Life

Over the course of many generations, observers have been able to discern that the people who populate the region around the Mediterranean Sea live longer lives than do men and women in some other parts of the world. Historically, the reason most often attributed to the longevity of the people of the Mediterranean region was climate. However, as researchers became more adept and as scientific methods became more sophisticated, it became clear that while the weather patterns of the Mediterranean area generally were pleasant and inviting, it was the diet of the people in the region that accounted for their longer lives.

There are a number of specific factors related to the Mediterranean diet that nutritionists and medical experts believe contribute to longevity. The more important of these elements are discussed within the confines of this article for your information and guidance.

1. Restorative Effects of the Mediterranean Diet

Many of the specific food items that are part of a Mediterranean diet regimen are high in anti-oxidants. Scientifically speaking, anti-oxidants are important compounds found in certain foods and beverages that work to neutralize the destructive nature of oxidants or free radicals that are found in the human body. Oxidants or free radicals are produced when the body burns oxygen to produce energy. In other words, oxidants really can be considered waste that pollutes the human body.

Over time, the accumulation of oxidants in the body accelerates the aging process. Cells wear and lose their elasticity. Organs end up functioning less efficiently and effectively. Indeed, recent scientific research has demonstrated that oxidants clog arteries raising the threat of stroke. Oxidants are found to contribute to cancer, heart disease and diabetes — the major diseases most responsible for causing people to have premature deaths.

The types of fruits and vegetables that form the foundation of the Mediterranean diet — including richly colored and leafy green vegetables — which are high in anti-oxidants, have a restorative and life prolonging effect on the typical human body.

2. Reducing Cancer Risks

In most parts of the world, cancer of various types is the leading cause of premature death. Studies undertaken by researchers in Europe, Japan and the United States in the past thirty years have demonstrated that the Mediterranean diet effectively reduces the risks of certain types of cancers.

A diet that is high in fresh fruits and vegetables has been shown to be effective in reducing the risks of a wide array of different types of cancers. As has been noted previously, the Mediterranean diet includes the generous consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.

The Mediterranean diet includes very little animal fat. There is a direct link between the consumption of animal fat and colorectal cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease that oftentimes takes the lives of people in their forties and fifties.

Olive oil (truly the foundation of the Mediterranean diet) had been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

By reducing the risks poised by cancer, the lifespan of men and women has been shown to increase appreciably in studies that have followed groups of people over time.

3. Reducing Coronary Heart Disease Risks

Coronary heart disease is one of the top three causes of premature death throughout the world — except in the Mediterranean region. Researchers have concluded that diet has played a large and important role in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease amongst the people who populate the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

An important study in seven countries (Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Finland, United States, Netherlands and Japan) demonstrated that those people who followed a Mediterranean diet regimen were less likely to have coronary heart disease and were less likely to have their lives cut short because of serious and ultimately fatal heart conditions.

4. Reducing Hypertension

On some level, the jury is still out on the direct effects between diet and hypertension or high blood pressure. With that said, it clearly has been demonstrated that hypertension and high blood pressure is responsible for premature deaths the world over. In addition, there is strong evidence to suggest that eliminating certain items from a diet — like processed salts — can work to reduce the risk of hypertension.

Additionally, there is evidence to support the proposition that a diet high in fiber and low in animal fats (like that of the Mediterranean region) works to reduce the threat of hypertension and premature death from this disease.

5. Diabetes Prevention and Control

The Mediterranean diet is well suited to staving off the serious effects of diabetes. The incidence of premature death because of diabetes is lower in those regions in which the Mediterranean diet is practiced. Because diabetes is a disease that can be controlled through diet, electing to utilize the Mediterranean regimen can work to add literally years to a person’s life.

6. The Cumulative Effect of the Mediterranean Diet

It is important to note that the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet appear to be cumulative over time. In the other words, the longer a person practices the dining habits of the Mediterranean plan, more of inherent physical benefits of this healthy eating regimen will be ingrained into a person’s makeup. Simply put, the benefits of a Mediterranean diet literally are stored up over time, increasing a person’s lifespan and adding to his or her overall health and wellbeing not only now but well into the future.

Site Owner & Publisher Ray Darken – You can gain much more detail from Ray’s sites along with other relevant information at The Mediterranean Diet or http://www.safe-and-easy-weightloss.com/wordpress/

“It ain’t fun getting’ old… but it beats the alternative.” Surprising new research indicates that a low carb diet may help us live longer. Since some of my friends have been so rude as to suggest that I’m “older than dirt” I thought it would be a good idea to learn more about aging… especially how to slow it down.

“The Anti-Aging Solution” seminar featured Vincent Giampapa, M.D. cofounder of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, which now has more than 2,000 physician members. The seminar included the usual anti-aging strategies that we are familiar with but don’t always practice, such as reducing stress, eating the right foods, taking natural health supplements, heart vitamins and of course getting enough exercise.

Then it started to get real interesting. Doctor Giampapa and his associates have taken these strategies to a new level by showing how our genes are affected by our lifestyle. Since I a proponent of the low carb eating approach, the role that sugar and other refined carbohydrates play in prematurely aging us was especially fascinating. The typical American diet of white flour products, snacks and fast foods quickly turns into glucose creating a domino effect, which plays havoc with our healthy heart goals.

Although the clinical studies showing the connection between low carb diets and longevity are recent, the evidence is very compelling. Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, a noted anti aging researcher at U.C. San Francisco, has conducted an amazing experiment. Dr. Kenyon turned down the activity on a single gene in lowly earthworms and extended their life by an astounding 600%.

What is so interesting about this gene is that the human counterpart is a critical network of genes known as the insulin gene pathway which influences aging, fat storage and metabolism.

Here’s how it works. Sugar is toxic to cells, (as a sweet-o-holic it pains me to write this) and this glucose overload causes the cells to become insulin resistant over time. When this happens you develop diabetes and are susceptible to a host of other life threatening diseases. Medical researchers tell us that the vast majority of overweight people suffer from insulin resistance.

“High carb diets are lethal because they produce high levels of insulin and prevent your body from burning fat,” says Jonny Bowden, a certified nutrition specialist and author of the book, “Living the Low-Carb Life.”

Research data consistently finds three common factors in people who are mentally and physically fit and live to be at least 100 years old. The first is low triglycerides, the second is high levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), and the third is a low level of fasting insulin.

“A low-carb diet improves all these variables,” says Bowden. “So bingo, you just hit your three longevity bull’s-eyes. Add exercise and sleep, which are proved to raise HDL, and you’ve got it made!”

Sounds like a good plan to me. Take advantage of these strategies to slow aging and improve your heart health for life!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The cardiologist looked up from the treadmill report and grimly stated, “You are a walking time bomb. You need to go to the hospital immediately.” Two days later a heart surgeon sawed open Gene Millen’s chest and stitched in bypasses to six clogged arteries.

“A six way heart bypass isn’t a record” said Gene, “but it’s not bad for a skinny 59 year old with normal cholesterol and blood pressure. The villains and heroes in the heart attack melodrama may surprise you as they have me.”

Gene Millen reviews new research on heart attack risks that are more dangerous than high cholesterol… and how natural supplements and heart vitamins can send them packing! Check out The Heart Health website at http://www.heart-health-for-life.com

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