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Treat Your Skin Right: Inside and Out!
"A healthy body is reflected in the quality of the skin. Maintain Your skin and you will improve your health."~Unknown
We all want to look good. But protecting the skin and treating it right have much more to do with health than just a youthful or vibrant appearance. The skin is our largest organ and its quality is a good barometer of our overall health. Issues with the skin are telling of internal imbalances in the body. The skin is a protective barrier and represents our first line of defense against pathogens and chemicals. It helps us maintain normal body temperature, eliminates toxins from the body, and allows for the absorption of sunlight, nutrients, medicines, and unfortunately, toxins into the body.
The Skin Has Two Layers:
The epidermis (outer layer) is where new skin forms, pigmentation is determined, and Vitamin D is produced from sunlight. This layer of skin can be taken care of both from the inside and the outside. Its fitness, or lack thereof, can be related to too much sun exposure, a lack of hydration, a lack of nutrients that nourish the skin, insufficient antioxidants, or the use of unhealthy substances on the skin.
The dermis (inner layer) is made up of proteins like collagen and elastin which give the skin its structure and youthful look. It also contains the sweat glands, sebaceous glands, and has a rich blood supply that carries substances from the skin back to the bloodstream. This layer is best nourished from the inside out.
Substances that are both oil and water soluble can best penetrate the skin. Drugs, steroid hormones, and other substances can be metabolized by the skin and drawn into the body. Once on the skin, a substance can reach the liver in 3 minutes. This begs the question of whether we should be putting certain things on our skin or not. If the chemicals in skin care products are unhealthy for us and they are being transported to our already over-stressed and over-loaded livers, are we further damaging our health by using these products?
The short answer to that question is yes. The average person is exposed to 25 products each day containing over 200 chemicals. Think about it: shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, perfume, deodorant, cleansers, moisturizers, toners, shaving cream, and the list goes on. Of the 10,500 chemicals used in skin care products, 89% have never been tested for their effect on human health. In fact, many of these chemicals are known endocrine disruptors, cause respiratory issues, and are known carcinogens. How can this be?
The terms "organic" and "natural" as used on skin care products currently have no standard applied to them. That is, there is no regulating body that is in place to determine the safety of skin care products or to validate claims made on their labels. Some groups are trying to change this. The Natural Products Association came out with a seal about 18 months ago that disallows certain chemicals and makes certain requirements for skin care products. Their seal can be found on many products found in health food stores. NSF, an international testing and certifying agency, has also recently come out with a set of standards for skin care products that they can provide certification for. Hopefully this will serve to make products safer and not confuse consumers. Whole Foods has also recently issued a directive that any product bearing the word "organic" on its label must comply with the USDA organic standards (95% organic ingredients) or their "made with organic" claim that requires that 70% of ingredients are organic. This should serve to clean up misleading claims on skin care labels if you shop at Whole Foods, but if you buy your skin care products at the drug store or the department store, then "buyer beware".
So what can we do? We can nourish our skin from the inside out and we can put quality natural products on our skin. Nutrition for the skin from the inside out relates primarily to three things: Hydration, Digestion & Elimination, and Structure.
Hydration
The skin needs to be properly hydrated to be healthy. Drinking adequate amounts of filtered water eliminates many of the chemicals that can cause free radicals in the body and damage the skin. A compound called hyaluronic acid, which attracts 10X its weight in water can be helpful to bringing moisture to the skin. Oils applied just after a shower (i.e., while wet) will enhance the penetration into the skin and nourish the skin from the outside in.
Digestion & Elimination
A healthy digestive system reduces the burden on the skin to rid the body of toxins. Many skin issues like eczema, acne, rosacea, and others have at their root problems with proper digestion and elimination. A lack of fiber, incomplete digestion of proteins, and a lack of healthy gut bacteria can all put an extra burden on the skin to rid the body of toxins. Fiber helps the body carry fat-soluble toxins out of the system. If the diet has insufficient fiber, toxins will be reabsorbed, circulate in the bloodstream and potentially be eliminated through the skin causing eruptions, scaly conditions, itching, rashes, etc. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, cauliflower and cabbage support the detoxification of hormones, medications and other toxins, and so can benefit the skin.
B vitamins are very important to skin metabolism, help reduce stress that can aggravate skin conditions, and are important to the digestion of proteins. Food allergies or sensitivities that cause skin issues are the result of the incomplete digestion of the related proteins in the body. If the gut is unhealthy, these undigested proteins can escape into the bloodstream causing inflammation and all manner of problems. Probiotics, the healthy bacteria that live in our digestive systems, promote healthy digestion, help us to produce some of our B vitamins, and are crucial to the fighting of pathogens that can cause disease.
Structure
The skin is made up of fats, proteins and glycoproteins. Nourishing the skin involves promoting these proteins and giving the skin the healthy fats that it needs.
Healthy Oils--The skin can be nourished by a variety of healthy oils, including omega-3's, GLA-containing oils, and omega-7. Omega-7 is little talked about but is truly one of the heroes of skin nutrition. It helps to build mucosal tissue, facilitating repair, and is helpful in healing many skin conditions. Omega-3 oils from flax, fish, or chia promote healthy skin structure and improve hydration. Evening primrose oil and borage contain GLA, which can be helpful for inflammatory skin conditions.
Silicon--This mineral comes in many forms and is commonly seen as silica from the herb horsetail, in the mineral form itself, or as orthosilicilic acid, a broken down form of silicon. It promotes the proteins that make up the skin, nails, and hair including collagen, elastin, and keratin. It also has the benefit of promoting healthy bone growth.
Dark Chocolate--I keep coming up with more reasons to enjoy this wonderful food. It increases protection from UV rays, dilates blood vessels bringing nutrients to the skin, and increases skin thickness and smoothness by improving hydration. An ounce or two a day is plenty!
Antioxidants--Free radicals affecting the skin are caused by sun exposure, chemicals and even by normal metabolism. Antioxidants are the heroes of skin maintenance and anti-aging. There are a myriad of antioxidants that can benefit the skin. It is becoming more common to use antioxidants as topical agents in skin care products in addition to taking them internally.
Vitamins A, C & E--These are great antioxidants, especially in combination. Vitamin A is important to healing the skin and protecting against photo-aging. Vitamin C promotes collagen, and Vitamin E improves blood flow to the skin and preserves other antioxidants.
Alpha Lipoic Acid--Is both fat and water soluble, protects against free radical damage and recycles other antioxidants. It promotes elasticity of the skin by preventing cross-linking of skin proteins and sugar. Use 100 mg per day for skin health.
Carotenoids--Includes the carotenes, lycopene, and astaxanthin. Plants use carotenoids to protect themselves from the negative effects of the sun and so can we. Lycopene is especially helpful for this purpose. Astaxanthin gives seafoods like shrimp, salmon and krill their pink color and may have 60-100X the effectiveness of Vitamins C or E alone. It scavenges free radicals including those that cause wrinkles.
Common Skin Conditions and Their Remedies
Acne can be cause by hormonal changes or food allergies, but almost always is at least partly due to toxic blood. Its remedies include:
- Zinc is important to skin healing and hormone function
- Probiotics support healthy digestion and elimination. When absent, toxins will be released by the skin. Also important to combating acne-causing bacteria.
- Burdock Root is an herb that is a blood purifier, nourishes the pituitary and the hypothalamus (which control hormone balance), and helps regenerate skin structures
- Green tea reduces the skin's production of oil, fights inflammation, and combats bacteria
- Aloe is good for acne where dryness is also present. One topical preparation also has herbs that can help cleanse the skin.
- Neem and tea tree oil are good antiseptic oils and may be used topically to cleanse
Brown Spots/Hyperpigmentation
- Licorice inhibits tyrosinase (makes melanin which causes excess pigmentation) and is anti-inflammatory
- Pycnogenol lightens age spots and gives antioxidant protection
- Rosa rubiginosa (rosehip seed oil) used topically will lighten age spots and take away skin tags
Premature Wrinkling/Dryness
· Antioxidants (taken internally and/or applied externally) fight free radicals that cause lines in the skin
· Hyaluronic acid holds 10X its own weight in water and is a great hydrator for the skin
· Biosil (a form of silica) builds skin structures and promotes new skin
Hair & Nail Issues may be a sign of a more serious condition such as low thyroid, iron deficiency, hormonal imbalance, or prescription drug side effects, so check with your doctor if it is severe:
- Biotin promotes hair growth and also helps with blood sugar control
- Zinc deficiency is indicated by splitting of the hair and nails or falling hair
- Silica, horsetail or Biosil are forms of the mineral silicon, which is very important to hair and nail growth
- MSM is a sulfur compound that is an important to the production of keratin, the main hair protein
Rosacea
- Probiotics improve digestion and overall skin health
- Burdock root can improve this condition due to its help in detoxing the body and balancing hormones
- Evening primrose oil, applied topically, can reduce the inflammation associated with rosacea. Taken internally, it can help balance hormones and the GLA in it is a powerful anti-inflammatory
- Topical aloe vera gel is very soothing and cooling to rosacea
- Pycnogenol is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. It can be taken internally or may be found in topical applications
- Sea buckthorn oil nutrifies the skin and takes away irritation
- Cruciferous veggies are especially great for those who get rosacea during menopause. They help with detoxification of the "bad" estrogens. Indole-3-carbinol and DIM, extracted from these vegetables are also good for this purpose.
So what do we put on our skin? You would be surprised to learn of the ingredients found in some "natural" products. There are carcinogens, petroleum products, respiratory irritants, and ingredients that cause dermatitis. Below are some common skin care ingredients that should be avoided as well as some that form the basis of skin care products that are good for you.
Skin Care Ingredients to Say No To
- "Fragrance" many times hides phthalates, a group of chemicals that disrupt hormone function, may stimulate weight gain, and encourage fat deposition
- SLS (sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate) is found in most shampoos, conditioners, and even toothpastes. It is a harsh detergent, is subject to contamination with carcinogenic compounds that degrade to dangerous compounds like 1,4 dioxane, and are endocrine disruptors
- Parabens are preservatives that have been found in breast cancer tissue
- Propylene glycol is a skin irritant and has preliminary evidence of other problems
- DEA, MEA, and TEA are respiratory and immune irritants
- Colorants are being linked to ADD and autisim
- Coal tar (in dark hair dyes)
- Formaldehydeand toluene are in many nail polishes and are extremely toxic
- Petroleum products like mineral oil, Vaseline, petrolatum
- Oxybenzone and other chemical (vs physical) sunblocks
Nourishing Skin Care Ingredients
- Herbs & foods-Burdock root, Chamomile, Calendula, Marshmallow Root (Althea Root), Green Tea, Milk Thistle, Olive Fruit Extract, Aloe, Plantain, Cocoa, Honey, Red Clover, Seaweeds, Avocado, Oat, Pycnogenol, Neem, & Horsetail
- Nourishing oils or butters like cocoa butter, shea butter, jojoba oil, grape seed oil, beeswax, coconut oil, sesame oil, rice bran oil
- Essential oils like lavender, evening primrose, sea buckthorn, rosehip seed (rosa rubiginosa)
It's true, it's complicated! The skin care industry has evolved into one that is more about marketing and appearances than one that is about health. But the skin is so important to and reflective of our overall health that we need to pay more attention. We need to pay attention not only to what goes on our skin and hence into our bodies, but what is going into our water supply, rivers and streams. I love the chemicals that say "safe in a product that is washed off" such as shampoo, but where do people think these things go once they have "disappeared" down our drains? We live with these chemicals every day and they are posing a greater and greater challenge to our health. Our children's bodies are just not equipped to process all of these chemicals. This speaks to the prevalence of ADD, autism, allergies, asthma, skin diseases and even cancer. If you would like to improve the products you are putting on your skin and back into the environment, please visit us. We have done the research for you! Think about it!
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