| Beauty
Food Tips For An Antiaging Boost
by Rebecca Prescott
Interest in skin care supplements, or beauty foods, has been
strong in Asia, and that trend is growing fast in Europe as
well. These nutrient rich beauty foods make a good case for
starting a beauty regime from within, one that is designed to
prevent or reduce the effects of aging, like sagging skin.
Some products on the market include a supplement containing
lacto-lycopene, vitamin C, and soy isoflavones. This is aimed
at restoring firmness to the skin for women over 40, and was
developed by Nestle and L'Oreal. Others have been developed
using lycopene and grape seed extract, both antioxidants.
Grape seed extract also stops enzymatic reactions that lead
to collagen in the skin being broken down.
Antioxidants protect the capillaries in skin and thus ensure
that enough nutrients get to the living cells that eventually
push their way to the surface and become the skin you see
in the mirror. They also protect from broken veins and early
wrinkling. Capillaries also deliver oxygen to the cells, and
remove the waste products of cellular metabolism. This prevents
puffy, sagging, and dull skin.
But you don't always need to reach for a bottle of supplements.
Simply by eating more antioxidant rich food on a daily basis
should see some improvement in skin tone. Fruits rich in antioxidants
include blueberries, prunes, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries,
apples, cherries and plums. And of the vegetables, eat more
artichokes, broccoli, red cabbage, pontiac potatoes, brown
onions, asparagus, non-green capsisum, beetroot, spinach and
sweet potatoes.
Women are more prone to the damage caused by antioxidants
than men, according to research from the University of Berkeley,
and hence possibly their aging effects (Angyal).
Another strong antioxidant is beta carotene. Beta carotene
is found in green leafy vegetables, fruit and carrots. This
antioxidant has been found to counteract the effects of a
particular type of oxygen free radical, singlet oxygen, which
occurs after the skin is exposed to UV radiation in sunlight.
UV exposure can lead to premature aging by the effects of
singlet oxygen. A study found that whilst the provitamin A
aspect of the carotenoid did not combat the singlet oxygen,
the beta carotene did. It prevented the action of two enzymes,
associated with UV light and the destruction of the skin cell's
extracellular matrix, which happens in premature aging of
the skin. Sunlight also destroys beta carotene in cells after
sun exposure, so this beta carotene has to be replaced.
Beta carotene has been reported as having a mild sunscreen
effect too, though it needs to be taken as a supplement to
get this effect.
The skin care supplement beauty market is still not a strongly
developed one however, as these types of supplements tend
to be more expensive than other supplements. And there needs
to be more research and clinical trials to prove which products
do what they are designed to.
References: 1. Nutraingredients 2. E Angyal, Gorgeous Skin
In 30 Days
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