Health & Medical Diseases & Conditions

How To Avoid Stretch Marks

Most people are conscious about how their body looks. Whether it's a pimple, blemish, or scars. Stretch marks can also appear and is a source of misery for some people that suffer from them. Stretch marks can appear as early as puberty. The sudden growth that happens to an individual during puberty can cause the skin to be stretched to its limit. Teenagers, who experience the sudden growth during puberty, can develop stretch marks around the thighs and hips. Pregnant women can also develop these marks around the stomach and chest area, where sudden growth is inevitable. Even men who are into bodybuilding can develop stretch marks especially around the arms and the thigh area. But there are certain steps that you can take to prevent the formation of stretch marks.

Eating right would lessen the chance that you would gain weight quickly. A proper diet in sensible proportions could also provide you with proper vitamins like A, C, and E and substances like fatty acids and zinc that are beneficial in preventing stretch marks. Nutritional supplements are also a viable option in complementing your proper diet to make sure that you get enough of the said vitamins; nutritional supplements are essential to those who don't follow the proper diet.

If you actually want to gain weight like body builders, or if you were not able to follow the proper diet, there's still a way to avoid stretch marks. Weight gain doesn't actually cause stretch marks; it's when you gain too much in a short span of time. Keeping your weight gain at a reasonable amount is the key to preventing stretch marks. Medical experts peg 25 to 35 pounds to be a reasonable amount of weight gain in a month. These values can vary depending on your body size. 25 pounds on a petite figure would be too much and cause stretching in the skin. On the other hand, 35 pounds might seem like a manageable amount to someone with a large frame, and may not cause that much stretching.

Sometimes weight gain is inevitable; there's just no avoiding it. This is true to pregnant women who really have no control over the growth of their body. Limiting their diet might also prove detrimental to the baby they're carrying. And then there's body builders who really like what they're doing, and don't want to limit their weight gain to a reasonable amount. As a last resort, proper skin care should be practiced. Drinking lots of water provides the skin with extra elasticity to resist the tearing of the collagen layers. The recommended 8 glasses of water a day should be observed, more when you're sweating; like during a warm day or when working out. Moisturizing creams or oils also provides extra moisture directly to the skin. With proper care and attention, stretch marks are fully avoidable.


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