There are too many opinions out there on what you should do to maintain a youthful complexion. These options range from miracle creams to special masks that can take 10 years off your face in two applications!

These options also include creams that cake against your face promising Botox like effects by preventing any skin movement!
Yes my thoughts exactly!

Then there are thousands of books published on the subject of looking healthy and young. Although most of these books are informative, well researched and very well written, they leave most of us feeling miserable at the prospect of having to make unsustainable and unrealistic changes to the way we live and what we eat!


Half way through some of these books, which usually are so long they could be considered Novels, if I haven’t lost the will to live, I find myself wondering whether there are easier ways of staying healthy or better editing which would have produced a more compressed version of the book.

So if you are also fed up with the false promises, the misleading descriptions of what creams, potions and lotions may or may not rejuvenate your skin, (which incidentally never work), the over priced skin products and only want concise, uncomplicated information about what to eat without changing your way of life, or just want to enhance your daily diet with ingredients that are beneficial to your health, Then this simple, short and fuss free book is for you.

Over the years I have tried many things for a more youthful complexion, mainly due to over enthusiastic female family members who insist on trying everything available out there and as a result I have formed my own opinions and regime.

I have always been asked what it is that I do to keep looking so young and how I keep fit, and I have never really had a specific reply as such until now!

I finally decided to make comprehensive notes of my entire food and drinks intake over a six months period and then began researching the ingredients that I regularly eat and one thing became clear. I tend to eat almost the same ingredients but within different recipes.

My observations further revealed that the ingredients in my diet are either anti aging or antioxidants. Up to this point I had never really given much thought to what the effects of my diet would be on my skin, I only knew that what I ate was healthy.

What I have learned through my personal research has changed the way I look at food and has reshaped my opinions and my definition of healthy.

I would like to reveal to you my secrets and to share with you some traditions that have been passed down to me through my family in the hope that you will also find benefits from it.

Let me just say at this stage that this book is meant to be a guide and you must use it as such. It is NOT a weight loss diet, although you will find that it will most certainly regulate your weight, not surprising considering you will be consuming the most beneficial diet for your body and skin.

Try it and only stick to parts that suit you or work for you and ditch the parts that don’t.

My life and my diet are fairly easy, as I am not one to make anything difficult or hard. I eat a bit of everything but more of some things that happen to be more beneficial for the skin and for one’s general health.

On that basis, it is very important that you do not think of this as just another diet, but to try and incorporate the advice given in to your life and diet and eventually make it a way of life. For only and only then will it benefit you long term.

Most Diet and nutritional books demand that you change the way you eat and exercise. This total and radical change is very ambitious on the part of the author as well as the reader. We are all accustomed to a certain diet and routine, according to our up bringing, culture, habits etc and to expect to change all that is unreasonable. So what I aim to do with this book is not to radically change your way of life but to encourage you to make additions to your diet to improve your health.

This can be done in stages and slowly. The last thing I would want is to cause further confusion at what to purchase and how to prepare your food!

I have seen people book in hand at super markets with trolleys full of groceries they have never bought before or ever seen for that matter with worried looks on their faces.

Such stress causing situations will ultimately fail.

The other vital factor in looking good for your age and feeling healthy is exercise. It is crucial that you do some sort of exercise or daily activity. Keeping fit is very important along side a healthy diet so leave your car at home and walk to destinations within one mile radius of your home or office.

Join in activities you enjoy or participate in new events which you can enjoy whilst you learn a new sporting skill. Try walking, yoga, swimming, running, Pilates, horse riding or anything else that takes your fancy. Pick an activity and try and fit it in to your week at least twice for an hour each time and you can increase it as you desire, if you so wish to.

It is also important to pick the right time to exercise. Studies have shown that the afternoon between 4 and 6 pm are the best time for exercise.


Mornings are the worst time for exercise as the body’s natural blood pressure is high and blood is at its stickiest. In addition to that, blood vessels are harder to open up to allow for faster blood flow, which is why most heart attacks happen between 6 am and noon.

It really is about remaining active and not about what you do. Taking the dog for a walk is also considered exercise! As long as it’s longer than just round the block off course!

I started Capoeira two years ago and find it an incredibly all rounded exercise and an impressive skill base to have.

Along side trying to make healthy additions to our diet and our life style we need to work on changing the bad eating habits we have developed over the years.

We are all prone to bad habits and we have all developed many throughout our lives. The important thing is to recognise them and take steps towards giving them up. For example if you have to have sugar with your tea or coffee, change the habit by replacing sugar with a healthier alternative.

Try honey or brown cane sugar, or have some dates along with your tea to provide the sweet taste that you so crave without the harms that sugar can cause.

If you aim to change your eating habits slowly with alternatives that provide the same effect, then it becomes easier to make and maintain those changes and they eventually become a way of life which in turn insures a successful long term regime.

Let’s touch on the subject of vitamins at this stage. There are many controversies surrounding vitamins and I personally prefer not to take vitamin supplements.

I believe that if one eats a stable and varied diet of fruit, vegetables and pulses which include all the colours then the body will ultimately receive all the vitamins and minerals required.

However, having said that, this will only be possible if you tend to like most things, off course there are those of us who may not like certain things or may not have the opportunities to have access to certain food types, in which case alternatives will have to be introduced or vitamin and mineral supplements taken.

Those lucky enough to like most food do not have a need for supplements other than Ginseng which I highly recommend for maintaining energy levels and a healthy nervous system.

I should mention at this stage that colour in fruits and vegetables are very important and you should try and eat as many different colours as you possibly can in your daily diet. I will draw attention to specific colours and their benefits later on in the book as we discuss the different fruits and vegetables.

Our health starts from the inside out, like most things, so let’s start looking at how we can begin the process.