As we get older, our bodies go through natural processes that can cause dry skin. Although we should treat the condition topically with skin care products that help alleviate the problem, it’s also wise to do whatever we can to make the dietary, nutritional and lifestyle changes that can help mitigate the damage caused by aging.

What are the most important things to do as we age? Primarily what we’re fighting is the fact that our bodies don’t function quite as well as they used to. They’re really just fleshy machines, after all, and they wear out. However, many scientists think they don’t have to wear out quite as fast as they do. In fact, there are several cultures around the world with populations that live well into their nineties and beyond 100 who enjoy relatively good health and high activity levels right up to the time they pass on.

These people often have supple, smooth skin even at an advanced age. And the only skin care products they’ve ever used have come straight from the animals, vegetables or minerals they have on hand. Ironically, we who have access to literally thousands of skin care products can’t wait to get our hands on whatever they’re using.

What’s their secret? Generally speaking, they live a natural lifestyle – they eat unprocessed, fresh, local food grown in mineral-rich soils. They usually eat minimal animal products and those they do eat come from animals never exposed to hormones, antibiotics or chemical-laden feed. And they’ve spent their lives grazing the range instead of being locked up in a cage little bigger than they are.

In other words, they are living as nature intended. As a result, they’re healthier and in better shape than cultures with modern medicine, and they’re not looking for skin care products to make them look younger. They already do.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to live like that in a modern environment. We can’t eat what they eat, we can’t live in a completely chemical-free environment, and we do need skin care treatment. However, we can make sure we do whatever possible to emulate their lifestyle, replace the nutrients we’re losing, get rid of whatever chemicals we can, and use natural skin care products.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

- Add more high quality fats and oils to your diet. Coconut oil and olive oil are best: They’ll enhance every system, organ and function in your body, and they’re great for skin care.

- Take probiotics. Do a little research and find the best you can get. Probiotics promote a healthy digestive system – without which, we can’t process food or absorb nutrients.

- Sleep well, and long enough. You’ve probably noticed what happens to skin when you haven’t had enough sleep. Bags, sags, wrinkles – you can look ten years older overnight! Instead of expensive skin care products that reduce those unsightly flaws, go to bed earlier.

- Exercise. One of the common denominators in all the cultures that live into their hundreds, and are healthy, is exercise. They don’t go to the gym, but their life demands activity. Believe it or not, a 20-minute walk every day will probably do for cardiovascular fitness, but give your other muscles a work out, too. Use it, or lose it – as they say.

- Protect yourself from chemicals that can’t be avoided. Once you’ve eliminated all you can, you’re still not going to be in a pollution or chemical-free environment. Your best bet for this is a shielding lotion. A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a new protective layer that keeps out chemicals. It also locks in natural moisture – so you’re killing two birds with one stone.

Many people live in pain or discomfort for the last 10 or 20 years of their lives. They don’t feel good, their energy level is low, and their skin has really had the biscuit. With the few simple suggestions above and natural skin care treatment , you might feel and look good for much longer. Give it a try, and don’t forget the shielding lotion!

According to a recent TV news report, about 40% of kids in the U.S. struggle with eczema during the summer. The reporter stated that eczema is caused by a reaction to foreign substances such as “pool water,” and attributed this reaction to an over-active immune system – which is an abnormality. However, many skin care experts see this type of reaction as perfectly normal.

Although there are some people who are particularly sensitive to some substances and do have a tendency to ‘over-react’, it is also true that as nations have industrialized and as we have incorporated more chemicals into our daily lifestyle, the incidence of eczema has increased significantly.

As for the ‘pool water’ example, professional swimmers are constantly searching for skin care products that can handle the damage done by chlorine. According to the Material Safety Data Sheet on chlorine, it is known to cause skin burns and other skin disorders even with relatively short term contact – which is one of the reasons why swimmers are advised to shower as soon as they get out of the pool. In fact, skin problems are an occupational hazard with swimmers. It is a normal reaction to this harsh and irritating chemical. Swimmers also get sick from the chlorine gas coming off the pool and when it combines with the steam of a hot after-swim shower.

If we drank chlorine we’d wind up calling the poison control center and doing everything we could to get it out of our system. Is that also an over-active immune system? No, it’s exposure to a poison and the body’s attempt to get rid of it.

However, one thing the TV news report did say is that doctors recommend creating a barrier between the skin and the environment as a solution. Correct. But you can’t do that with traditional moisturizers or similar skin care products because they, too, contain chemicals that will dry the skin and compromise the integrity of the outer protective layer.

One skin care solution now being recommended by thousands of doctors is a shielding lotion. A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a new protective layer than locks in natural moisture and keeps chemicals out. It’s not greasy and, best of all for swimmers, it doesn’t wash off.

Most dry skin, eczema and other skin conditions caused by contact with a chemical substance aren’t any more abnormal than needing to breath clean air. We need clean air for our respiratory health, for our health in general, and for healthy skin.

Unfortunately, clean air is getting harder and harder to find. Scientists are looking for solutions but, in the meantime, we need to use skin care treatment products that reduce the damage environmental chemicals can cause and which don’t cause further irritation. Shielding lotion is at the top of the list.