Unlocking Real Beauty From Within

The largest organ of our body is the skin. Women have been known to care for this essential organ since the dawn of time. Cleopatra would bathe in honey and milk to maintain her beauty during the ancient Egyptian era. Helen of Troy would not have been able to launch a thousand ships without her beauty that ignited the Trojan War. Women in history have been known to value their skin to the utmost perfection. In present times, this is still evident by the vast number of cosmetic procedures available, something modern women pursue to the tune of generating a $10 billion industry. As of 2010, facelifts and eyelid procedures are the most common among women. In the United States, special mention is needed to additionally point out the booming U.S. cosmetics industry, which is worth a whopping $54 billion, consisting of makeup and skincare products alone.

Sun exposure is a common culprit that threatens skin health. It induces skin damage through its ultraviolet A (UVA) rays (responsible for deep skin penetration and damage) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays (surface skin penetration and damage). This damage is worsened by loss of skin elasticity and altered circulation, due either to the aging process itself or to lifestyle choices and habits. An age-related example includes the lowering of estrogen in women. Smoking and a diet excessive in cholesterol are examples of lifestyle choices, both of which decrease the circulation that feeds the skin.

Common manifestations of skin damage are:

• Age spots or liver spots – they appear as dark patches on the skin.
• Spider nevus/veins (telangiectasia) – which are eruptions of small blood vessels on the skin surface.
• Actinic keratosis – dry and leathery scaly patches.
• Aging lines (wrinkles)
  • Worry lines – forehead wrinkles.
  • Crow’s feet – multiple lines from the outer corner of the eye.
  • Frown lines – lines between the eyebrows.
  • Smile lines – lines on the sides of the lower nose going to the corners of 
the mouth.

As quick fixes, the market offers options such as the application of prescription creams such as retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative that promotes the proliferation of skin cells to repair damaged skin. This comes along with its usual side effects of skin redness and photosensitivity. Invasive options include Botox fillers, surgical removal of lesions, and facelifts, which all involve incision sites that are prone to infections and post-op pain.

Why should we be preoccupied with these modalities that only treat the outside of our skin and worse – involve draining a big part of our budget and pose considerable risks? Why don’t we focus on less costly and more natural approaches to skin health through these scientifically-based proofs:

• Fighting oxidative stress is a constant ongoing battle, which is facilitated largely by our environment (pollution and sun damage) and behavior (diet and bad habits such as smoking and drinking). This push and pull deplete our natural antioxidants, thus it needs constant repletion. This can be done through the intake of our daily vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, selenium, and plant-based foods. Legumes, beans, lentils, olive oil, prunes, apples, and green tea are good examples that contain these phytonutrients.
• Inflammation depletes natural antioxidants that protect the skin on a constant basis. Natural anti-inflammatories such as turmeric extract or ginger can help with this.
• Eating a low-fat diet can prevent a decrease in blood flow to the skin caused by cholesterol build-up in our blood vessels.
• The polyphenols in green tea increase microcirculation and photoprotection of the skin. In the duration of 12 weeks of ingestion, elasticity and hydration improved through the decreased roughness and scaling of the skin.
• Crow’s feet severity was assessed through a 6-point scale (6 being the worst) in subjects who ate green and yellow vegetables. Those who had less than one servings a day averaged a 3, and those who had two or more servings a day averaged a 2. This study proves that vegetables are not only good for heart disease and cancer protection but are also useful for wrinkle prevention.

Here at Bio Integrative Health Center International, we provide you with the education on natural supplementation and the proper use of both antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that our bodies need to preserve a youthful look from within. We will also guide you on a diet that is balanced with the right types of vegetables to attain natural antioxidation. We also over bio oxidative intravenous therapies that lower free radicals in the body for detoxification purposes and overall health, including our skin. A special procedure that we perform is the “non-surgical facelift approach.” This uses acupuncture, homeopathy, light, sound, and electrical therapy with a mix of collagen-enhancing substances, which are all combined in one procedure to regenerate the skin as well as regain its youthful glow and look.

True anti-aging does not come from treating the surface and getting instant results. Instead, it’s how we nurture the soil underneath to produce a radiant and beautiful you that will last a lifetime.

References

Heinrich, U., Moore, C. E., De Spirt, S., & Stahl, W. (2011). Green Tea Polyphenols Provide Photoprotection, Increase Microcirculation, and Modulate Skin Properties of Women. Journal of Nutrition, 141(6), 1202–1208. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.3945/jn.110.136465

Nagata, C., Nakamura, K., Wada, K., Oba, S., Hayashi, M., Takeda, N., & Yasuda, K. (2010). Association of dietary fat, vegetables and antioxidant micronutrients with skin ageing in Japanese women. British Journal of Nutrition, 103(10), 1493–1498. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114509993461

Purba, M. br, Kouris-Blazos, A., Wattanapenpaiboon, N., Lukito, W., Rothenberg, E. M., Steen, B. C., & Wahlqvist, M. L. (2001). Skin Wrinkling: Can Food Make a Difference? Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 20(1), 71–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2001.10719017