While it may be true that beauty is only skin deep, ensuring that we have healthy skin, especially as we age, is something that most women obsess over.  It’s no wonder skin creams and lotions are advertised and sold as magic potions all over the world.  Unfortunately, so many of these products amount to so much snake oil. The truth is one of the most effective ways to ensure healthy skin is by consistently working out.

Two recent studies done at McMasters University in Canada demonstrated that exercise not only prolonged healthy skin, it often reversed damage caused by age.  The first study effectively showed that exercise had dramatically positive results regarding skin health all the way down to the cellular level.  In effect, exercise was rejuvenating skin cells better than even the best anti-aging cream could ever hope for.  Why?  Exercise was actually rebuilding and revitalizing the skin cells.

The second study done at McMasters University focused on a group of men and women aged between 20 and 84.  Some were active, exercising at least three hours a week, while others were sedentary.  The results were startling according to Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, who headed the study.  Men and women over the age of 40 who exercised frequently had skin health remarkably similar to individuals in their 20’s and 30’s.  These older individuals who maintained a steady exercise regimen had thinner, healthier skin.  As Dr. Tarnopolsky recently explained to The New York Times, even under microscopic examination the skin of these older, active individuals shared a much closer resemblance to younger people than with people the same age or older. 

Of course, Dr. Tarnopolsky points out that diet and genetics play a role in how our skin ages as well.  However, these two studies demonstrate quite effectively the importance of exercise in relation to the health of our skin.  So go ahead and sweat it out with me!  That’s the real fountain of youth!