Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is inflammation in the joints, mainly due to a breakdown of cartilage. Osteoarthritis frequently occurs in the knees, hips, spine, and the fingers. Common medical treatments do not usually improve healing or change the path of this condition. …
FEATURED IN INVITE® HEALTH’S SUMMER 2015 CATALOG Suddenly, one morning you wake up with a stiff, swollen, and painful joint. You most likely have arthritis. In the United States, more than 50% of individuals over 60 years of age have osteoarthritis, the most common form …
Nobody wants to frown all day, but can it actually be better for your skin long-term? Whether you’re talking, frowning or smiling, a crease forms on your skin the moment you move one of your facial muscles. When it comes to your smile, the largest of the lines that form are the “nasolabial folds”-those big arcs of skin that stretch down from the sides of your nose to the corners of your mouth. Different ethnicities age differently, and your skin’s natural melanin concentration and oil production play a role in how quickly your smile grooves will start to leave their mark.
But here’s one factor you can control: ultraviolet radiation exposure from sunlight. “This is actually the number-one cause of winkles,” says Dr. Marc Glashofer, a dermatologist in New York. “The more sun your skin soaks up, the more its connective tissue breaks down, leaving it less firm and less elastic.”
Beauty is something that is always best achieved from the inside out; especially as we age and certain nutrients become depleted. That’s when the available pool of circulating antioxidants that would normally be available to protect and rejuvenate the skin has diminished and isn’t what it used to be. Replenishing nutrients from the inside can have a powerful anti-aging impact on the outside – on the skin that you see. It’s almost a conundrum but swallowing antioxidants has a better effect for rejuvenating the skin than applying them directly. This is because choosing a well absorbed-soluble antioxidant allows it to migrate through the circulatory system reaching, permeating through and nourishing the skin better when swallowed than when rubbed on.
The skin has 3 layers and the outermost – the one you see that is called the epidermis, actually consists of five layers of its own. Swallowing a nutrient penetrates these layers from the inside out but rubbing it on often doesn’t work. The innermost layer of the epidermis is where visible skin is made and it takes two-weeks for it to migrate its way out to the surface; by then its cells are usually spent. Swallowing the correct antioxidants nourishes these inner layers as they work their way outwards so that they retain vibrancy and look younger when they become visible. Unhealthy habits especially smoking, consuming a poor diet is lacking in nutrients, inclement weather, stress, and harmful UV rays from the sun over time cause harm to the skin. However, just as easily as those unhealthy habits may cause damage, a healthy routine can work to prevent that damage from recurring.
Collagen is the primary protein in connective tissue and is present in joint, bone, cartilage, tendon, ligament, muscle, and in hair, skin, and nails. Collagen works for skin care, directly helping with aging related issues that would normally seem untreatable. As we age, we start to experience bone and cartilage loss mostly around the mouth and nose. This will often cause our skin to lose elasticity and leave a ‘skeleton-like’ appearance. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of hydrolyzed collagen – collagen where its units have been broken down to improve digestion and absorption. One study published in the “Archives of Dermatological Research” found that 10 grams of oral hydrolyzed collagen per day for 60 days improved the skin’s ability to absorb moisture, making it look healthier and controlling the appearance of wrinkles.†
Click here to read: Collagen Restores Youth to the Skin in Women; Beauty From the Inside Out
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, the color pigmentation is often the healthiest aspect. The more vibrant the fruit is in color, the more nutrients it contains. Plant pigments like berries, resveratrol, carotenoids, lutein and astaxanthin travel through our body and reach the skin and function as antioxidants by improving the look and health of the skin. The antioxidants found in berries are known to help improve collagen production as well. Berries are also high in vitamin C, vitamin E, riboflavin, and soluble and insoluble fiber as well, which are all crucial nutrients for skin health. Recent studies even show that these antioxidants are also known to protect the skin from UV damage – the number one cause of wrinkling and aging of the skin. Clinically proven serums for skin can also protect and repair skin creases and make them healthier overall. Reputed clinics such as bhmd (Beverly Hills MD) and similar ones have skin serums that can visibly change the skin’s appearance.
Read “Superfoods for Skin Protection” by Nicole Crane, BS, NTP by clicking here!
The kiwi fruit and black raspberries are both rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants that will help combat unhealthy free radicals, which may in turn delay the onset of aging. Studies have shown that the Kiwi extract found in Cocoa works to protect our genes and DNA and actually slows the aging process at the gene level. Cocoa will also protect, heal, and rejuvenate the skin improving hydration and the skin’s texture, density, and elasticity, reducing laxity, discoloration and improving the appearance and health of the skin. Recent research published on Science Daily has shown that black raspberries could even yield possible skin protective activities helping to minimize mutations caused by the suns dangerous ultraviolet radiation.†
Grape Seed Extract is an up and coming skin care supplement jam-packed with high levels of very powerful and beneficial antioxidants with shocking protective properties. The important ingredients that are found in Grape Seed are called Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins or OPCs; these are complexes of flavonoids-polyphenols that are found in the grape seed and they have been proven to have antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and ant allergic activities. The sagging and wrinkling of the skin is often the result of long-term free radical damage typically caused by sun exposure but also by smoking. Women specifically are always searching for new ways to prevent and treat this issue. Grape Seed Extract works to repair damaged skin by strengthening and protecting cell structures from the oxidative stress of free radicals generated by the sun or smoking. Grape Seed Extract even influences Vitamin C and Collagen production in our bodies, which will also assist us in rejuvenating already aging skin. Grape Seed Extract is an incredibly safe and effective supplement that promotes cell health and skin elasticity, making it seem more youthful, in a process that works almost like a natural face-lift. Grape seed extract is an anti-aging superstar that should be incorporated into everyone’s daily routine.†
Click to read more – Grape Seed Extract: Independent Research Studies
Summer can be a rough time for your skin – bug bites, sunburn, poison ivy and other irritating skin problems are at their peak this time of the year. Unfortunately, sometimes the cure is just as bad as the problem. Many anti-itch creams and other …
Photo by Natalie Collins on Unsplash Are you paying attention to your bones lately? Collagen powder is one of my favorite proteins. I usually add a scoop or two in my yogurt and shakes. Here, Jerry Hickey makes us aware of how important collagen is …
Written by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph, Scientific Director and Pharmacist for InVite® Health
Yesterday I shared my plan for post-surgical healing. One of the nutrients I mentioned was Collagen explaining that both my wife and I customarily use collagen and here is the explanation for why. It is taken from an article I wrote for our catalog.
We are made out of protein and a great deal of this protein exists as collagen. Collagen is a structural protein – it is the foundation for building the body. Collagen is needed for joint health, bone structure, the skin, hair, nails, ligaments, tendons, lining of the intestines, meniscus of the knees, and the vertebrae and discs of the spine.
When we are young we can readily transform the protein in fish, meat and beans into collagen as needed. However, by the tender young age of about 25 we start to lose this ability. Our manufacture of collagen decreases at a rate of about 1.5 % per year. In our twenties and thirties this is not enough of a drop to mean anything but by the time we reach 50 we’ve lost about 38 % of our ability to create collagen. By the time we are 60 this reaches 53 %; we’re not making enough collagen for our bodies needs.
In our joints a hard rubbery material called cartilage covers the end of our bones. This cartilage prevents the bones from banging into and scratching one another’s surface. About 66 % of the cartilage in our joint is made out of collagen. If production slows down it is harder to maintain joint health. Recent research has shown that collagen supplement improves the formation of new cartilage cells known as chondrocytes in the shock absorbing fluid of the joint known as synovial fluid. When you bend your knee or other joints the fluid rushes in and the new cartilage cells fill in any micro-tears in the cartilage helping to nourish and maintain it.
About 70% of our skin is made out of sheets of collagen. With age, the skin is damaged by the sun and other factors hardening it, creating wrinkles and decreasing the elasticity of the skin. New skin production slows down and age related skin discolorations accrue. Collagen protein jump starts the production of skin and research from France and Japan shows it actually seems to fit better, is more resilient and has a better sheen. Wrinkles start to fill in and the skin is younger. Collagen also creates the related tissues; hair and nails.
Everyone knows that calcium and vitamin D are very important for bone health; collagen is just as important. The foundation and framework of bone is called the organic matrix. The matrix is where calcium and other minerals and vitamins attach to, hardening it into bone. Collagen exists in bone as thousands of highly organized tough cables and 90% of the organic matrix of bone is made out of collagen. The other 10% of the bones foundational structure is largely vitamin D and the mineral silica. As collagen production slows down it becomes harder to create this bone foundation. Research shows that taking Collagen protein strongly supports bone health and is dramatically important for any bone treatment program. Research from France shows that collagen also triggers the formation of new baby bone forming cells known as osteoblasts which in addition further help rebuild bone.
Collagen is a large molecule which is hard for us to absorb but hydrolyzing the protein breaks down the particles into smaller sizes so it is readily absorbed. The successful studies with joint, bone and skin health use hydrolyzed collagen.