The Basics of Integrating Inner Health with External Skin Care
Youthful, supple, and firm skin is universally considered a hallmark of health and physical attractiveness. To achieve this objective, we focus primarily on external skin care. The advent of medical sciences has proved, however, that this approach is only partially effective. Internal health and nutrition have a direct effect on skin appearance and health but their role in skin appearance has received limited attention.
Here is some background information to help you understand the link between inner health and wellness and external skin health and appearance.
The skin is the largest organ in the body. Our skin functions as protective barrier against harmful bacteria and viruses. Additionally, it helps the body retain moisture and regulate temperature. The two layers of the skin are the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the top layer and includes melanocytes, the cells that give skin its color. The dermis is the inner layer and contains blood vessels, nerves, sweat glands, and hair follicles.
What causes aging of the skin? Aging of skin occurs due to extrinsic and intrinsic causes. The extrinsic cause of photoaging is a result of the skin’s exposure to the sun that can lead to nearly 80% of premature aging. Other environmental factors such as pollutants, allergens, smoking, and irritants cause additional damage to the skin. Photoaging is associated with dryness, deep wrinkles, accentuated skin furrows, sagging, loss of elasticity, mottled pigmentation, and telangiectesia. While intrinsic or chronologic aging of the skin is genetically programmed and cannot be easily controlled, photoaging can be managed and delayed.
Ultraviolet (UV) rays cause photoaging. Sunlight contains many different wavelengths, but the ultraviolet portion is primarily responsible for photoaging and cancer of the skin. This aging process occurs due to the generation of free radicals by the UV radiations.
Skin cancer is a growing epidemic. One out of every seven Americans each year, are afflicted with skin cancer, making it the most common form of cancer. It is also the most rapidly increasing form. The three most common forms of skin cancer are:
- Basal cell carcinoma – usually appears as raised, translucent lumps. It does not spread to other parts of the body, yet it may cause considerable damage.
- Squamous cell carcinoma – usually distinguished by raised reddish lumps or growths. It is a malignant form as it can spread to other parts of the body.
- Malignant melanoma – first appears as a light brown to black irregularly shaped blemish. Melanoma is the least common form but causes death if undetected and untreated, due to high degree of malignancy.
Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma account for about 20% of skin cancer deaths while malignant melanoma, which is the most rare form, causes nearly 80% of the deaths. The medical researchers have confirmed the link between UV radiation and skin cancer.3
Inner Health: Critical to External Beauty
While it is commonly held that appearances are deceptive, it is not true in the case of skin and well-being. As illustrated in the following examples, skin appearance mirrors what is occurring in the human body:
- The skin appearance is markedly affected in Jaundice, diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, and psoriasis.
- Skin problems can indicate poor nutrition, especially deficiency of B vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc and other nutrients.
- Stress, whether physical or emotional, and depression affect the appearance and accelerate the aging of the skin.
Nutrition plays an important role in skin health. Like all tissues and organs in our body, skin gets nutrients from our diet through the bloodstream. In addition, we can nourish the skin with external application of creams, lotions and other products. Our choices, however, for external nourishment of the skin are limited. For example it is difficult to apply on the skin compounds with strong odor such as omega 3 fatty acids, compounds that color the skin (carotenoids) and those that are not easily absorbed from the skin (minerals).
Understanding the Holistic Approach
In order to effectively link lifestyle, nutrition and skin care to achieve radiant and ageless beauty it is important to understand the functional deterioration caused by free radicals and role of antioxidants in decreasing the damage.
Free radicals, major culprits in skin aging and cancer. UV rays, pollutants, stress, aging and disease cause excess production of free radicals, which have been implicated in skin aging and cancer. Free radicals are extremely reactive molecules. The half-life of one of the most damaging is one billionth of a second. This means that it will attack the first molecule in its path – fat, protein, DNA, sugar. This process, called oxidation, is the same phenomenon that causes our cars to rust and slices of apple to turn brown. The UV rays also cause inflammation of the skin by the production of free radicals. Free radicals damage the lipids, collagen and proteins and cause the skin to lose elasticity, moisture and firmness; damage of the DNA can lead to cancer.
Antioxidants reduce the damage to the skin from free radicals. Antioxidants reduce the damage from free radicals by:
- Preventing the formation of excess free radicals
- Scavenging the free radicals after they are formed before they damage other molecules, and
- Repairing damaged molecules or replacing them with new ones.
The body’s antioxidant system has many components, which evolved over a very long time. Some antioxidants are produced in our body (endogenous) while others come from our diet (exogenous). Important endogenous antioxidants include glutathione, CoQ10, and alpha lipoic acid. Dietary and exogenous antioxidants include vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A and carotenoids, selenium and phytochemicals.
The Special Role of Vitamin E: Taking the Right Form Makes the Difference
Vitamin E plays a special role in wellness and ageless beauty both as a nutrient and a component of many skin products. As a key chain-breaking antioxidant, it fights the damaging free radicals. In addition, it boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation, promotes membrane integrity, inhibits proliferation of harmful cells, and helps reduce the risk of skin cancer. Finally, vitamin E helps slow aging. Because it is difficult to get sufficient vitamin E from the diet, even a well-balanced one, supplements are recommended for wellness and beauty.
The form of vitamin E in supplements and skin products makes a difference. Eight natural compounds, four tocopherols, designated as alpha, beta, gamma and delta, and four tocotrienols, also designated alpha, beta, gamma and delta, have vitamin E activity. Yet, alpha-tocopherol has become synonymous with vitamin E because it is the predominant form in human and animal tissues. Most supplements and skin products contain only alpha tocopherol. Recent research, however, shows that the other tocopherols and tocotrienols have important and unique antioxidant and other biological effects in nutrition and health. Particularly important are the gamma-tocopherol and the tocotrienols.
The discussion for natural and synthetic vitamin E refers to alpha-tocopherol only. This is because only alpha tocopherol is produced commercially both in the natural (d-alpha) and synthetic (dl-alpha) forms. The other three tocopherols (beta, gamma and delta) are available only in their natural form as mixtures. Also, the tocotrienols (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) are available commercially in their natural form and only as mixtures containing tocopherols.
For most vitamins the synthetic forms are identical to the natural and have identical function in our body. Not so for alpha-tocopherol. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) officially recognize that the natural form is twice as potent as the synthetic.
Gamma-tocopherol fights nitrogen radicals, a particularly harmful form of free radicals, which contribute to inflammation and chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s. In contrast, alpha-tocopherol, the exclusive form in many nutritional and skin products, is less effective for this function. Thus, gamma-tocopherol can help reduce the inflammation of the skin that occurs due excessive production of nitrogen radicals from exposure to UV rays.
Alpha-tocotrienol and gamma-tocotrienol preferentially accumulate in the skin. Gamma-tocotrienol suppresses the growth of melanoma cells and initial have show very strong protective effect against UV radiation.
Esterified vitamin E is largely ineffective. Most skin products contain the synthetic dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate. Some contain other esterified forms such as d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, or dl-alpha-tocopheryl linoleate. Esterified vitamin E, whether natural or synthetic is only partially effective because the active group is blocked. While the ester is hydrolyzed when vitamin E penetrates into the skin only as small amount of the esterified forms penetrated the skin and is hydrolyzed. Research from the University of Arizona and elsewhere showed conclusively that the non-esterified form of vitamin E is significantly more affective against skin cancers.
The Anti-Aging Bottom Line: The optimum form of vitamin E supplies the complete family of tocopherols plus tocotrienols in their natural unesterified form.
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