NaturaLift MD Review Blog

Archive for the ‘Skin Aging’ Category

Ginseng extract blocked carcinogens applied to the skin from causing skin cancer and inflammation. It inhibited the carcinogen TPA from causing an increase in the inflammation- and cancer-causing enzyme, ornithine decarboxylase, and “…expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in TPA-stimulated mouse skin was markedly suppressed. In addition, “… ginseng extract inhibited TPA-stimulated activation of NF-kappaB and extracellular-regulated protein kinase (ERK) in skin and human breast epithelial cells.” Topical ginseng extract also prevented the potent carcinogen TPA from causing multiple skin tumors.

Borage Oil & Gamma Linolenic Acid

Doctors confirmed that the topical application of ginseng extract “… led to the inhibition of TPA-induced expression of COX-2 as well as reducing the production of
prostaglandin E-2. The eukaryotic transcription factor NF-kappaB has been involved in intra-cellular signaling pathways associated with inflammation and carcinogenesis.” The use of the ginseng extract caused “… inactivation of NF-kappaB.” Furthermore, “…when ginseng extract was applied topically prior to TPA, expression and activity of ODC were inhibited dose-dependently.” Ginseng extract also “… inhibited the activation of ERK. Additionally: “… the ginseng extract given prior to each topical dose of TPA markedly lowered the number of papillomas.”

Melanoma, usually appearing as an enlarging black mole, spreads rapidly throughout the body and is lethal. In laboratory tests, ginseng extract was documented to slow the growth of these malignant cells as well as causing their death.

Researchers tested to see if GLA would help the anti-breast cancer drug tamoxifen not only penetrate the skin of patients with breast cancer, but also continue deeper to penetrate into their tumors. Yes, it did: “… [i]t was determined that 2.5 molecules of GLA were associated with each molecule of tamoxifen in the permeation process.”

GLA has itself been shown to be an anti-cancer agent against human breast cancer. This has effects against both estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent cancer cells. At the beginning of this published article which appeared in a prominent cancer journal, these researchers stated as their basis for undertaking their 2004 study, whose positive outcome was just summarized above: “… [t]he omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA) has raised recent interest as a novel anti-cancer agent as it possesses effective tumorcidal properties while not inducing damage to normal cells or creating harmful side effects.”

Other Environmental Factors

Chlorine & Water. Chlorine is toxic - that’s why it kills germs. It denatures their protein and DNA. You can filter tap water to eliminate the chlorine.

Ozone & Air. Ozone is 1000 time more toxic than chlorine. In the outdoors, ozone is harmless to you because its volume is dissipated in the greater atmosphere. But, having ozone inside the home is another matter.

Never have an ozonator in your house! The best and safest method to sterilize a hot tub uses ozone. Be sure to turn off the ozonator for the hot tub when you turn on the water pumps. Since ozone is not soluble in water, it’s dissipated in less than a minute when the pumps churn 400 gallons of warm (99º-100ºF) water. Stand away during that minute.

Mitigations

Make treatment decisions on the basis of the whole spectrum of interlocking problems; if you’re selective in your choices, the danger is that you’ll remain vulnerable from biochemical gaps in your chosen treatments.

Most doctors and scientists consider natural antioxidants the future method of skin protection from UV-A and UV-B. Unlike natural agents, many synthetic products have toxic side effects. We advise against retinoids, protease inhibitors, and hormones because of their side effects.

Natural antioxidants are safe, non-toxic, and function in many healthful ways to protect the skin from damage. They prevent genetic mutations, and prevent skin cancer at various stages. We discuss these types of natural agents - polyphenols, anthocyanidins, monoterpenes, flavonoids, organosulfides, indoles, vitamins, co-factors, enzymes, and minerals - in detail.

Each nutrient has its own capacity against one or more, but not all, of the
following contributors to skin cancer:

• Damaging DNA while enhancing prolife stage for cell multiplication.
• Excessive growth of the epidermis.
• Depletion of antioxidant systems.
• Induction of the carcinogenic-promoting enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) - resulting in the absence of abnormal skin cancer development sensations.
• Impairment of the cell’s normal signal transduction pathways to produce normal RNA and cellular proteins and related substances, turning the cell into an alien agent.

Note: Live testing is the bottom line for real effectiveness.

Skin cancer needs to be understood - knowledge of it should not be avoided for fear of the possibility of disfigurement and death. Once you understand the triggering mechanism by which skin cells become cancerous, you’ll be prepar

ed to take the steps needed to stop and even reverse this most common form of cancer.

Ultraviolet Sunlight

According to the American Cancer Society, there will be almost 2 million new cases of basal cell and squamous cell skin carcinoma diagnosed every year in our county. That’s in addition to 47,000 new cases of malignant melanoma annually, causing 7,800 deaths every year. The number of new patients with malignant melanoma is doubling every five years.

“According to the World Cancer Report, skin cancer constitutes approximately 30% of all newly diagnosed cancers in the world, and solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation (particularly, its UVB component; 290-320 nm) is an established cause of approximately 90% of skin cancers.”

The basics of Ultraviolet radiation. The skin is the largest organ, measuring almost 5,000 square inches. This shield is a protective barrier affected by many harmful environmental factors, of which the most damaging is sunlight. Here are some reasons why:

1. The average annual dose of ultraviolet irradiation most Americans typically get each year is 25,000 JÉm2. But when you add the exposure of about 8,000 JÉm2 experienced during a normal vacation in the continental United States, that reaches a very dangerous 33,000 J/m2. That ultraviolet radiation initiates and promotes skin cancer.
2. Our sun is a mass of nuclear explosions. The equivalent of many hydrogen bombs detonate every second; all that radiation explodes out into space at the speed of light. The radiation released by our sun hits exposed skin continuously, like a machine gun barrage.
3. Ultraviolet light is very powerful and more pervasive than we have acknowledged. Ultraviolet rays bombard you from sun-up to sun-down. The
4. maximum harm occurs from 10:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. However, any chronic exposure, no matter how small, adds to the cumulative toll, aging the skin and building upon the potential for skin cancer.

Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimmers. DNA comprises 30,000 genes located in 23 pairs of chromosomes in human cells, and ultraviolet radiation damages it. UV-B irradiation forms cyclobutane pyrimidine dimmers (CPDs) that specifically and directly damage DNA.

Reactive Oxygen Species. Another, more indirect method, of skin cancer induction occurs when UV-B create reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROSs initiate a series of cascading reactions that damage many large cellular molecules, including DNA.

ROS oxidants created by excessive ultraviolet exposure cause oxidative stress in the skin. Although skin has an elaborate antioxidant defense system, that defense is overwhelmed by cumulative exposure. Lots of low-dose exposure, or one intense dose of ultraviolet radiation, will wipe it out.

Stimulate telomerase. A study from the Department of Dermatology of Case Western Reserve University proved that sunlight causes benign and malignant skin tumors which have up to 45 times more of the cancer enzyme, telomerase, than non-irradiated skin.

As discussed in Appendix A, with every cell division, the ends of each chromosome (telomeres) are chipped away until the chromosome can replicate no longer, causing cell apoptosis. The enzyme telomerase protects and repairs DNA at each cell division. This allows the cancerous cells to divide forever. Without sunlight irradiation, “… [t]elomerase activity was barely detectable.” However,

“… UV-B exposure resulted n a progressive increase in telomerase activity starting from the fourth week of exposure. The increased telomerase activity either persisted or further increased with the increased exposure. In papillomas and carcinomas the enzyme activity was comparable and was 45-fold higher than in the epidermis of control mice.”

Creation of cancer is usually more than just a one-shot event. Multiple toxic enzymes are stimulated by free radicals that activate more harmful enzymes and compounds which, after a varied cascading series of events, eventually cause cancer cells to develop. Other harmful organic compounds manufactured in your body from their free radical-caused cascading series of events aid the spread of cancer cells, and other highly specific organic chemicals cause really dangerous reactions. Therefore, there’s a good opportunity to block the development of cancer and its growth and spread in many molecular chain reaction sites.

Carcinogens are chemicals, molecules, which have been created in the body or enter through diet or skin, and alter cell DNA. Usually, a number of genes are damaged before a specific cell becomes cancerous. This rarely occurs from a single, unlucky, carcinogenic hit.

The body generates dozens of toxic organic compounds after its cells have been attacked by cancer-causing substances or energy. These carcinogens include solar ultraviolet radiation, cigarette smoke, toxic chemicals, and some foods you eat. Even exercise generates free radicals of various types, all of which have the potential to cause cancer.

Many carcinogens cause biochemical changes as they work. Scientists refer to these measurable carcinogenic chemical compounds as markers. Three of the most common are:

1. Ornithine de-carboxylase (ODC)
2. Hydroxy-peroxide production
3. DNA synthetase

Unfortunately, these are too often present in our skin and organs due to environmental factors. Different nutrients have different anti-carcinogen potency. For instance, the very potent carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) tumor-initiating activity was inhibited as evidenced by a 66% reduction in the number of skin tumors with the topical application of ellagic acid.

As with most anti-oxidants and anti-cancer nutrients, the higher the concentration, the greater the effect. When the benefit realized from the use of a compound increases with higher dosage, that benefit is said to be “…dose-dependent.”

NexDerma® Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy helps block, mitigate, and reverse the effects of ultraviolet radiation on the skin through the ingredients described below.

BHT

“The fact that only a modest, measured protective effect can elicit a dramatic decrease in actinic damage (particularly with regard to cancer) upholds this concept as an important goal.”

This resulted from scientific research conducted by the Photobiology Laboratory on the oral effects of BHT. However, when BHT is ingested with food, it’s very diluted by the time it reaches the skin. Topical applications of BHT were studied in depth. “… BHT offered significant protection (against ultraviolet light mediated sunburn) when applied topically.” Topically applied BHT blocks the cancer causing agent (TPA) from stimulating the cancer-causing enzyme ODC by 80 percent.

“These results demonstrate an early and direct inhibition of TPA-induced ODC activity by lipophilic phenolic antioxidants (including BHT) and suggest a role for reactive oxygen and/or free radical species in tumor promotion.”

CoenzymeQ-10 (Ubiquinone)

It’s essential to avoid the sun. And, never forget to apply a skin protective therapy containing the correct concentration of coenzyme Q-10 and the natural forms of vitamin E (alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherols, and tocotrienols).

Doctors and skin research scientists report that:

“Coenzyme Q-10, or Ubiquinone, is a nutrient - a vitamin-like substance which plays a crucial role in the generation of cellular energy and in free radical scavenging in the human body. After the age of 35 to 40, the organism (YOU) begins to lose its ability to synthesize CoQ-10 from food, and its deficiency develops. Aging, poor eating habits, stress and infection - they will all affect your ability to provide adequate amounts of CoQ-10.”

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Extra virgin olive oil is a potent antioxidant. When applied before exposure to UV-B, experiments have demonstrated it helps protect the skin from developing cancer. This result was also documented when extra virgin olive oil was applied to the skin after UV-B exposure. Dermatologists conducting the study reported:

“Mice that received extra virgin olive oil after UV-B exposure showed significantly lower numbers of tumors per mouse than those in the UV-B control group throughout the experimental period.”

Another study reported that:

“…there were lower levels of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG: a carcinogenic agent) in epidermal nuclei. These results indicate that extra virgin olive oil topically applied after UV-B exposure can effectively reduce UV-B-induced murine skin tumors (by 62%), possibly via its antioxidant effects in reducing DNA damage by reactive oxygen species.”

“In this study the effects of hydroxytyrosol (DOPET), the major antioxidant compound present in extra virgin olive oil on UV-A induced cell damages, have been investigated using human melanoma cells.”

Further: “… [t]hese protective effects are dose dependent.”

Doctors studied the effect of extra virgin olive oil topically-applied to the skin before each of multiple doses of x-rays: “… [t]he data indicated a definite radioprotective effect of the topical administration of extra virgin olive oil.”

Authors of a related article pointed out that: “… regular olive oil neither retarded nor reduced skin cancer formation in UV-irradiated mice. Our results suggest that daily topical use of extra virgin olive oil after sunbathing may delay and reduce UV-induced skin cancer development in human skin, possibly by decreasing reactive oxygen species-induced 8-OHdG which is responsible for gene mutation.”130 They also noted that: “…[a]ntioxidants vitamin E and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) extracted from green tea, applied topically to the skin, delayed the onset of UV-induced skin cancer in mice.”

Ginkgo Biloba Extract

Applied to the skin, this compound is very protective against the free radical
generation caused by UV-B irradiation. Ginkgo biloba extract is both protective against ultraviolet radiation and therapeutic, even when applied after exposure. When tested orally, ginkgo biloba extract protected skin from ultraviolet radiation better than orally-ingested beta carotene and vitamin E. Ginkgo biloba extract controls stress-induced free radicals.

Ginseng Extract (Panax)

Ginseng extract:

“…significantly reduced ultraviolet-B induced cell death and protected human keratinocytes from apoptosis caused by ultraviolet-B irradiation.” Biochemically it “…prevented ultraviolet-B-induced cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (a critical enzyme) in keratinocytes. In search of the molecular mechanism responsible for the anti-apoptotic effect of the ginseng extract, we find that protection from ultraviolet-B-induced apoptosis is tightly correlated with the ginseng extract mediated inhibition of ultraviolet-B-induced down-regulation (decreasing the genetic molecular activity) of Bcl-2 (toxic compound) and Brn-3a (toxic compound) expression.”

Green Tea Extract & EGCG

Since many of the toxic reactions causing aging in cells were accelerated by a combination of UV-A and/or UV-B plus topically applied toxic chemicals, experiments were performed to see how effectively EGCG prevents photoaging. The results were very impressive: from excellent to good, depending on doses of sunlight, toxic chemical and type used, and the amount of EGCG applied. Many documented both anti-cancer and anti-photoaging effects of EGCG.

EGCG protects the extracellular matrix (ECM) from oxidative stress from ultraviolet radiation.

“EGCG can reverse the ECM degradation induced by UV even with a topical application of a practical-use concentration. In particular, EGCG proved to be much more effective in ROS-related conditions, such as UVA exposure.”

Magnesium-L-Ascorbyl-Phosphate (Vitamin C)

Magnesium-L-ascorbyl-phosphate, a form of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), is absorbed into the skin where it is continuously and safely converted into ascorbic acid. It is not acidic like l-ascorbic acid, which stings and burns skin and is a serious danger to the eyes.

“Pretreatment with magnesium-L-ascorbyl-phosphate significantly prevented such photo-damage as sunburn cell formation, DNA fragmentation and lipid (fatty compounds such as cell membranes) peroxidation which were caused by a single dose of UVB irradiation. These results [of this study] suggest that the protective effect of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-phosphate on UVB-induced cutaneous damage is due to the maintenance of a normal ascorbic acid level by conversion of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-phosphate to ascorbic acid in skin tissue.”

Can topically-applied ascorbic acid protect skin against UV-B radiation? No:

“In this study, AsA (also known as ascorbic acid) could not inhibit cytotoxicity, but AA-2P (Ascorbyl phosphate) and AA-2G was able to cancel the harmful effect of UV-B when treated at high levels of 0.5-5 mM.”

Magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate is a potent antioxidant, protecting the skin from ultraviolet sunlight.

“…after acute and chronic exposure to UVB irradiation … administration of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate immediately after acute exposure to 15kJ/m¹ of UVB significantly prevented increases of UVB-induced lipid peroxidation in skin. Administration of magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate immediately after each exposure significantly delayed skin tumor formation and hyperplasia induced by chronic exposure to UVB. Magnesium-L-ascorbyl-2-phosphate, once converted in the skin to ascorbic acid, exhibits such inhibitory effects by scavenging hydroxyl and lipid radicals generated as a direct or indirect result of UVB exposure.”

Note: Ascorbyl palmitate (C-ester) is toxic to skin cells when applied topically and exposed to sunlight, as noted by the prestigious Mayo Clinic.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is an antioxidant more powerful than vitamin E. It was compared to seven other well known antioxidants that are used to preserve food, including vitamin E. Resveratrol was very potent in stopping lipid peroxidation. It was also good at scavenging the hydroxyl-activated ion (OH), beating out vitamin E in both essential categories of antioxidant function. But neither was effective against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). That’s why the correct combinations of potent antioxidants are required for optimal protection.

Resveratrol applied topically to the skin is photo-chemo-protective against acute and chronic sunlight damage, decreases tumor-causing enzymes, and protects lipids and related critical substances.

Doctors at the University of Wisconsin Department of Dermatology studied the chemopreventive effects of resveratrol against UV-B radiation-mediated skin tumorigenesis. They concluded: “… [t]he topical application of skin with Resveratrol resulted in a highly significant 1) inhibition in tumor incidence, and 2) delay in the onset of tumorigenesis. Interestingly, the post-treatment of Resveratrol was found to impart equal protection
than the pretreatment; suggesting that Resveratrol-mediated responses may not be sunscreen effects.”

Superoxide Dismutase

Doctors at the Jefferson Medical College Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology showed the power of superoxide dismutase “… to protect against ultraviolet-A and ultraviolet-B induced damage. The ability of superoxide dismutase to prevent radiation-induced elastin promoter activation was determined in vivo. Superoxide dismutase (analog Temprol) provided over 50% protection against ultraviolet B and over 70% protection against ultraviolet A.” They recommended this agent “… to prevent cutaneous aging.”

A study of comparing biopsies of sun-damaged skin of young volunteers with biopsies of undamaged control sites:

“In photo-aged skin, a significant depletion of antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase expression was observed within the stratum corneum and in the epidermis. Importantly, an accumulation of oxidatively modified proteins was found specifically within the upper dermis.”

Skin cells were subjected to sunlight, and volunteers were also subjected to 10 days of sunlight.

“Exposures of keratinocytes and fibroblasts to ultraviolet B, ultraviolet A, and hydrogen peroxide led to a dose-dependent protein oxidation and thus confirmed in vivo results. In conclusion, the correlation between photo-damage and protein oxidation was demonstrated for the first time, which hence may be a relevant pathophysiologic factor in photo-aging.”

This directly relates to how oxidative stress hastens cellular death: “… [w]hen the cells are grown under conditions of oxidative stress, cellular longevity is markedly shortened.” This occurs despite the Hayflick Limit, where the “… human maximal lifespan can be equal to about 145 years.”

Titanium Dioxide

Only titanium dioxide (Ti02) offers protection against all varieties of ultraviolet radiation. Fortunately, it also provides 80% to 100% protection against blue light.

It was considered that the inorganic metal oxides such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide only reflected sunlight. But, “… [t]his is not the case with modern micronized forms of metal oxides. It has been shown that both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide mobilize electrons within their atomic structure while absorbing UV radiation.” They reflect and neutralize UV by absorbing the energy, as sun blocks should. These researchers, and many others, concluded that titanium dioxide, as well as zinc oxide, “…are stable, non-toxic, and safe, and they act as highly efficient UV attenuators.”

In a series of exquisite experiments, researchers used very fine particulate titanium dioxide at concentrations of 1%, 5%, and 10% against three increasingly higher doses of UV-B radiation. They also compared these results to the well known sunscreens of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and urocanic acid, each at a 1% concentration. The control was plain petrolatum. They determined the effect of UV-B on the DNA of living skin. The results showed that both PABA and the urocanic acid provided poor protection, while titanium dioxide gave 100% protection at the 1% solution level. DNA was unchanged from the non-irradiated controls. The protection achieved by a 5% concentration was the same as with 1%, but was effective against double the level of UV-B radiation.

Vitamin A

A major study evaluating the effectiveness of retinaldehyde (a safe and effective topical precursor of vitamin A) found that:

“…UV-A exposure induced significant alterations of collagen and elastic fibers. In all UV-A exposed and then retinaldehyde-treated skin specimens, collagen and elastic fibers were restored to the level of non-exposed skin.”

Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)

In an extensive study, scientists applied the active form of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) to the exposed skin of albino hairless mice before each UV exposure. Then the mice were exposed to ultraviolet radiation at a moderate strength (11 J/cm¹) for two hours a day, five days per week, for 20 weeks. Wrinkles formed in the untreated skin. This was documented in photographs. Microscopically, there was a loss of fat cells and an increase of fibrous tissue. No wrinkles were seen in skin topically treated with cholecalciferol; microscopically, the skin remained normal.

“…[V]itamin D3 is efficacious against fibrosis (scar tissue formation) in the lower dermis induced by chronic solar-stimulating UV irradiation. The application of vitamin D3 on the dorsal skin prior to irradiation prevented the disappearance of adipocytes. Taken together, solar-stimulating UV irradiation effects on the proliferation and differentiation of skin cells including adipocytes, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes, resulted in hyperplasia (thickening) of epidermis and fibrosis (scar tissue formation) of adipose tissue. Cholecalciferol prevents these phenomena.”

Vitamin E (Natural Alpha Tocopherol and Tocotrienols)

The natural forms of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol and tocotrienols) are fat-soluble antioxidants that scavenge many free radicals, including lipid peroxyl radicals. Vitamin E absorbs only UV-B, not UV-A (vitamin A absorbs both UV-B and UV-A). However, the stratum corneum is very depleted of alpha-tocopherol following a single acute exposure to either UV-A or UV-B, or both. The destruction of the surface-level alpha tocopherol is also caused by the secondary effects of ultraviolet irradiation that generates free radicals.

Vitamin E has been demonstrated to decrease the severity of UV-caused skin wrinkling by 75% and also significantly decreases erythema and edema from UV injury.

Zinc Oxide

Zinc helps prevent UV-B cell apoptosis, even when it is used after exposure. Zinc can also protect fibroblast cells, allowing them to resist the oxidative stress from both UV-A and UV-B.

A zinc solution was tested to see if it protects skin from ultraviolet light so intense that it would be two times the minimal dose needed to cause sunburn. It was applied topically either five days in a row or one time two hours before exposure. Both methods reduced the percentage of sunburn cells.

In other experiments, researchers also tested the topical use of zinc to see what, if any, effect it would have when applied topically one or two hours after ultraviolet light exposure. In this, zinc even offered 25% protection when applied as late as one hour after ultraviolet exposure, but none when initially applied two hours after exposure. The zinc oxide in NexDerma® Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy provides continuing protection.

Free radicals are toxic molecules resulting from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Oxygen, the essential element to life, is damaged and contributes to the creation of reactive oxygen species. Hydroxy ions (-OH) abound, missing an electron that, in an attempt to become whole again, they create holes in other molecules.

Free radicals can oxidize fatty molecules, a process known as lipid peroxidation. That’s a catastrophe because the cell needs a functional plasma membrane to sustain life.

It is through this membrane that nutrients and oxygen needed for life and body function pass. Most waste produced by the cel s, including carbon dioxide pass through each cell’s membrane, and into the microscopic capillaries. From there, they enter the main bloodstream to be removed by the kidneys, liver, and lungs. The remaining waste that passes through the cel membrane enters the fluid between the cells (interstitial fluid) and from there into the lymphatic channels where they eventually enter the bloodstream in the upper chest.

But, when the membrane is damaged by lipid peroxidation, the cell begins to age rapidly and die. This membrane is composed of two layers of fatty substances, which, when oxidized, fail to function. These oxidation bullets” attack at random, but the more unblocked sunlight hitting the skin, the more free radicals are generated in all layers of the skin.

Note: Free radicals are generated not only by ultraviolet sunlight: weather, and other pollutants such as smoke, chlorine, harsh detergents, and cosmetics also create them.
Reactive Oxygen Species

Studies have clearly shown that reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide anion (O2-), hydroxyl radical (-OH), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), are responsible for ultraviolet-induced oxidative damage. Reactive oxygen species also directly contribute to the cause of skin cancers, photoaging, and many skin and inflammatory disorders.

Reactive oxygen species damage cell membranes by the peroxidation of fatty acids in the phospholipid structure of the membrane. Unfortunately, the process doesn’t stop there. Peroxidation forms lipid peroxide radicals, lipid hydroperoxides, and other lipid fragmentation products, which are active oxidizing agents. This chain reaction, in which electrons are removed from lipids such as cell membrane phospho-lipids, give rise to more lipid radicals. As long as there is oxygen in the system, this chain reaction will continue and lipid peroxides will continue to accumulate until they are reduced by antioxidants in the skin.

Free radical reactivity generates a chain reaction of many free radical species production, enhancing skin aging and skin cancer.

Loss of Fat-Soluble Nutrients

The top of the skin is covered by natural protective secretions called skin surface lipids (SSL). These are: “… a very complex mixture of sebum mixed with small amounts of epidermal lipids, which mantle the human epidermis, thus representing the outermost protection of the body against oxidative insults.” The body of a well-nourished, healthy, and non-stressed child or an older person may make an adequate amount of coenzyme Q-10. However, exposure to four times the amount of sunlight that causes just some redness of the skin depletes protective SSLs by 70% of coenzyme Q-10 and 84% of vitamin E.

Cumulative Ultraviolet Light Exposure

Sub-chronic sunlight (UV-A and UV-B radiation) exposure is the sum of what you’ve been getting all your life. It does not result in sunburn or a noticeable tan, but it wreaks havoc on the skin. In 2002, scientists finally examined this problem histologically and found these harmful effects:

• After just one month, there was obvious epidermal hyperplasia (thickening of the outer layer of the skin). In three months, that progressed to “… epidermal thickening and formation of epidermal ingrowths projecting into the dermis.”
• The “… keratinocytes were somewhat pleomorphic.” These keratinocytes developed “… cytoplasmic projections which migrated into the dermis.” What should have been a well-defined junction between the epidermis and dermis, the basement membrane,” began to “… disappear along with the development of edema spreading from the upper dermis to the epidermis.”
• Furthermore, “… [i]n the dermis, in addition to edema, fibroblast proliferation and mast cell infiltration progressed with time, and degranulation was obvious at two and three months. In the upper dermis, especially beneath the epidermis, decrease in diameter and disintegration of collagen fibrils (the main structural protein compound of the skin) were observed.”

Dimethicone

When tested against a chemical known to cause irritant contact dermatitis (sodium lauryl sulfate), dermatologists at the University of California School of Medicine stated:

“This study demonstrated that appropriate dimethicone skin protection products may provide certain benefits from surfactant irritant contact dermatitis. The skin protection lotion may be used to prevent irritant contact dermatitis in home or work environments, where skin irritants may induce dermatitis or eczema.”

Dexpanthenol (Vitamin B5)

Many medical professionals suffer from irritant-caused dermatitis or from a contact dermatitis (such as a reaction to poison ivy). 38% of 262 subjects had severe skin stress, 31% had severely dry skin, and 17% had dermatological diseases of the hands. After just three weeks of topical application of dexpanthenol:

• 79% rated their skin condition as improved or normal.
• 95% rated their results as good or very good compared with the awful condition of their skin before beginning treatment, and against problems experienced with other forms of treatment.

Contact allergy from dexpanthenol is very rare, and the FDA recognizes dexpanthenol as Generally Recognized As Safe. Dexpanthenol has been referred to as atoxic; in fact, it has been used to treat dry eyes and to aid healing corneal ulcers that often result from the overuse of contact lenses.

Ginkgo Biloba Extract

Ginkgo biloba extract has been shown to be very non-allergenic, even in highly allergic patients. Furthermore, it has demonstrated strong anti-allergy activity in patients whose skin is highly reactive to contact dermatitis. In tests, ginkgo biloba proved to be an anti-irritant substance for the skin. Among many substances tested for their anti-irritant protection of skin, ginkgo biloba was among the few noted to be beneficial.

Ginkgo biloba extract stimulates fibroblast cells to secrete healing collagen. In addition to enhancing the amount of collagen in aging skin, it is also anti-inflammatory. Other positive benefits of ginkgo biloba include the fact that it:

• Stops the loss of skin pigmentation and aids re-pigmentation in cases of vitiligo.
• Stimulates skin circulation.
• Increases blood flow to the brain in patients with demonstrated arteriosclerotic lesions.
• Demonstrates positive benefits in patients suffering from polyneuropathies.

Zinc Oxide

The body requires zinc in a salt form, which is a form of zinc (zinc +2) attached to an ion. Zinc salts, unlike other metal salts of nickel and chromium, do not cause contact allergy as noted in the very sensitive local lymph node assay test for contact allergens.

Coenzyme Q-10 (Ubiquinone)

Fifteen German doctors and scientists stated in a recently published study about coenzyme Q-10:

“We have investigated whether topical application CoQ-10 has the beneficial effect of preventing photoaging. We are able to demonstrate that CoQ-10 penetrated into the viable layers of the epidermis and reduced the level of oxidation measured by weak photon emission. Furthermore, a reduction in wrinkle depth following CoQ-10 application was also shown. CoQ-10 was determined to be effective against UV-A mediated oxidative stress in human keratinocytes(Cells in the primary outer layer of our epidermis.) in terms of thiol depletion, activation of specific phosphotyrosine kinases(A class of enzymes.) and prevention of oxidative DNA damage. CoQ-10 was also able to significantly suppress the expression of collagenase(The harmful enzyme that dissolves the skin’s collagen.) in human dermal fibroblasts following UV-A irradiation. These results indicate that CoQ-10 has the efficacy to prevent many of the detrimental effects
of photoaging.”

Here’s how ten skin specialists described the results of their skin studies using coenzyme Q-10:

“We demonstrated a diminished resistance in keratinocytes of old donors against UV irradiation. This reduced epidermal resistance against oxidative stressors, i.e.: UV irradiation, can be improved by topical application of CoQ-10.”

They also stated:

“Our in vivo investigations shows that wrinkles around the region of the eyes could be reduced by long-term application of CoQ-10.”

Dosage is critical for best results. Doctors performed experiments to evaluate the penetration of coenzyme Q-10 in the skin. They stated: “… [c]oenzyme Q-10 skin levels were found to be directly related to the concentration employed and the contact time.” In another study which evaluated topical application and skin levels CoQ-10, researchers observed: “… high concentrations of CoQ-10 may be achieved in the skin by topical treatment.”

In another experiment, researchers used only a 0.05% concentration of topical coenzyme Q-10, and achieved: “… a significant increase that peaked after 60 days.” However, this increase was only in the sebum(The fatty substance secreted on top of the skin). There was no significant concentration in the stratum corneum(The outermost epidermis layer).

Therefore, concentration is very important. That’s why we based ours on science: to give you the most effective concentration available. As the pervious authors stated: “Coenzyme Q-10 levels were found to be directly related to the concentrations employed and the contact time…” That’s why we use a high concentration and recommend application at least twice a day to maximize the affect of our optimally formulated Therapy.

Both come from the same plant: black tea is aged; green tea is not. During the aging process, oxidation damages and changes the form of some of the active compounds in tea. Both have anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, but green tea is better for you.

Green tea and its major compound (EGCG) have been studied in hundreds of published research papers. While black tea has undergone fewer studies, it has also attained positive results. Black tea contains EGCG, but has a higher content of the aflavone gallate. Both inhibit carcinogens causing cancer, including the growth of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cel s at 95% inhibition and prostate cancer cells, also at 95% inhibition of growth. However, the numerous carcinogens tested for nutrient anti-cancer activity are far exceeded by green tea, and specifically by EGCG published studies.

• EGCG is effective therapy for cervical herpes virus infection.
• EGCG taken either orally and/or applied vaginally on the cervix has a 69% positive response rate against the herpes virus infection.
• EGCG renews aged skin cells, including healthy DNA synthesis 37 times!

When EGCG was applied to skin, it reversed age-related thinning. Furthermore, it protected skin cells from excessive scarring, at the same time protecting the stability of collagen in skin. EGCG protects cells against arsenic poisoning and protects the skin’s immune system; it is easily absorbed by skin. EGCG also has been shown to have an anti-allergy effect.

Vitamin E (Natural Alpha Tocopherol & Tocotrienols)

Natural vitamin E (alpha tocopherol and tocotrienols) is essential for the health and protection of the skin. It is a lipid-soluble antioxidant. The skin contains many forms of fat, including cell membranes. These skin fats are subject to severe stress, including peroxidation from free radicals. Vitamin E:

• Reduces roughness.
• Decreases length and depth of wrinkles.
• Is a potent fat soluble antioxidant.
• Decreases severity of UV-irradiation caused wrinkles.
• Reduces harmful collegenase, the enzyme that eats” collagen.
• Absorbs UV-B sunlight to protect the skin.

Note: Topical application increases skin vitamin E levels up to 62 times. Also, the tocotrienol form of vitamin E is 50 times more powerful than its other forms.

Vitamin E must be completely replaced on the surface of the skin, as well as in the epidermal and dermal layers. This cannot be accomplished through diet alone. Although orally-ingested vitamin E is essential for health, it is not sufficient to replace vitamin E needed in the skin to prevent lipid peroxidation. Topical therapy with vitamin E is essential to protect, preserve, and heal the skin, through daily use.

Synthetic forms of vitamin E are cheaper and less effective. These are a mixture of the biologically active D and the biologically inactive L forms. The D and L forms are mirror image shapes of the same compound (an example of chiral technology). But the body only uses the D form. This is true for both the tocopherol and tocotrienol compounds, but not for synthetic tocopherol acetate. Although tocopherol acetate is the most commonly used form of vitamin E, it has the lowest conversion rate to alpha-tocopherol than all other varieties.

Dynamic Wrinkle Injections like Botox, Dysport, and Myobloc are the three FDA-approved drugs. All three paralyze the facial muscles: they are derived from the poison excreted by the bacteria clostridium botulinum. Paralyzed facial muscles atrophy and can eventually cause loss of texture and increased sagging.

In adults, botulism is caused by the oral ingestion of the preformed toxin found in contaminated food. In infants, this paralyzing disease is usually caused by the ingestion of live bacteria, most often from non-pasteurized honey. In both adults and children, botulism causes progressive paralysis and results in death from paralysis of the respiratory muscles, unless the victim receives ventilator support in an Intensive Care Unit.

The correct topical nutrients in their optimal concentrations can prevent and heal the many diverse conditions which damage and age your skin. NexDerma® Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy helps mitigate and reverse the effects of skin problems using the ingredients described below.

How The Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy Dramatically Reduces Wrinkles  In Your Skin

Coenzyme Q-10 (Ubiquinone).  Fifteen German doctors and scientists stated in a recently published study about coenzyme Q-10:

“We have investigated whether topical application CoQ-10 has the beneficial effect of preventing photoaging. We are able to demonstrate that CoQ-10 penetrated into the viable layers of the epidermis and reduced the level of oxidation measured by weak photon emission. Furthermore, a reduction in wrinkle depth following CoQ-10 application was also shown. CoQ-10 was determined to be effective against UV-A mediated oxidative stress in human keratinocytes(Cells in the primary outer layer of our epidermis.) in terms of thiol depletion, activation of specific phosphotyrosine kinases(A class of enzymes.) and prevention of oxidative DNA damage. CoQ-10 was also able to significantly suppress the expression of collagenase(The harmful enzyme that dissolves the skin’s collagen.) in human dermal fibroblasts following UV-A irradiation. These results indicate that CoQ-10 has the efficacy to prevent many of the detrimental effects of photoaging.”

Here’s how ten skin specialists described the results of their skin studies using coenzyme Q-10:

“We demonstrated a diminished resistance in keratinocytes of old donors against UV irradiation. This reduced epidermal resistance against oxidative stressors, i.e.: UV irradiation, can be improved by topical application of CoQ-10.”  They also stated “Our in vivo investigations shows that wrinkles around the region of the eyes could be reduced by long-term application of CoQ-10.”

Dosage is critical for best results. Doctors performed experiments to evaluate the penetration of coenzyme Q-10 in the skin. They stated: “… [c]oenzyme Q-10 skin levels were found to be directly related to the concentration employed and the contact time.” In another study which evaluated topical application and skin levels CoQ-10, researchers observed: “… high concentrations of CoQ-10 may be achieved in the skin by topical treatment.”

In another experiment, researchers used only a 0.05% concentration of topical coenzyme Q-10, and achieved: “… a significant increase that peaked after 60 days.” However, this increase was only in the sebum(The fatty substance secreted on top of the skin). There was no significant concentration in the stratum corneum(The outermost epidermis layer).

Therefore, concentration is very important. That’s why we based ours on science: to give you the most effective concentration available. As the pervious authors stated: “Coenzyme Q-10 levels were found to be directly related to the concentrations employed and the contact time…” That’s why we use a high concentration and recommend application at least twice a day to maximize the affect of our optimally formulated Therapy.

DMAE.  A 2005 randomized clinical study published in the prestigious American Journal of Dermatology found that topical use of DMAE:

“…applied daily for 16 weeks has been shown to be safe and efficacious in the mitigation of forehead lines and periorbital(Periorbital=around the eyes) fine wrinkles, and in improving lip shape and fullness and the overall appearance of aging skin. These effects did not regress during a 2-week cessation of application. Beneficial trends were noted in the appearance of course wrinkles, under-eye dark circles, nasolabial folds, sagging neck skin, and neck firmness. Application was noted to be well tolerated, with no difference in the incidence of erythema, peeling, dryness, itching, burning or stinging between DMAE and placebo groups. Long-term application of DMAE for up to one year was associated with a good safety profile. The acute skin-firming effects of DMAE have been confirmed by quantitative measures of cutaneous tensile strength. DMAE is a moderately active anti-inflammatory agent.”

Ginseng Extract (Panax).  Topically-applied ginseng extract markedly reduced inflammation. As reported in 2005, ginseng is a herb that contains compounds “… that possesses anti-tumor effects, including inhibition of invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis, and induction tumor cell apoptosis. Tumor promotion often accompanies an elevated ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, acute inflammation and induction ofcyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity.”

Glucosamine Sulfate.  The most vivid example of age reversal in the skin is achieved using topical glucosamine sulfate: obvious wrinkles are erased day by day. Most people begin to see a real change within one week of using NexDerma® Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy twice daily. For more information, see Appendix B.  Glucosamine sulfate is required to manufacture hyaluronic acid; production markedly diminishes in adults. As a result, we lose the look and texture of the skin of our youth, but this is reversible.

Grape Seed Extract. Grape seed extract protects the microscopic blood vessels inside the skin, and thereby helps to prevent wrinkles:

“Besides erythema and sunburn reactions, UVB stress can promote erythrocyte extravasation from skin capillaries and hemolysis, and photo-sensitized hemoglobin can in turn lead to an overload of free radicals in dermis (skin) which exacerbates photo-damage. Grape seed procyanidins dose-dependently delay the onset of hemolysis. EGCG was less potent. Since grape seed procyanidins inhibit the formation of phospholipid hydroperoxides of the inner and outer layers of the red blood cell membrane, their strong anti-lipo-peroxidant activity, may maintain in vivo the integrity of red blood cells in sub-epidermal capillaries and effectively counteract in dermis the onset/exacerbation of the UVB-induced skin photo-damage.”

Green Tea Extract & EGCG.  EGCG significantly reduces and inhibits inflammation of the skin.

Green tea reverses the aging process in epidermal cells and reduces tumor growth, too. The topical use of green tea extract with EGCG significantly increases the metabolic level of keratinocytes. Here’s what doctors from medical colleges in the US and Japan said in 2003:

“The most abundant green tea polyphenol EpigalloCatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG), was found to induce differential effects between tumor cells and normal cells.”

EGCG stimulates only non-cancerous cells. The report also stated: “… [a]ged keratinocytes, which exhibited low basal cellular activities after culturing in growth medium for up to 25 days, renewed DNA synthesis and activated succinate dehydrogenase up to 37-fold upon exposure to either EGCG or the polyphenols.”

Niacinamide (Vitamin B3).  Aging skin produces less of the fatty substance, ceramide, that helps the keratinocytes serve as the normal barrier that prevents water loss. Niacinamide stimulates ceramide synthesis, helping reduce the appearance of aging.

“Niacinamide is a more effective moisturizer than white petrolatum on atopic dry skin, and may be used as a treatment in atopic dermatitis.”

A clinical study of topically applied niacinamide in July of 2005 found:  “Analyses of the data revealed a variety of significant skin appearance improvement effects for topical Niacinamide: reductions in fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin sallowness. In addition, elasticity was improved. …In addition to previously observed benefits for topical Niacinamide, additional effects were identified.”

In 2005, dermatologists at the University of Cincinnati performed a clinical human study that clearly demonstrated the power of niacinamide to erase facial hyperpigmented skin lesions.

Resveratrol. “… decreases the proliferation of skin fibroblast cells, to decrease scar tissue and prominent wrinkles.”

Superoxide Dismutase. Dermatologists at the University of Cologne stated:

“Reactive oxygen species generated in the skin by UV irradiation promote photoaging and photocarcinogenesis. Superoxide dismutase is a primary antioxidant enzyme that crucially contributes to the homeostasis of oxygen radicals within the mitochondria, and thus critically participates in the control of senescence and tumor generation.”

When topically applied to the skin, it has a special ability to reverse the vasoconstriction to the skin, and this reversal of vascular spasm occurs “… when reactive oxygen species are scavenged by superoxide dismutase.”

Superoxide dismutase works strongly against photoaging, a factor of increasing importance because:

“The recent increase of ultraviolet rays on the Earth due to the increasing size of the ozone hole is harmful to life and to accelerate premature photo-aging of the skin. The detrimental effects of UV radiation on the skin are associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species such as superoxide anion radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and singlet oxygen. In this study, we report first in vivo detection and imaging of the generated reactive oxygen species in the skin of live mice following UVA irradiation. In addition, we found that the superoxide radical is formed spontaneously and singlet oxygen is generated in the UVA-irradiated skin.”

Note:     The superoxide oxygen radical is the specific target for the superoxide dismutase antioxidant enzyme. That’s one of the main reasons we included it in our Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy formula.

To evaluate sugar-caused advanced glycenation end-products (AGE) and its ability to cause more harm from sunlight exposure, researchers conducted a detailed biochemical study on human skin fibroblast cells. They reported:

“To clarify a possible role of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) on photoaging of human skin, the interaction between AGE and ultraviolet-A light was examined from both a biological and chemical perspective. Human dermal fibroblasts that were exposed to UVA and AGE exhibited significant decrease of cell viability. Unstable free radicals including hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, were also generated. The reaction was inhibited by addition of superoxide dismutase in the system.”

Ursolic Acid.  Topically applied, ursolic acid reduces wrinkles in the skin by increasing the natural collagen content in skin. This benefit is achieved by increasing the production of fibroblast cells in the dermis as well as increasing the ceramide content of the epidermis. Ursolic acid “… prevents premature aging of the skin.”

“Ursolic acid significantly suppressed UVA-induced reactive oxygen species production and lipid peroxidation. Pretreatment with ursolic acid significantly reduced the UVA-induced activation and expression of MMP-2. In addition, UVA-induced enhanced expression of p53, a hallmark of UV-induced DNA damage and cell death, was also significantly inhibited by pretreatment with ursolic acid. Taken together, these results suggest that ursolic acid may be an effective inhibitor of UVA-modulated signal transduction pathways in human skin cells. These results further suggest that this agent may be useful in the prevention of UVA-induced photo-aging.

Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate & Retinol). A one-year study on facial skin aging and topically applied retinaldehyde reported:  “…[c]ompared to the control group, retinaldehyde treatment induced a significant increase in epidermal thickness of the temple, as well as cutaneous (skin) elasticity. Retinaldehyde has counteracting effects on skin aging.”  Retinyl palmitate and Retinol are two of the safe precursors of vitamin A.

The biological reasons for many of the anti-photoaging effects of retinol include:

“…vitamin A, retinol, and retinaldehyde have free radical scavenging potential. Due to their physical properties, they absorb UV light in the region of the solar spectrum that is responsible for the most deleterious biological effects of the sun.”

and

“…Interfering with this UV-induced vitamin A deficiency (using topical vitamin A precursors) is a new concept for the prevention of skin cancer and aging.”

A measurement for the amount of DNA damage is the amount of thymine dimers present in the skin. Skin loaded with vitamin A as retinyl-esters, after applying sufficient amounts of retinol, retinyl palmitate, and retinaldehyde topically, and exposed to sunlight sufficient to cause four times the minimal erythema dose, reduced production of thymine dimers by 43%. In human subjects, this form of topical therapy:

“…was as efficient as a sun protection factor 20 sunscreen in preventing sunburn erythema as well as the formation of thymine dimers. These results demonstrate that epidermal retinyl esters have a biologically relevant filter activity and suggest, besides their pleomorphic biologic actions, a new role for vitamin A that concentrates in the epidermis.”

Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy contains powerful and safe natural nutrients for the skin that can be topically applied daily, forever. NaturalLift MD does not have artificial colors, fragrances or paraben preservatives so it is safe to use twice daily for maximum benefits.  These have been scientifically proven to block the toxic actions of free-radical oxidants and carcinogens, as well as inflammatory, carcinogenic, and aging compounds created within the skin in reaction to their negative effects.

Along with other powerful and natural ingredients below, NaturaLift MD is proven to prevent cancer and but also enhance cell renewal.  These and  28 concentrated antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts that work together as a powerful team to safely and effectively reverse the signs of aging.  It significantly reduces wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation and heals irritated and damaged skin while reducing the risk of skin cancer  and slowing further skin degeneration.

Ellagic Acid (from Pomegranate Seed Extract)

When topically applied, ellagic acid (ofthese antioxidants tested: ellagic acid, alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), ferulic acid, and curcumin.) “… exerted the strongest effect to suppress lipid peroxide of skin and augmented the viability of skin flaps.”

Ginkgo Biloba Extract

Applied topically to the skin, ginkgo biloba extract has a strong anti-inflammatory activity by “… inhibiting by 65% the production of prostaglandin E2 and markedly suppressing induction of COX-2.” Ginkgo biloba extract, applied to the skin, is a potent free radical scavenger.

Niacinamide (Vitamin B3)

This nutrient has very strong anti-inflammatory properties which cause a significant improvement in acne. By reducing inflammation, niacinamide decreases leukocyte peroxidase enzymes that lead to localized skin damage and thereby improves the appearance of the skin. It helps suppress inflammation caused by white blood cells when triggered by antigens.

Squalane

Squalane helps stop and prevents chronic skin inflammation:

“The physical, chemical and biochemical factors that accelerate skin aging have been proposed to activate a self-maintained micro-inflammatory process, one of the expected end results of which is an imbalance in the turnover of macromolecules in the dermis. Surface peroxides are recognized as controllable factors of skin aging, and their accumulation is attributed to environmentally induced impairment of defense enzymes. Topical application of antioxidants decreases the rate at which skin elasticity and skin thickness is modified.”

Superoxide Dismutase

Superoxide dismutase was studied for its ability to heal scalded skin (scalding skin results in second-degree, and sometimes third-degree, burns) with the least amount of damage. Scientists at the Institute of Applied Microbiology reported:

“Highly reactive metabolites, such as oxygen free radicals, initiate a cascade of inflammatory processes in the thermally damaged skin, leading to enhanced tissue loss and delayed wound healing. The extent of tissue necrosis in the zone of stasis is of prognostic significance in the wound healing process. The findings of this study indicate that superoxide dismutase treatment resulted in reduced and faster recruitment of edema formation, smaller wound sizes, and minor transformation to necrosis compared to the controls, thus resulting in significantly faster reepithelialization after three weeks.”

Ursolic Acid

Ursolic acid is a potent anti-inflammatory agent, as shown by the results quoted from these tests:

“Topical application of ursolic acid inhibited TPA-induced inflammation, ornithine decarboxylase activity, and tumor promotion. … [t]opical application of ursolic acid together with TPA twice weekly for 20 weeks to DMBA-initiated mice inhibited the number of tumors per mouse by 61%.”

Take a good look in the mirror.  Have you ever wondered why a child’s skin is so soft and smooth? What causes our skin, one of the body’s most vital organs to show its age? More importantly, what can we do to stop, or even reverse, that aging process?

Do you notice signs of aging? Sunlight, air pollution, soaps, harsh chemicals and cosmetics working their toxic effects from the outside, plus the internal toxins from sugar, pesticides and chemicals in food, cigarette smoke, unhealthy foods and chlorinated water injure your skin from within. Over the years, the loss of the ability to manufacture enough glucosamine sulfate to produce hyaluronic acid has turned the baby face of your childhood into what you see and feel today.

At birth, the skin is full and un-wrinkled: plump and thick to sight and touch. Aging affects all skin components, as we will discuss in much greater detail in this book. But researchers have demonstrated that the hyaluronic acid molecule is also affected chronological and external aging forces.

Although an intact large molecule of hyaluronic acid per se is not an antioxidant, it actually has similar protective qualities inside the skin. As you will read in great detail, ultraviolet sunlight penetrates the skin and causes potentially dangerous molecular changes — reactive oxygen species (ROSs), forms of free radicals.

Hyaluronic acid produced by the skin acts to help control ROSs before they can destroy the water-soluble and fatty components of the skin’s ground substance and cells.  The concentration of hyaluronic acid in the epidermis of healthy skin is 15 micrograms per gram of skin. In the dermis, the concentration is 740 micrograms per gram of skin. Sufficient hyaluronic acid should be concentrated where it can best perform its functions: to moisturize, fill, and cushion the skin. The fact, obvious to any who gaze occasionally into a mirror, is that the most visible sign of aging occurs in our skin. When skin is exposed to sunlight over time, fat skin cells disappear and are replaced by scarring. Collagen is degraded by the cross-linking of molecules, making it stiffer and contracted. This, along with an increasing degradation in the ability to produce enough hyaluronic acid from a decreasing level of glucosamine sulfate, causes wrinkling.

Skin aging is caused by both chronological years, and photoaging — damage from chronic exposure to sunlight and other environmental toxins. Extrinsic aging causes the collagen to degrade by forming increasing amounts of cross-linkages of these molecules. That results in wrinkles and thinner, and stiffer skin. This is similar to tanning leather.

Photoaging (Wrinkles)

Wrinkles form in the dermis; removing the dead layers of the epidermis not only returns no benefit, it creates more harm from the loss of natural protection, including the absorption of naturally-produced skin oils that form in the dermis and bind to the epidermis. These oils keep moisture inside the skin. After all, we’re 98% water .  Dynamic wrinkles occur with facial muscle contraction. They appear as hills-and-valleys at a right angle to those muscles which tense the attached skin. Although they appear when facial muscles tense from expression, over time they may become static.
Ultraviolet sunlight

Sunlight is the most damaging toxin to the skin. Even with SPF 45, damage will result, although less damage than without it. The only total protection is to avoid sunlight. Windows offer no protection, either: they do not block UV-A.

Inflammation

Inflammation is also a major cause of the aging the skin and blood vessels, contributing to preventable atherosclerosis (Atherosclerosis comes from the Greek words athero (meaning gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). It’s the name of the process in which deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, calcium and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. This buildup is called plaque. It usually affects large and medium-sized arteries. Some hardening of arteries often occurs when people grow older. (courtesy The American Heart Association Web site.) Inflammation damages all layers and components of the skin, as well as the lining of the arteries, including those that supply oxygen-rich blood under pressure to the heart and brain. These progressive injuries cause wrinkles, cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, which are preventable.

Nutrient deficiencies

As we age, the skin is depleted of essential nutrients such as: glucosamine sulfate (for hyaluronic acid production), coenzyme Q-10, squalane, and gamma linolenic acid (GLA). Based on the average US adult’s diet, chronic exposure to the sun and other environmental factors, many people also develop the following skin nutrient deficiencies: essential fatty acids, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D3, beta-sitosterol, superoxide dismutase, and phosphatidylcholine.  Studies have found that a deficiency of coenzyme Q-10 in many organs has caused “… severe encephalophathy7 and renal failure.” These deficiencies included damage to all fibroblast cells.

Eczema

Eczema is: “… a pruritic papulovesicular dermatitis occurring as a reaction to many endogenous and exogenous agents. It is characterised in the acute stage by erythema, oedema associated with a serous exudate between the cells of the epidermis (spongiosis) and an inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis, oosing and vesiculation and crusting and scaling and in the more chronic stages by lichenification or thickening or both, signs of excoriations and hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation or both. Atopic dermatitis is the most common type of dermatitis.”  Which means, according to Merriam-Webster, is that eczema is “… an inflammatory condition of the skin characterized by redness, itching, and oozing vesicular lesions which become scaly, crusted, or hardened.”

Allergic Reactions

Beta-sitosterol reduces allergic reactions from the release of histamine in the skin. The body releases histamine during an allergic reaction, causing “… dilatation of  capillaries, contraction of smooth muscle, and stimulation of gastric acid secretion.” Beta-sitosterol significantly decreases the penetrability of capillary vessels …caused by histamine.” The greatest effect is seen in the skin of the face, neck and hands. Even a face lift does not address the obvious aging skin of the neck and hands.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease characterized by circumscribed red patches covered with white scales.” A more detailed explanation of this malady is that it is: “… a common chronic, squamous dermatosis, marked by exacerbations and remissions and having a polygenic inheritance pattern. The most distinctive histological findings in well developed psoriasis are Munro microabscesses and spongiform pustules. It is characterised clinically by the presence of rounded, circumscribed, erythematous, dry scaling patches of various sizes, covered by greyish white or silvery white, umbilicated and lamellar scales, which have a predilection for the extensor surfaces, nails, scalp, genitalia and lumbosacral region. Central clearing and coalescence of the lesions produce a wide variety of clinical configurations, including annular or circinate, discoid or nummular, figurate and gyrate arrangements.”

Tobacco

Cigarette smoke releases about one million free radicals per use; these markedly increase the risk of developing wrinkles. There are, of course, additional concerns over links between tobacco and heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema. Read the warning label carried on each cigarette pack. In addition to its well known risks for causing emphysema, lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, tobacco causes a degeneration of the skin matrix.

Diet

The wrong diet increases wrinkles; the right diet helps prevent them. A consortium of nutritionists and scientists published their comprehensive findings in 2001.Using detailed questionnaires, 2000 elderly subjects revealed their food choices.  Butter was among the worst individual contributors. Sugar and sugar products caused harm through the glycation of proteins. “For nutrients, higher intakes of total fat, especially monounsaturated fat, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and retinol were correlated with less actinic skin damage.”

Sugar Damage

High blood glucose interferes with the ability of fibroblast cells to produce the skin’s ground matrix substances, collagen and hyaluronic acid. A child’s skin has these in abundance; adults can rebuild this abundant supply, using NexDerma® Naturalift MD: Advanced Face Lift Therapy.  High glucose has been shown to limit the healing ability of skin by hurting fibroblast cell function. Fibroblasts are cells that produce the ground matrix substances collagen and hyaluronic acid. These ground matrix substances also hold everything in the body together, make the skin soft and plump, and allows for flexibility at the same time.

Glucose also attaches to proteins, a process known as glycation. As time passes, metabolism alters glycation, resulting in advanced glycation end-products that directly damage cell membrane lysosomes. Lysomes have potent enzymes that defend the body by attacking and destroying foreign matter, such as bacteria.  Advanced glycation end-products hasten photoaging of skin by increasing the negative effects of free radical oxidants, including the oxygen molecule with a missing electron (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the hydroxyl ion (OH-) generated from UV-A sunlight. These advanced glycation end-products directly reduce the skin’s ability to synthesize hyaluronic acid.

Sugar binds to body protein components, including col agen in the skin and the walls of arteries, and causes severe damage. These sugar-bound compounds are called advanced glycation end-products (AGE). AGE is an appropriate and ironic way of describing what this does to the skin: cause more and deeper wrinkles.  Sugar interferes with fibroblast cells. High and medium glycemic index and glycemic load carbohydrates raise blood sugar too high after consumption. Whether you consume sugar in soda, candy, cereals, bread, potatoes, carrots, or anything sweet, or in complex carbohydrates that are broken down into simple sugars, it interferes with the skin’s ability to maintain its youthful texture and appearance. In addition, sugar causes fibroblast cells to be “… resistant to growth factors such as IGF-1 and EGF.”

Essential Fatty Acid Oils

Fatty acids are essential to human health but cannot be produced by the body. Therefore, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish and certain plant oils. It is important to maintain an appropriate balance of omega-3 to omega-6 (another essential fatty acid) in the diet as these two substances work together to promote health. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development.