By Oris Martin
Fitness Trainer
Edgewater Pointe Estates

Working up a good sweat when you exercise is not only good for your heart, but it’s great for your entire body, including the skin.  

How does exercise promote healthy skin? When we exercise blood flow to the skin increases, helping to nourish the cells, this also accelerates the process of removing unwanted toxins both through sweat and the bloodstream, giving you a brighter healthier, complexion. The increase in nutrients also leads to an increase in collagen production which is important in the battle against wrinkles.  

The skin is considered the largest organ in the body in both size and weight? Although the weight and surface area of skin depends largely on one’s size, the average weight of skin is about 24lbs, which accounts for about 15% of body weight.  

Three of the main functions of the skin are the protection of internal structures and organs, regulation of body temperatures, and its function as a sensory organ for touch, pressure, heat, cold and pain. It protects by acting as a barrier to keep foreign substances out, while at the same time preventing loss of essential bodily fluids. It controls temperature by sweating when you’re hot or constricting blood vessels and causing you to shiver when you’re cold.

Because your skin is part of your body, it is affected positively or negatively not only by external factors but also by our overall general health, and this includes what we eat, and of course whether we exercise.  

It is ironic that when most of us think of skin care, we generally think of the skin on our faces, rather than our entire body. It is estimated that American women spend about $3 billion a year on topical products that often make promises to remove wrinkles and give you that healthy glow, but fail to do so.

Well maybe finally we have found that elusive fountain of youth, but not it’s not in a jar. Why not give exercise a try, all it requires is an investment of time, and with a combination of good nutrition and exercise, you can have healthy glowing skin at any age.