Multi – Vitamins for Health Beauty

You know the old saying; "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" An apple is something that helps build internal health as it is a powerful antioxidant. That same antioxidant power can be applied to skin care as well. Antioxidants have been used for years with fantastic results for topical skin care. Today, it's rare for wholesome products not to be enriched with one or more health- and beauty-enhancing ingredients.

MULTI-VITAMIN HAS MULTI-POWER

Nearly two decades of scientific research indicates creams, lotions, and ointments containing vitamins and nutrients may help reduce wrinkles and protect skin against sun damage and maladies such as rosacea and exema. These ingredients, acting as antioxidants, fight oxygen-free radicals such as pollution, smoke, UV rays, and other harsh elements that damage DNA and cause skin to sag and lose elasticity.

Unlike supplements, which deploy only a portion of the vitamin's potency to the skin, vitamin-enriched products applied topically have a more direct, long-lasting effect. And, it is an effect today's clients are clamoring for-younger looking skin for longer: younger looking skin longer. To deliver what your clients seek, carefully evaluate the ingredients in the products you retail and your esthetician use in treatments. Here is what to look for.

WHAT THE LABEL TELLS YOU

Alpha Lipoic Acid ( ALA )

Products with ALA are ideal for treating people with clogged pores or acne. The antioxidant ALA , which is soluble in fat and water, and is easily absorbed. It helps reduce inflammations, minimize scars, and lessen the appearance of enlarged pores. ALA also increases cell metabolism and helps to repair skin damage, making it tremendously therapeutic for aging skin.

Deanol Bitartrate (DMAE)

DMAE, a strong anti-inflammatory nutrient that the body produces naturally, is hailed for diminishing the appearance of scars and improving the firmness and tone of muscles. When mixed with other nutrients and applied topically, DMAE can quickly and dramatically increase firmness and skin radiance. It also has the ability to store in the skin to provide lasting benefits.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A takes many forms. For example, retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, is the active ingredient in prescription Retin-A, and Renova, another derivative of vitamin A, is used to prevent [treat] acne and wrinkles. Today, many cosmetic companies are looking at incorporating another yet another derivative, Retinol, into nonprescription lotions. Regardless of the form, vitamin A causes the skin to exfoliate at a faster rate, a process that otherwise slows with age. Exfoliation brings fresher-looking skin to the surface and prevents pores from clogging, which could lead to acne. Using vitamin A increases sensitivity to the sun, however, so it is even more important to warn clients to be diligent about using sunscreen.

Vitamin C

Known for its ability to neutralize harmful free radical molecules, vitamin C protects skin against UVA and UVB rays. A six-month study conducted in France in 2001 found that C's fat-soluble form, vitamin C ester, might actually reverse skin damage. Researchers saw the participants' wrinkles diminish during the time they applied cream with vitamin C ester, also called ascorbyl palmitate. Additionally, vitamin C enhances skin's smoothness, creating a youthful glow.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E, known for its anti-inflammatory and nurturing effects, is cropping up in more and more in balms, lotions, and salves. The fat-soluble vitamin, found in nuts, oils, and vegetables, moisturizes, smoothes, and softens skin. Recent research suggests that vitamin E applied topically, particularly in the form of alpha tocopherol, can smooth rough skin, diminish the length of facial lines, and lessen the depth of wrinkles. Using vitamin E may also reduce the risk of UV light-induced skin cancer, prompting it to be added to many sunscreens.

Scientists are learning more and more about how vitamins and nutrients can improve our well-being-inside and out. Recently, another antioxidant, Idebenone, has emerged on the beauty scene. The extremely powerful nutrient appears to fight cell damage related to aging and wrinkles. By putting these naturally occurring substances to work, estheticians have a more effective skin care tools to treat and improve clients' skin. And happy clients with great-looking skin are a great advertisement for you and your business.

by Melanie Vasseur

How Are Antioxidants Linked to Anti-Aging ?

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.

by Carina MacInnes

Free Radicals cause individual cells to become damaged or die

We often read or hear news reports about antioxidants and how they can improve our health, yet we rarely hear about the role they play in the pleasure we obtain from sex and intimacy.

To understand antioxidants and the ways they can enhance genital health, we first need to understand the role that free radicals play in damaging our cells. In essence, free radicals are the toxic byproducts of our metabolism. Free radical production can increase as a result of the foods we eat (as is the case with charbroiled meat) or the air we breathe (as is the case with second hand smoke).

Using several enzyme-based systems, our body does its best to combat free radicals. When our body's defenses fail, though, free radicals cause individual cells to become damaged or die. If left unchecked, free radicals cause tissue damage, premature aging, and loss of cellular function. In other words, our cells become oxidized, much in the same way that rust forms on iron when it is exposed to air and water.

Antioxidants help to combat free radical damage by shoring up the body's enzyme-based systems. Vitamins C and E are popular antioxidants, as are the polyphenols found in plants and in certain foods and beverages, such as cocoa, red wine, green tea, and ginseng.

Antioxidants can also improve sexual pleasure and intimacy. Women who are perimenopausal, menopausal, or post-menopausal - along with women who use oral contraceptives - can experience genital oxidative stress, which can result in vaginal dryness and a lack of sexual desire. In a sense, antioxidants are an aphrodisiac, in that they preserve the nitric oxide needed to dilate blood vessels in genital tissues, which in turn causes sexual arousal.

Eating or drinking foods and beverages with antioxidant properties is sure to improve your overall feeling of well-being, but antioxidants delivered in the form of a lubricant to sensitive genital skin can have a positive impact on sexual pleasure and intimacy. When organic antioxidants penetrate the skin, they energize nerve endings.

Genital skin care should be an ongoing priority. When looking for an antioxidant to promote genital health, it is important to find one that is water-free and non-oily. Instead, it should be polymer-based and have a non-sticky feeling. In addition, it should be a product that can be used on a daily basis.

by: Chris Robertson