The Importance of Nutrition for Skincare and Aging
Anti-aging has been a popular topic for as long as we can remember, people are always striving to stay looking young and youthful for as long as possible. However, there is much debate as to the best ways to do this, but one factor that can be agreed upon is Prevention.
There are essentially two types of aging, intrinsic skin aging, which is chronological aging and affects our internal organs the same as our skin. The second is extrinsic skin aging, which is influenced by external factors such as sun exposure, smoking, and poor nutrition. While there’s not much one can do about intrinsic aging, extrinsic aging is where we can help you to develop a strategy to help keep your skin looking youthful, along with preventative measures.
The best prevention against aging is a well regulated lifestyle. Things such as maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, low stress and eating a well-balanced diet consisting of anti-oxidative rich foods.
Antioxidants such as carotenoids, tocopherols and flavonoids, Vitamins A, C, D, E, and Omega-3-fatty acids, and some proteins are frequently researched and considered capable of promoting healthy skin.
So what are these, and where can you find them?
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is not naturally created by our bodies, and therefore we need to obtain an adequate amount through our diet. It is recommended that an adult woman needs 75mg, and adult men 90mg per day.
Vitamin C is found to neutralize free radicals, which when found in excess can damage cells. It also is responsible for stabilizing the structure of collagen, and a deficiency can lead to impaired collagen creation. It is important to remember that when it comes to skincare, a lot of products on the market that claim vitamin C are using stable esters that are often not actually converted to vitamin C.
Vitamin C is best found in citrus fruits, bell peppers, kiwi fruit, strawberries, tomatoes, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts.
Vitamin E
The vitamin E complex is a group of 8 compounds called tocopherols. This is a type of antioxidant that is great for getting rid of free radicals.
Vitamin E works very well when paired with vitamin C, but also Q10. Vitamin E helps protect collagen and lipids, which are both needed to keep skin looking youthful and can be found in foods like sunflower oil, safflower oil, corn, soy, and some meats.
Carotenoids (vitamin A and Retinol)
Carotenoids are antioxidants that have been documented to possess photoprotective properties, meaning these can offer some corrective properties for damage done to your skin on a molecular level by the sun. These can be found in carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, mangos, and papaya, microalgae, salmon, trout, shrimp, and yeast.
Retinol is important for the body, however, like vitamin C our bodies do not naturally create it. Retinol is essential for tissue regeneration and can be found in food such as liver, milk, egg yolk, cheeses and fatty fish.
Vitamin D
While our bodies can create vitamin D through sun exposure, 70%-97% of Canadians have a vitamin D deficiency. Some studies show that women who appear to be more visibly aged have underlying genetic differences in their vitamin D creation. Studies have shown that vitamin D offers protection to the effects of the sun on our skin, but that our creation of vitamin D diminishes as we age. Vitamin D can be found in egg yolk, fatty fish, as well as some products such as milk, cereal and margarine that are enriched with added vitamin D.
Polyphenols
Polyphenols has been a popular topic of research in the last decade because it has shown to have antioxidant properties that play a probable role in prevention of disease associated with oxidative stress, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Polyphenols have shown to defend against UV radiation and pathogens. Many laboratory studies show that different polyphenols can help UV induced skin inflammation, oxidative stress, and DNA damage, and when paired with sunscreen can protect against risk of skin cancers. Polyphenols can be found in fruit juices, red wine, coffee, tea, chocolate, dry legumes, and green tea.
Collagen Peptides
Collagen is an important protein made by our bodies that helps to keep your tissues and bones together, in particular, your skin! Collagen helps to give your skin structure so by boosting your skin’s collagen levels, can help your skin look fuller and more youthful.
I and III hydrolyzed collagen (bovine source) is a great source for supporting the reduction of wrinkles and fine lines.
Supplements such as CytoMatrix Dermal Collagen Peptides has been specifically designed to improve the quality of skin (helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite within 2-3 months), hair (strengthens) and nails (speeds growth and reduces chipping) and is clinically proven to reduce eye wrinkles in 4 weeks.
So what can you do?
These nutrients are just the tip of the iceberg, and there are many nutritional-derived factors that play a role in your skincare and aging. At Port Moody Health, we offer IV nutrient therapies.
IV nutrient therapies enable rapid delivery of higher concentrations of medicines that may otherwise not be possible by oral means, and offer an almost 100% absorption rate of nutrients. Therefore, for individuals who are severely depleted or in need of high and rapid absorption of nutrients, IV nutrient therapy is extremely beneficial and strongly recommended
For those individuals who are generally healthy and interested in “anti-aging” or simply preventative medicine, parenteral therapies offer delivery of high concentrations of potent antioxidants to combat oxidative stress which is a marker of premature aging, degenerative diseases and pre-cancerous states.
WHAT SUBSTANCES ARE ADMINISTERED?
The type of parenteral therapy (i.e. I.V. and/or injection) will vary depending on the condition and the purpose of the treatment. Naturopathic treatments are individualized according to the patient and the treatment goals. Various vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, botanicals and antioxidants may be safely administered parenterally to enhance the therapeutic response, and it is often prescribed as part of a complete, holistic and individualized treatment plan.
To find out which option is best for you, we recommend booking a consultation with one of our Naturopathic Doctors – 604-949-0077
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