Beauty From Within

How olives, green tea, hyaluronic acid, and silicon can make your more beautiful

Radiant and vibrant hair, skin, and nails have long been associated with good health. While most people try and improve the appearance of these tissues from the outside, the real secret to healthy skin, beautiful hair, and strong nails comes from within. And it starts with good nutrition and key dietary supplements.

A deficiency of any essential nutrient, including vitamins, minerals, fat, or protein, can cause impaired manufacture of new skin cells. A healthy diet is therefore crucial for hair, skin, and nail health and overall appearance. Taking key supplements is equally as important. Start with a high-potency multivitamin/mineral formula and a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil—these two supplements offer a balance of essential beauty nutrients for people of all ages.

Preventing Wrinkles

Why does skin wrinkle? The main culprit is free radical damage from external (sun, pollution) and internal (cigarette smoke, poor diet) causes. Over time, the amount of fat stored in the layers just below the skin also diminishes, causing the skin to sag. And as we age, the collagen in skin loses its ability to hold its shape. We can blame this on decreased hyaluronic acid production: By age 70, most people will have lost approximately 80 percent of the hyaluronic acid they had at 40. As a result, the collagen fibers become fewer and farther between. As the network of collagen and hyaluronic acid shrinks, the skin becomes thinner and less elastic. Glands that secret natural oils also wither away, causing skin to become dry and itchy.

To prevent wrinkles from forming, be sure to eat a diet rich in antioxidants and do your best to avoid free radical exposure. There’s also more you can do: Consider taking the following innovative supplements to help restore collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid.

Olive Fruit Extract and Green Tea

An interesting antioxidant for skin health is olive fruit extract. Population-based studies have shown a negative correlation between the consumption of olives and wrinkle formation. In other words, a higher intake of olives can mean fewer wrinkles. Olive fruit (but not the leaves) contains verbascoside, a polyphenol molecule that has shown exceptional antioxidant effects specific to skin health. In studies conducted by Japanese and Italian researchers, olive fruit extract standardized to contain 10 percent polyphenols (Opextan) was shown both to prevent free radical—mediated degeneration of the skin—a process that can lead to wrinkle formation—and to protect the skin from other signs of damage.

The same can be said for green tea extract and its chief polyphenol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). This healthy elixir also has an ability to protect against free radical damage to the skin, particularly damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.

How much do you need? The dosage of olive fruit extract (or Opextan) is 60 to 120 mg daily. The dosage for green tea extract is based on polyphenol levels, with a typical dosage of 150 to 300 mg daily.

Hyaluronic Acid

A major component of skin, hyaluronic acid is heavily involved in promoting and enhancing the skin’s collagen matrix (or structure). When skin becomes damaged by free radicals, it gets inflamed and the skin cells start producing less and less hyaluronic acid. This leads to wrinkle formation. And as mentioned earlier, your skin’s hyaluronic acid content also naturally decreases with age.

Hyaluronic acid injections are used in medical spas to fill in wrinkles. But taking hyaluronic acid supplements may actually be a more effective solution. For one thing, hyaluronic acid supplements may have a longer-lasting effect than injections. Plus: hyaluronic acid supplements are more natural, and offer a less invasive way to deliver this important compound into the skin.

Clinical studies have shown that hyaluronic supplements have the ability to increase the skin’s moisture content, resulting in a dramatic improvement the skin’s appearance among patients with dry and rough skin.

How much do you need? The dosage used in the clinical trials was 120 mg daily. Look for supplements that offer “highly bioavailable” hyaluronic acid.

Silicon

Silicon is an essential element needed for the normal growth and development of skin, hair, and nails—which require healthy collagen formation. Studies show that BioSil, a highly bioavailable and stabilized form of silicon, increases levels of hydroxyproline, an amino acid involved in collagen and elastin production.

Scientists from the University of Brussels in Belgium conducted a 20-week double-blind study involving 50 women (ages 40 to 65) with signs of sun damage and premature aging. Half received 10 mg of BioSil and the other half a placebo. The BioSil group experienced a 30 percent improvement in shallow, fine lines, a 55 percent increase in skin elasticity, and a significant reduction in brittle nails and hair.

How much do you need? A typical dosage of silicon is 5 mg twice daily.

Aging gracefully

Bestselling health author and Better Nutrition columnist Michael T. Murray, ND, shares his personal health secrets

BN: You’re a vibrant looking 53-year-old. To what do you attribute your youthful looks?

Murray: I think it’s the result of everything that I’ve done consistently for my entire adult life—my diet, attitude, lifestyle, and supplement program for the past 25 years. When you study what causes people to age prematurely, you start to see how everything is connected and why it’s so important to address every facet.

BN: What do you think are some of the most important steps you have taken to slow down the aging process?

Murray: About eight years ago, I started using PGX supplements—a special dietary fiber matrix. A key aspect of fighting the effects of aging is to enhance your body’s sensitivity to insulin and stabilize your blood sugar levels within a narrow range. Nothing does that better than PGX. I credit it for the fact that my lean muscle mass and body fat percentage in my late 40s and 50s are better than any time in my adult life.

BN: What about other supplements?

Murray: In addition to PGX, I take a high-potency multivitamin/multimineral, a “green foods drink,” and a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, as well as a variety of specialty antioxidants like CoQ10, alpha-lipoic acid, and flavonoid-rich extracts. If you look at cultures where long lives are common, a high intake of flavonoids is one of the common features.

Discover these benefits of vitamin C serum for your face.

When your skin is making you look older than you really are, vitamin C serum may be a solution. It features ascorbic acid, which is a powerful anti-aging vitamin.

The ascorbic acid works as an antioxidant, which helps reverse oxidation in your skin, which is the process that causes you to develop an uneven skin tone and fine lines that make you look older.

Another benefit of vitamin C serum comes from its ability to stimulate collagen production, which is the material that provides support for your skin's connective tissue. Collagen helps your face to look fuller like it did when you were younger.

It also promotes the healing of small wounds and blemishes. 

The use of vitamin C serum directly on your face can help heal a scratch or an acne scar and may even erase scars from previous acne outbreaks.

Visit iHerb to check out the variety of Vitamin C serums as well as other facial serums that we carry.

http://www.iherb.com

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PQQ Lowers LDL-Cholesterol Levels

Introduction

Every major advance in nutritional medicine generally starts out as an unknown entity. That is certainly true for PQQ (short for pyrroloquinoline quinone). Although PQQ is a relatively new dietary supplement on the market, its potential is absolutely enormous. The potential benefits are nearly limitless as it has shown a wide range of enhancements to brain and body function. It is especially powerful in its ability to boost brain function, including memory.

A new study with BioPQQ™ – a safe form of PQQ produced through a natural fermentation process – indicates that it can lower LDL cholesterol levels in subjects with initial levels greater than 140 mg/dl. PQQ is known to activate the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPk) that helps to regulate blood lipid levels.

Background Data:

Although PQQ is not currently viewed as a vitamin, it is likely to be considered an essential nutrient in the future. PQQ serves as a cofactor for a special class of enzymes involved in cellular function including cellular growth, development, differentiation, and survival. Without PQQ, our cells would cease to function properly. PQQ has been found in all plant foods analyzed to date. PPQ-rich foods include parsley, green peppers, kiwi fruit, papaya and tofu. These foods contain about 2-3 mcg per 100 grams. Studies with PQQ generally use dosage levels of 10 to 20 mg, which are levels much higher than the typical dietary intake of about 100 mcg.

One key action of PQQ involves a direct action on major enzymes involved in the energy producing compartments in our cells of the mitochondria. As a result, PQQ improves energy production; current research has primarily focused on its ability to protect memory and cognition in both aging animals and humans. Here are some of the effects noted:

• PQQ reverses cognitive impairment caused by chronic oxidative stress and improve performance on memory tests in animal models.
• PQQ prevents the development of osteoarthritis in an animal model.
• PQQ protects nerve cells from the damaging effects of the beta-amyloid-protein linked with Alzheimer’s disease.
• The combination of PQQ and CoQ10 (respectively, 20 mg and 300 mg) improved mental function in a human double-blind study.
• PQQ (0.2 mg PQQ/kg body weight) increased the antioxidant potential and energy metabolism while decreasing inflammation in another double-blind study.
• 
  

New Data:

In this new study, the effects of PQQ (as BioPQQ™) on serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels were examined in humans after 6 and 12 weeks of supplementation at an oral dosage of 20 mg per day. A total of 29 healthy adults, ranging from 40 to 57 years old, with normal to moderately high triglyceride levels (110-300 mg/dL) were included in the study. While the average serum triglyceride levels did not change; in those subjects with LDL-cholesterol levels ≥140 mg/dl), at 6 weeks PQQ supplementation produced a statistically significant decrease in total cholesterol (from an average of 247 to 216 mg/dl) and LDL-cholesterol (from an average of 156 to 132 mg/dl). Results persisted at 12 weeks.

These results show that PQQ supplementation may produce meaningful reductions in LDL-cholesterol presumably as a result of AMPk activation. It adds to a growing body of clinical data on the benefits of this important compound.

Commentary:

PQQ activates AMPk, an enzyme that is found inside every cell that serves as a “master regulating switch” in energy metabolism. Low levels of AMPk activity is associated with:

• Accelerated aging
• Chronic inflammation
• High blood cholesterol and triglycerides
• Increased visceral “belly” fat
• Insulin resistance
• Mitochondrial insufficiency and dysfunction
• Neurodegeneration
• Obesity
• Poor blood sugar control

Since PQQ activates AMPk it is only a matter of time before clinical data is produced showing PQQ is helpful for a long list of health challenges.

Consumers need to be aware of different forms of PQQ on the marketplace. BioPQQ™ is the only form that I know of that is produced naturally. Other forms are produced through a chemical synthesis and involve the use of fairly toxic compounds. Read labels closely and use only BioPQQ™.

Reference:

Nakano M, Kawasaki Y, Suzuki N, Takara T. Effects of Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Disodium Salt Intake on the Serum Cholesterol Levels of Healthy Japanese Adults.

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Homemade Eye Cream with Frankincense & Shea Butter

Because we cannot see inside the body, the skin often provides the first obvious marks of the passing time and aging. It is a known fact that as we age, our skin becomes less resilient, resulting in dry skin and wrinkles in most people. Often, the first place this is visible is not only the face, but around the eyes. Yes, I’m talking about the dreaded crow’s feet.

Now, diet is a huge component in how our skin looks and feels; however, there are ways to positively affect the skin and create a beautiful glow and fewer wrinkles, including less visible crow’s feet, using natural remedies, including this homemade eye cream with frankincense essential oil and shea butter.

While is seems that the best solution is to simply replace the oils that we lose due to aging and free radicals found in environmental toxins, it simply isn’t that easy. As reported by the journal Dermato Endocrinology, skin aging is a complex biological process influenced by a combination of factors, such as genetics, cellular metabolism, hormone and metabolic processes as well as chronic light exposure, pollution, ionizing radiation, chemicals and toxins. These factors together lead to the progressive changes in each skin layer as well as changes in the appearance of the skin, especially on the sun-exposed skin areas. (1)

Finely wrinkled and dry aged skin, especially in the eye region, is very common due to years of abuse. This happens because of gradual loss of skin elasticity, which is part of the cause of slower healing in older adults. 

What specifically can help reduce wrinkles around the eyes? Reduced collagen type VII, often caused by sun-exposed aged skin, may contribute to wrinkles by weakening the bond between the dermis and epidermis as we get older. And because of a loss of collagen, older skin begins to look irregular and disorganized by increasing the number of wrinkles and less firm areas of the skin, in particular on the face and around the eyes.

The overall collagen content per unit area of the skin surface is known to decline approximately 1 percent per year. Three primary structural components of the dermis — collagen, elastin and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) —have been the focus of most anti-aging research pertaining to the skin to include anti-wrinkle creams and various filling agents that you may find at the dermatologist.

Ultimately, the basis of any natural skin care routine is to achieve healthy, smooth, blemish-free, translucent and resilient skin. To help achieve the best results and to avoid toxic chemicals found in most commercial products, consider making a homemade eye cream.

Because natural oils are pure and do not contain toxic ingredients, they can be absorbed safely and effectively —helping your skin and the areas around your eyes retain moisture and, therefore, reducing the appearance of wrinkles. It works by allowing the nutrients and proteins in essential oils like frankincense oil to encourage cell-regeneration. Try this homemade eye cream today!

Homemade Eye Cream with Frankincense & Shea Butter

Total Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 30 uses

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 drops frankincense essential oil
• 1 ounce pure aloe vera gel
• 1 ounce unrefined shea butter
• 1 ounce unrefined coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon vitamin E

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. If needed (for colder months when the coconut oil is solid), you can gently heat the shea butter and coconut oil in a small pan, then add the rest of the ingredients so that it blends easier.
3. Once well blended, transfer into a glass jar.
4. Use every morning and night around the eyes.

You can find all ingredients from article at IHERB.COM