Simply Anti Aging is a complete anti aging site - packed full of anti aging tips, treatments and techniques to help you look younger and feel fantastic - whatever your age.

Beauty and age are never just skin deep. Take a look at anti aging from the inside out….from the top ten super foods to the latest anti aging creams.

Read about the celebrities who seem to look younger with every year - and how they do it. Find out about the aging process in your thirties, forties and fifties. Get the low down on the latest anti aging trends from breast implants to anti aging ingredients.

Enter your email address in the box above and get the latest articles off the site delivered straight to your inbox.

Take time to find some other great places on Simply Anti Aging:

Get the latest trends in anti aging skin care from dermatologists to plastic surgeons - brand names are changing nowadays

Take a look at our six tips to prevent wrinkles and if you want a non-surgical anti aging treatment find out if contour thread lifts really work and whether thermage is all it's cracked up to be

Tempted by botox? Find out how to budget for what might become an addiction - discover the full cost of botox injections.

Check out the haircare site for the latest on gray hair over 40; the do's and don'ts of choosing the right hair color, how to make your hair color last between treatments; great make up tips for gray hair and lots more

Visit the spider veins and rosacea site and get some great practical tips on dealing with these difficult conditions

Browse the lifestyle site for the full facts on making postive anti aging lifestyle choices. Find out why you should quit smoking, overcome stress and have a healthier, toned body by losing abdominal fat and building core muscle and suppleness through anti aging exercise

Our aim is to simplify and explain the huge range of anti aging options out there so that you can make informed choices. The ultimate aim - to help you look younger and feel great.

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Think back to your youth - you probably felt at your best when you were in your early twenties. Hormone levels were at their peak so your body was able to send messages easily in response to any damage to cells.

Cell repair was lightening fast - your skin was supple and your body firm.

You're probably not going to be surprised to hear that hormone levels decline with age - and this has huge implications for what happens to our bodies.

But first - just why are hormones so important and what do they do?

Hormones are messenger chemicals that spark changes in the body. Everyone knows about the surge of hormonal activity at the onset of puberty when a massive increase in the hormones leads to changes in body shape, reproductive systems and brain function.

Hormones carry on working for us right throughout our lives in a variety of ways:

• inhibition of growth or stimulation of growth
• inhibition or activation of the immune system
• starting cell death
• stopping cells from dying
• speeding up or slowing down the metabolism

Time does eventually take its toll on the production of hormones. The initial surge in puberty levels off in our twenties and then gradually dimishes as we grow older. Nothing our grandparents or even our parents could have done about declining hormone levels - but for us - with advances in modern medecine - things are different.

Now it is possible to boost your hormone levels as you grow older and to recover some of the energy and vitality of your youth. The most powerful of the hormone supplements that you may want to consider are:

• HGH Human Growth Hormone - called the anti aging wonder drug and the subject of some controversy around its exact effect on the body
• DMAE - 2-dimethylaminoethanol - a chemical produced by the brain whose prime function is to keep the brain active and acute
• DHEA - dehydroeplandrosterone - a hormone the regulates metabolism enabling the body to use energy and nutrients more efficiently

You may be tempted to try to boost your levels of these essential hormones - but go carefully. Supplementing your hormone levels is not a straightforward thing to do.

Research is emerging all the time and there are mixed results. Not only that but you need to be careful what you do - increasing the body's natural level of hormones is not something to do without a bit of knowledge and research.

So - take a look around some of the specific articles on this site on HGH, DMAE and DHEA before deciding to buy anti aging hormone supplements.

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You may have heard that HGH is an anti aging wonder hormone and that it can eliminate the signs of aging. There is a huge amount written and claimed about human growth hormone and much of it is hype.

So - here's some basic background information to help you negotiate your way through the hype jungle. Human growth hormone is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the pituitary gland in animals and at the centre of all human hormone production.

Production of human growth hormone peaks in puberty - as you might expect - to cope with the surge in body growth at this time. From then on - it's downhill all the way with HGH production slowly declining over the course of your life.

Between the ages of 21 and 60 the level of human growth hormone circulating in our bodies declines by 80%. Decline of HGH secretion continues and accelerates with age and by the age of 80 most people have extremely low levels.- "not enough to build a fingernail" in one expert's words.

Although HGH was first discovered in the 1950's - in the last thirty years interest in human growth hormone as an anti aging miracle substance has been huge.

Human growth hormone research studies performed in the last thirty years have shown that raising levels of HGH can result in an impressive list of changes including:

• losing fat
• building muscle mass
• improving sexual performance
• removing wrinkles
• increasing immune function

Seem too good to be true? Probably not - after all - HGH is the master hormone which is secreted by the pituitary gland and is responsible for directly and indirectly balancing the body's critical hormone levels.

Most of these claims are backed up by proper clinical research studies done with controlled groups of volunteers. In one study researchers found an average of 14% body weight loss - without dieting.

Another study showed that supplementing human growth hormone increased muscle mass of participants by 9% on average without exercise.

As a result human growth hormone has become a staple in the body builder's medicine cabinet and HGH sites are often covered with alarming pictures of over-developed body perfectionists. This kind of attention has also been off putting to other people interested in the hormone as an anti aging supplement.

But before you rush off to try to find HGH supplements - consider the downsides. The difficulty is that there isn't a totally satisfactory way of raising the body's natural levels of human growth hormone.

You can't increase levels of HGH by changing your diet as it's a hormone produced by your body and isn't available in foods. Neither can you just go online and order an HGH supplement or find one on your local drugstore counter.

If you want to raise the level of HGH in your body you have two choices - human growth hormone injections or natural supplements (herbal releasers) that stimulate your body to produce more HGH. Often these herbal releasers are called 'HGH supplements' but that's incorrect and misleading.

Both HGH injections and HGH releasers have disadvantages and a sensible level of caution will avoid you being sucked into the hype that surrounds human growth hormone. Above all you want to avoid the Rocky look.

In the end you may just conclude that the decline in levels of human growth hormone is a natural part of aging and accept it!

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There are many other benefits to popping a little golden capsule of omega 3 on a daily basis - but those two facts are  probably enough for most of us right there.

Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid and fatty acids are vital for the proper functioning of every cell in your body.

Omega 3 fatty acids maintain the structure and fluidity of the cell membrane making sure nutrients enter the cell and waste products are removed. As your body can't make these fatty acids - it has to constantly replenish them from food intake - hence the label: "essential fatty acids" or EFA.

You probably already know that there are good and not so good fatty acids. Too much saturated fat for example clogs up your cell membranes because these fats remain solid at room temperature. Diets containing large amounts of saturated fats produce unhealthy cell membranes that are hard and lacking in fluidity.

On the other hand - omega 3 fatty acids are liquid at room temperature which contributes to the fluidity of the cell membrane.

Diets rich in omega 3 fats produce cell membranes with a high degree of fluidity so connections within your brain will be stronger and quicker. Your brain - and consequently your whole body - works better.

Unfortunately the average western diet contains an excess of saturated fat and depleted levels of omega 3 fatty acids. Your mother may have told your that fish was good for the brain - she may not have been able to explain exactly why - but she was right.

Two very important omega 3 fatty acids which you may have seen on supplement labels are EPA and DHA both of which are found in high levels in fish and seafood. So if you're going to get your essential fatty acids from fish then stick to oily fish like: salmon, halibut, tuna, mackerel, trout, sardines, eel and herring.

White fish is still a great thing to eat of course but it won't give you the levels of Omega 3 you need.

The effects of a high fish oil diet on the brain is well known nowadays. But omega 3 as a skin conditioner is less well known.  Omega 3 fatty acids are magic for your skin - keep skin cells moist and strong  which is an essential element of younger looking skin.

Recent studies have shown that a diet low in essential fatty acids - and that's around 99% of US citizens - can lead to dry skin and premature wrinkles. Boosting your intake of fatty acids will do wonders for the smoothness and radiance of your skin.

So - if you want your skin to look younger AND boost your brain power - add omega 3 supplements to you anti aging diet.

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Seems like a great time to get out our anti aging crystal ball and peer into it.

Just what exciting, weird, wacky and wonderful anti aging treatments are scientists cooking up for us?

Here's our top predictions for younger looking skin in 2008 and beyond…..

Instant facelifts - no really… space agency scientists and cosmetic chemists have already produced quick lift skin creams based on extreme cooling technology. Freeze 24/7 was an early version but the latest - from Icy Beauty - is due to launch shortly and claims to reduce wrinkles by over a third within an hour. How long it lasts and whether it really works in practice is yet to be seen but the drive to replace Botox and plastic surgery with topically applied anti wrinkle creams is a big trend.

Stem cell technology - stem cells have a unique ability to protect and repair skin tissue. Dior's Capture R60 and R80 are the most important products arising from this research with a unique ability - so it's claimed - to protect the skin from further damage and deterioration.

Stem cell injections - Russian anti aging research is focusing on using stem cells harvested from your own body to actually rejuvenate your skin. The downside is that the procedure is hugely expensive, untested and illegal in most of the world. Critics of the treatment say that it's unproven and unlikely to work - and at $30,000 a go - way beyond the reach of most of us.

Human Growth Factors - not to be confused with human growth hormones - human growth factors (HGF) are a major focus for anti aging research by most big skincare companies. HGF can be applied topically and have a big impacton skin repair and collagen production.  The technology is here now and available - SkinMedica's TNS Recovery Complex is the product to go for with the highest level of HGF on the market.

Skull lifts - facelifts aren't enough apparently - the bones of the face move with age and contribute to the aging look of our faces - it's not just our skin that goes south with age! The good news is that the research is focusing on injections to prevent the bone shift rather than using the knife to correct it.

So that's it - that's what the future might hold for some of us.

And the question for anyone interested in the drive to look younger - just how far do you want to takeit?

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I was reminded how effortlessly she manages this by a surprise Christmas present - the complete series of 'Prime Suspect'.

Starting off in the power-dressing days of 1991 when Mirren was in her mid forties - 'Prime Suspect' is (among many other things) a video diary of one woman's aging process.

OK - she is in character and Jane Tennison certainly isn't Helen Mirren.

For one thing nobody could smoke as much as Tennison does in the early series and end up looking as good as Mirren does now.

The fashion and lifestyle choices - poor food, drinking and smoking to excess - none of that is the real Helen Mirren. But through the hard edges of the character she plays and without any photo enhancement or soft focus filming - Mirren manages to look great.

It's a lot more difficult to say exactly how she does this.

At the core of it is inner confidence and intelligence. She has great poise and command in the way she holds her body and in the tilt of her head. The lines and wrinkles and the way time changes her face simply don't matter.

For those of us chasing the anti aging goal of looking younger - or at least looking good for our age - that's quite an important lesson.

Taking good care of yourself and enhancing what you have is an essential part of feeling confident and looking younger. Obsessing about your appearance is a total turn off!

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But in recent years a growing number of very young women with barely a wrinkle to show are booking themselves in for the same anti aging treatments as their mothers.  So just why are women so keen to look younger even before they start to age?

It seems that non surgical procedures like botox to are sought after by young women to make them look as flawless as the images they see in magazines.

It's not so much about a need to look younger but a wish to look better - and maybe also preventing wrinkles from forming later on.

A common procedure for younger women is botox to deal with early frown lines and brow creases. And it's almost seen as part of a regular beauty routine: "I feel like you highlight your hair, you get teeth whitened," says one 25 year old quoted in a recent newpaper article, "Botox is just one more thing to do."

It's partly down to greater awareness. There's so much more coverage of anti aging procedures like botox and facial fillers like restylane. Young women are seeing their mothers getting treatments and they follow what their favorite celebrities do - many of whom are just as young as they are.

As a result plastic surgeons are reporting requests from people whose wrinkles are difficult to find - let alone treat.  So - as the anti aging market expands to include the 20+ age group - it's no wonder annual botox shots are up around the 5 million mark for the US alone.

The greatest rise in demand - from all ages - has been for for non invasive treatments that skip the scalpel and focus on adding volume to the face and smoothing skin texture.

The reason is easy to figure - who wants the pain and downtime of surgery if you can get a good result without it.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons - if you want younger looking skin then loss of volume is one of the most important things to deal with.  Naturally - science has provided the solution and the new facial fillers approved by the Food and Drug Administration in recent years have been revolutionizing the way doctors deal with aging.

As new and better facial fillers are developed products like Restylane, Perlane and Juvederm have almost become household brand names.

Increased demand has reduced prices and women of all ages are starting to see anti aging as just another part of their beauty routine.

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Like many women you may be increasingly concerned about cellulite as you get older - those little dimples in your thighs certainly don't help you look younger.  If you're thinking of doing something about it - then you could be tempted by the media hype around mesotherapy.

But before you rush off to the nearest clinic - take a while to think about whether anti cellulite injections are really for you.

So - what's involved?

Mesotherapy involves injecting a specially mixed cocktail of chemicals into the area where you have the cellulite. This chemical cocktail could include vitamins, herbal extracts and drugs.

Although these drugs have been approved by the FDA - they haven't been approved for the treatment of cellulite. The FDA has never approved any drugs specifically for the treatment of cellulite.

What you get is what's called 'off-label' drugs - FDA approved drugs used for other purposes. Effectively the treatment you get is not covered by FDA approval in any form.

You might wonder what's in the chemical mixture that will be injected into your thighs or bottom or wherever else you have cellulite. Well..the truth is there is no set forumla - every doctor is free to decide what to include in their own special mixture. Remember - this is a completely non-regulated process.

Generally - your doctor should select active chemicals according to their ability to deal with the main symptoms and causes of cellulite:

soften connective tissue

break up fat

stimulate circulation

encourage lymphatic drainage

The idea behind the injection is that delivering active chemicals directly to the source of the problem should work better than applying them topically.

That is likely to be true - topical cellulite creams are notoriously unreliable since they fail to penetrate the surface layer of the skin.

So the theory seems to be a good one. The problem is there is no clinical data to show the effectiveness and safety of the results.

Since each doctor uses their own 'recipe' you've got no way of deciding how they all stack up - which Doctor and which mixture will do the job best.

And it's not a cheap procedure. You will probably require around 5-10 sessions each one costing about $150 each. Since it isn't a cure for cellulite - the condition may come back. So you need to build the cost of repeat sessions at a later date.

So while you may be keen to get your cellulite fixed - you may be better advised to wait till the treatment has been properly tested and results are clear.  As an alternative - think about a liposuction alternative for stubborn areas of fat and cellulite.

If you do go ahead with mesotherapy - choose your doctor very carefully - or you could end up losing more money than cellulite.

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It affects most women and certainly most women over 40. It may be airbrushed out or covered by body doubles in Hollywood - but cellulite affects the world's rich and famous too.

And does the fact that most of us have cellulite mean that we accept it as natural? Not a bit of it. Nothing is more hated by women and a whole industry had grown up around getting rid of it. But can you….and how?

Cellulite treatments - I'm talking clinic-based, machine treatments NOT topical creams and lotions - have taken a huge leap forward in recent years because of the laser.

Well - to be perfectly correct here - the best cellulite treatments involve both laser and radio frequency heat and both these approaches are usually combined with deep tissue or suction massage to help firm those lumps and bumps we hate so much

Laser-based cellulite treatments appear to have a higher success rate than most other cellulite treatments which often result in very little improvement. Not surprising when you think about it.

The problems associated with cellulite are deep below the surface of the skin. Heat based systems work because the energy from certain types of laser and radio frequency machines reaches the junction between skin and fat tissue which topical treatments or massage on it's own just can't.

So - if this is something you might consider - here's some information about what are likely to be two of the best cellulite treatments available:

TriActive - A cellulite machine which combines a low-energy laser, a skin-cooling mechanism, and suction massage. The goal is to stimulate collagen, circulation, and lymphatic drainage in the lower skin layer and below while protecting the skin by cooling. Because no FDA approval is neccessary you don't need a licensed physician to treat you. There's not much data around yet but early results seem good. It's not clear how long the effects of the treatment will last and as it's likely to cost you up to $1,500 for a course of TriActive treatments - that matters!

VelaSmooth - Another cellulite machine but with a different combination of radiofrequency energy, infrared laser and suction massage. The heat generated by the radiation from the RF (Radiofrequency) causes some fat cells to burst. The infrared light heats the juncture between skin and fat to improve circulation 'remodel' connective tissue. The suction massage evens out the newly softened tissue and stimulates drainage. Velasmooth claim that this combined approach reduces cellulite by 50% or more. Downside is you need ten sessions and at $200 a pop it's not going to be cheap. Unlike TriActive, VelaSmooth has FDA approval and can only be operated by a licensed physician. There is no proper clinical evidence of how good VelaSmooth is but so far customer experience seem to be promising.

Of the two - VelaSmooth is more likely to be effective although it is a bit more risky and more expensive. At least you will be treated by a licensed physician - but there are absolutely no guarantees of results.

Neither of these treatments seem to give any indication of just how long the results will last or what top-up cellulite treatments are needed. Ask these questions at the clinics you look at - you need to know just how much money you're going to need to maintain the effects.

Take a look at my anti aging treatment checklist to help you choose a good physician and take your time before committing your cash.

And stay realistic. Even the best cellulite treatment won't banish your cellulite completely and certainly not in time for this summer's swimsuit appearance. Choose wisely though and next summer could be different!

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According to About.com, drinking water has absolutely no effect on skin moisture levels.  Drink water if you want but only to keep your 'insides' healthy was the advice given.

This is a very surprising answer since just about every dermatologist out there tells us we should drink water for skin health and to hydrate the skin. I did a quick review and found that respected dermatologists like Daniel Maes (Head of Research for Estee Lauder), Nicholas Perricone, Dr Murad and countless others less famous but no less qualified all say drinking water is important to keep skin hydrated.  And hydrated skin is younger looking skin as we all know.

The fact is skin - just like any other part of the body - is made up of cells. All the cells in our body are interconnected. You simply can't separate your 'insides' from your 'outsides' and say they are somehow different.

And skin cells like any other cell in the body are almost entirely made up of water. Without water the organs in the body - and the skin is the biggest - won't function properly.

Loss of hydration in the skin shows in all sorts of ways - dryness, tightness, flakiness. Dry skin has less resilience and is more prone to wrinkling. Water is essential to maintain skin moisture and is the vehicle for delivering essential nutrients to the skin cells. As water is lost in large quantities every day - it stands to reason you have to replace it somehow.

Taking water into the body by drinking sufficient during the day is important but most dermatologists will tell you that to maintain the skin's moisture levels you need to keep it there too.

"The Water Principle is not just about drinking four, eight or 12 glass a day, its about getting water into cells and keeping it there"

Dr Murad, Clinical dermatologist and creator of Murad Skin Care

Here's a quick summary of the main points of a recent interview with Dr Murad:

• drink water throughout the day at regular intervals
• eat fresh fruit and vegetables which add a lot of water to the diet as well as antioxidants and fiber
• drink milk and fruit juice as additional sources of water
• take essential fatty acid supplements like evening primrose oil or flaxseed
• take glucosamine supplements to hold moisture in cells
• use a good daily moisturizer

Another of my favoritie skin care advisers is Dr Todorov at Smart Skin Care Dr Todorov has a Phd in Biology and an MS in Molecular Biology, and between you and me - he knows a thing or two about skin.  Dr Todorov recently got asked the same question as About.com by one of the visitors to his site and here's what he had to say:

"It is true that drinking lots of water helps keep the skin moist. However, it is best to drink most of your water during the day, and not drink excessive amounts of fluids at night, particularly within 2 hours before going to bed. Otherwise, many people tend to get morning puffiness that promotes facial sag."

Dr Todorov

That last point is a great tip for preventing puffy eyes - how many of us (me included) go to bed with a glass of water by the bed.  That's OK as long as you save it till first thing in the morning.

So - how did About.com get this so wrong? Difficult to say unless it's the common problem of of trying to say something startling or different to attract readers.

My view is simple.  So many skin care experts are unlikely to be wrong. If highly qualified people with real knowledge and experience tell me that drinking water helps to hydrate my skin - I'm going to believe them.

And anyway isn't that just what your plain old common sense tells you too?

Now - there's still a long time to go till bed-time - so where's that bottle of mineral water?

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