anti-aging?

reflections of the past
digital collage by trish moreno

3 years ago, a friend's sister came to visit from the UK. when i saw her, i was shocked at how great she looked. i could tell she didn't have any "work" done. that never looks quite right to me. she just looked more youthful. she had a glow. she looked more toned. never one to hold back my curiosity when it comes to things of beauty, i had to ask her what changed. had she been working out? was she in love? no, she said, she had started taking some extracts that were all the rage in london. as soon as she left i leapt at my laptop and googled green tea extract and grapeseed extract. wow. i read for hours. i'm not too keen on putting anything in my body without thorough research. i'm one of those people that gets a pang and thinks i must be dying. i would blame the extracts for the 50 strands of hair you lose every day if i wasn't sure it was good for me. so i read. and i read. and i decided to try it. funny enough, i had heard on the radio earlier that week that if you can just replace coffee and black tea with green tea for 21 days, you lose 10 pounds and get a more youthful glow. i was already primed to try it. i started with drinking the green tea for 21 days in place of my daily trip to king's road cafe ... literally, the absolute best, (read: strong), coffee in los angeles. i was loyal to the cause and lost about 8 pounds, not kidding. so i started taking the extracts. i lost another 8 pounds over the next few months. i have been taking them now for over 2 years, and i now drink mostly white tea which has apparently more antioxidants than the green. my weight has stabilized. i'm totally off coffee, but i do still treat myself to an occasional chai latte at kings road... even better than their coffee! i am leaner, more toned, doing yoga, and eating healthier- an unexpected side effect. people say all the time that i look years younger than my age. i'm just saying....
footnote: please do check with your doctor before taking any supplements. check out the little shop i constructed for antioxidant-rich supplements and topical treatments for your hair and skin. these are my picks for products that improve your quality of life.