ELLEN, journalist and anti-athlete: I’ve been eating a lot of salmon lately. Any number of doctors are telling me, in the media, that this will make my skin look radiant. Wrinkles may even disappear! I am breathlessly awaiting this.

Salmon is a new food to me, and there are days when I would bathe in it if it made me feel physically better. The truth is, I do feel better when I am eating a low-fat diet and drinking lots of water. And while “radiant” may be a stretch, my skin does look better. But I do hope, for the sake of Western civilization, that eating broiled salmon and drinking water are not the miracle cures. We will become very dull beings.

The truth about skin fitness is somewhere in the great middle of miracle cures and strict diets, I’m convinced. A doctor once told me that your skin is the largest organ of the body and paying attention to it will pay off. Your skin also gives you hints about how well you are taking care of yourself. So, I did a skin audit this week, and I was relatively satisfied. For someone now 50, I am living in my own skin and feeling pretty good about it. I also had a personal consultation with the renowned dermatologist and best-selling author Dr. Nicholas Perricone. He gave me something less than a stellar review. Truth be told, the consultation turned out to be a quiz on the ivillage.com pages, but it was interesting. You may have heard about Dr. Perricone. The titles of his books will give you the headlines: “The Perricone Prescription” and “The Wrinkle Cure.”

The guy looks pretty good for a seasoned physician. And it did give me pause that perhaps if I really wanted to have the fittest of skin, I should look into his program. Could it really be true that if I cut back on the carbos and ate lots more protein, I could look like him? Probably not. But his philosophy did give me some tips on my simple program of just living in my own skin.

It would help me a lot if my generation of baby boomers could let go of this obsession with youth and get comfy with the character lines, which experts refer to as frown lines, nasolabial folds and crow’s feet. If everyone would quit focusing on wrinkles and be more concerned with skin fitness or wellness, we probably would start thinking those little lines are as cute as the half-glasses we are all wearing on the end of our noses.

Don’t get me wrong. I am 100 percent in favor of improving the shape of the largest organ in my body. I have many little jars of potions that probably are canceling out each other when I find the time to use them. But I am very realistic that I am never going to look like Jane Fonda or Elle MacPherson because they just got dealt a better hand of DNA.

So, here is my skin fitness plan: I use my sunblock every day. I choose Neostrata Daily Protection Sunscreen SPF 29, and I buy it online. It was developed by researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia, so it has a soft spot in my heart. In addition, a dermatologist friend says he uses it every day on his face and hands, so that’s enough of an endorsement for me. I doubt it has all the substances that Dr. Perricone suggest I slather on my bod. But it’s about all I can do. I will eat salmon every chance I get and drink more water. (And if my dentist is reading this, I promise to floss my teeth. And if my gynecologist is reading this, I promise to do those Kegels.)

In the end, I need to live in my own skin and be content with that. I am not sure what aging gracefully means anymore. But this is my stab at it. Focus on fitness - even if it has to do with your face. Choose to live in your own skin - even if that means surgery. And please give me a call if you figure out whether alpha-lipoic acid or lactobionic acid or orange zest is best for skin wellness.

I’ve got to go home to watch that infomercial on coral calcium. Did you hear it cures cancer?

What do you think? Click on Add Your Own, and share with the class. Posted March 05, 2003 06:28 AM