Black Don't Crack, Part Three: Yes, it does -- if you drink alcohol!

Wrinkles! There isn't a soul on the planet that's looking forward to getting those creases all over their bodies  -- but there are very few of us who are willing to do the work that it takes to make sure they don't show up in the first place.  Doing the work means ridding your life of all toxins and carcinogens and taking exercise seriously enough to do it every day.

You're probably thinking, sure -- everybody drinks and gets trashed once in awhile. Everybody smokes cigarettes, smokes pot, smokes all kinds of stuff. Everybody eats fast food. Everybody has a personal list of vegetables that they just don't like -- and even if you don't, it's not that easy to eat healthfully or organically.  Except that's not true -- everybody doesn't do those things.  Some people never do. If you happen to be one of those people and if you exercise and slather yourself with sunscreen and antioxidants -- and eat your antioxidants, too -- congratulations are definitely in order. You have stopped the clock.

In Black Don't Crack: Part One, I emphatically declared that the world should wear sunscreen. In Black Don't Crack: Part Two, I stated the obvious and said don't smoke.  Here I go again, stating the obvious: DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL.

Surprise! Alcohol -- even in moderate amounts -- isn't good for your skin or the rest of your body, either. You probably already knew that but look at it this way: your skin is your largest organ, so if there's something wrong with you, its probably going to show up on your skin first. Alcohol -- in moderate amounts, believe it or not -- depletes your body of essential nutrients, like vitamin A for example, which helps to make collagen and new skin cells.  A lack of vitamin A means less collagen -- the stuff that makes your skin beautiful -- and that means your skin will look older and age faster.

And while you're at it, you might want to lay off the soda and sugary drinks, too.

I don't drink. When I was in high school, it wasn't an option.  When I was in college, I never got trashed every weekend. I just wasn't that girl. When I first got to New York City, I had a drink -- and I didn't like it.  Last fall, I had my first beer after a gig in Stuttgart. I didn't like that, either -- but that didn't keep me from taking the glass home as a souvenir.

Yeah, and MPB is an ex-bartender. Go figure.

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Next? Antioxidants and why you need them in my last blogpost in this series Black Don't Crack, Part Four: A Parting Thought -- Eat (and topically apply) Your Antioxidants!