Green tea cleansing skin care is the latest development in antiaging
antiwrinkle skin care. What is it about green tea that helps protect your skin
from aging?
Green tea contains polyphenols that are powerful
antioxidants and help disarm the damage that occurs to our skin as a result of
free radicals. Did you ever wonder why smokers always look so much older?
Cigarette smoke and car exhaust are some of the environmental pollutants that we
are exposed to every day that can cause damage to our skin. In fact, when you
smoke a cigarette, you are inhaling 10 quadrillion antioxidants into your lungs.
Imagine what happens to the skin on your face when you smoke just one cigarette!
As we get older, the cells responsible for collagen and elastin production-
the ones that affect our skin’s smoothness, firmness and elasticity- become less
efficient. Add to that the fact that too many UVA rays are environmental
stressors that also cause those lines and wrinkles we see in the mirror.
The good news is that our skin cells are renewed every 28 days. The bad news
is that our skin’s DNA is assaulted and damaged every day by these free
radicals. Damaged DNA replicates itself and as a result, the new skin cells are
not as healthy and don’t function as well.
So how can we help our skin restore itself to the healthy condition it was in
when we were younger? The answer is to use skin care that contains
antioxidants like the polyphenols in green tea and other antioxidants like
Vitamin A, C and E. We need to eat healthy and supplement inside and out to help
our bodies produce skin cells with healthy DNA.
The flavonoid polyphenols in green tea cleansing skin care can help in
the fight against aging because they are antioxidants formulated from plants.
Plants are constantly exposed to environmental damage and have developed an
efficient antioxidant defense system.
The flavonoids in green tea help protect the cells in the DNA and even
repairs the DNA in damaged skin cells. It’s recommended to take green tea as a
supplement or apply it topically to your skin every day. Look for moisturizers
and skin cleansers that have green tea as one of the ingredients.
Taking care of your skin from the inside out with good food and vitamin
supplements is a great way to approach antiaging antiwrinkle skin care.
founder of http://www.healthy-living-for-moms.com/ a resource for moms of all ages and
stages who seek health and wellness. Get more tips on taking care of your skin at http://www.healthy-living-for-moms.com/antiaging_antiwrinkle_skin_care.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eunice_Coughlin
Other posts
- Caffeine Can Elevate Your Stress Hormones - we may not be aware of it but
drinking coffee can elevate our stress hormones needlessly. - How To Absorb More Antioxidants From Green Tea - The body cannot absorb more
than 20% of the antioxidants in green tea. - Mario's Antioxidant Needs - discover how antioxidants help our bodies in
scavenging free radicals created by our own metabolism. - Solubility of Antioxidants - a discussion on water soluble and fat soluble
antioxidants. - ORAC Values of Acai Berry, Goji Berry, Pomegranate and Mangosteen
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learn about the benefits of green tea in this product. - Green Tea - An Herbal Wonder - There are more than a hundred varieties of
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specifically green tea - Why we need vitamins, supplements and antioxidants - Living in this modern world may have some adverse effects on our health....
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Saturday, February 23, 2008
How Are Antioxidants Linked To Anti-Aging?
By: Carina MacInnes
Antioxidants have been widely praised in the media. Many know they are linked
with anti-aging properties. However this is not new, it all began with one man’s
theory a half a century ago about how free radicals were associated with aging,
and science has been trying to catch up with it ever since.
As Dr. Nicholas Perricone, M.D., states in his 2001 book, “The Wrinkle Cure”:
“When it comes to aging, it’s not Father Time that’s public enemy number 1. It’s
the very busy, very nasty little molecule called the free radical.”
The Free Radical Theory of Aging was published by Denman Harman in 1956. He
theorized that aging is a result of free radical damage of the cells of the
body. This is also called oxidative stress.
Today, a great deal of experimental evidence supports the premise that length
of life is determined by the crucial balance of antioxidants with free radicals
in the body. Oxidative stress is being shown to be at the root of disease and
aging.
One example is that the life of the fruit fly was up to 30% longer when it
was genetically altered with an addition of enzymatic antioxidants. Not only
that, but the altered fruit flies also showed a reduced amount of age-related
oxidative damage.
Studies of humans have also shown evidence of free radical damage playing a
large part in human aging. One 1996 study compared markers of free radical
damage in the blood and found evidence of the highest oxidative damage
associated with the disabled elderly, an intermediate amount with the healthy
elderly, and the lowest levels with the healthy adults.
The study also found that higher blood levels of antioxidant Vitamins C and E
were associated with less disability, and signs of free radical damage were
associated with more disability.
We need to rethink our concept of aging. We accept disease, disability,
senility, wrinkles, and all the other many signs of aging as natural. Instead,
we should view this as ‘unsuccessful aging’ – ie., aging associated with
deterioration, disease and disability.
Successful aging is what happens when the human body is able to fight off
oxidative stress, and continue to regenerate and repair itself. Successful aging
is getting older healthily, without significant pathological conditions.
What the evidence is telling us is that it is crucial we take antioxidants
and free radicals very seriously if we want to ‘age gracefully’ and avoid the
many pitfalls of ‘unsuccessful aging’.
Even young people can be victims of unsuccessful aging, if they are not
providing their bodies with the necessary balance of having have enough dietary
antioxidants to fight off the free radicals.
In our modern culture, many of us are guilty of not getting adequate
nutrition. It’s ironic, when we are the richest we have ever been that we should
be feeding our bodies so poorly.
An interesting example of how a person can seriously damage their body with
the wrong diet was seen in the Documentary ‘Super Size Me’ by Morgan Spurlock
who ate only McDonald’s for a month. In just 30 days of having a junk food diet
as his sole source of nutrition, his health was spiraling downwards and out of
control.
The fact that he gained 25 pounds in a month was the least of his worries. He
experienced a toxic liver, a significant increase in cholesterol, headaches,
depression, a lower sex drive and poor skin. He returned to normal after his
experiment ended.
Unfortunately a great many of us continue to do damage to our bodies, by
smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, eating junk food, and not eating our
vegetables. When the media began warning us of free radicals, many of us did not
understand the massive damage we were causing our bodies or how to prevent it,
especially as most of the signs of damage are invisible until it is too late.
Free radical damage is accumulative and spreads like wildfire over time. Do
your body a favor. Feed it a diet rich in antioxidant nutrition. Make it a
habit, eat your fruits and vegetables, take your vitamins, and try to stop or
cut down on damaging bad habits. You will thank yourself in 20 years.
Use antioxidants wisely to age successfully. Maybe like the fruit fly, you
too can live 30% longer.
About the Author:
Carina MacInnes is a writer who offers a free e-course on how free radicals
affect our health, using antioxidants for healing and anti-aging, and the latest
in superfood nutrition. For her health she uses an antioxidant-packed superfood
liquid nutrient. Get all the info now: http://acai-4life.com
Article Source: www.iSnare.com
- Other posts
- Caffeine Can Elevate Your Stress Hormones - we may not be aware of it but
drinking coffee can elevate our stress hormones needlessly. - How To Absorb More Antioxidants From Green Tea - The body cannot absorb more
than 20% of the antioxidants in green tea. - Mario's Antioxidant Needs - discover how antioxidants help our bodies in
scavenging free radicals created by our own metabolism. - Solubility of Antioxidants - a discussion on water soluble and fat soluble
antioxidants. - Suggest a topic
- Email me
- Suggest through the comment form.
- Useful links
- Herbal Green Tea -
learn about the benefits of green tea in this product. - Why we need vitamins, supplements and antioxidants - Living in this modern world may have some
adverse effects on our health.... - Sponsor link
- Shoes for men - shop for
shoes online
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anti-aging antioxidants health
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The Delicious Path Of Antiaging Nutrition
Plant nutrients play a key role in anti aging. Fruit, vegetables, and plant extracts have an array of chemical constituents, called phytochemicals or phytonutrients, that are hugely beneficial to skin health and beauty.
In plants, phytochemicals confer characteristics like color, which can help the plant by providing an attractive beacon to passing bees to help in pollination. Or they offer a protective effect to the plant to prevent insects from harming it, or repel grazing animals. But they have often been found to have benefits for human health when analyzed in laboratories. It is these chemicals in plants that make fruit and vegetables so much more valuable than simply the macro nutrients like vitamin C.
Antioxidants are one class of phytonutrients, though there are many. Antioxidants work by supplying an extra oxygen molecule to those molecules that are missing one, called free radicals. If antioxidants don't supply the missing oxygen molecule to free radicals, the free radicals will take an oxygen molecule from another compound in the body, making one that was previously healthy and intact itself a free radical. Free radicals are not 'baddies', simply unstable chemical molecules, but the effect they have on the body is negative, as they can damage cells. Free radicals are produced as a normal by product of the metabolic processes of our cells, as well as by our immune system as it counteracts the effects of pathogens and the environment.
The trick is to keep the balance in the body where there is enough of a supply of antioxidants to cope with the body's production of free radicals.
Free radicals affect the skin in three main ways. They can alter the fatty layers in your cellular membranes. These fatty layers provide structure to the cell, and control which nutrients and other agents can pass in and out. They can alter the DNA within cells, which aside from the potential to develop into serious illnesses, can make your skin inclined to wrinkles and sagging before its natural biological time. Altered DNA creates a blueprint for collagen and elastin fibers that don't function as healthy, normal ones would. And to compound matters, the skin's pores need healthy collagen and elastin fibers to stay tight and small. So another undesired result is open, large pores.
Free radicals also lead to a process called the cross-linking of collagen fibers. This occurs in the skin's dermis, as a result of collagen and elastin fibers becoming hard, thick, and then binding together. Cross-linked fibers create wrinkles, skin sag, and cause your regular expression lines to become etched in your face as a permanent fixture. With healthy collagen and elastin fibers these expression lines would simply disappear once you moved your facial muscles in a different way. And enzymes that metabolize collagen are encouraged by free radicals, which, given the importance of collagen in youthful looking skin, is best minimized.
Other phytonutrients in plants that are of importance to skin beauty are carotenoids and flavanoids. Flavanoids are great for the health of blood vessels. They strengthen the capillaries that supply important nutrients to the skin's cells, as well as supporting cellular membranes. Healthy cell membranes regenerate quickly, and slow the aging process. Carotenoids also strengthen cell membranes. It seems carrots are not just good for eyesight! And flavanoids help reduce inflammation, as well as increasing levels of glutathione, which is an antioxidant.
References: Erica Angyal, Gorgeous Skin In 30 Days (Lothian Books, 2005)
Article Source: Free Article Master
If acne is a problem for you, check out these acne nutrition tips and a selection of natural acne treatments for information on how to manage acne whilst supporting your health as a whole.