Nutraceuticals
-
(supplements
with medicinal properties to help prevent aging
)
The latest trend in aging skin
care and anti aging is nutraceuticals - types of food, herbs
and other supplements that have specific medicinal properties
to promote good health and fight or prevent disease. Simply
stated, they make you gorgeous from the inside out.
Many estheticians, as also doctors advise popping a vitamin
a day to see your skin glow and your shine within weeks. These
are, of course, only the external manifestations of the much
deeper changes that occur within your body.
Scientists currently researching
the effects of supplements and drugs on the human body believe
that the Human Race, particularly those living in the affluent,
developed countries, will see a boost in their average life
span from anything between 10% to 30% by mid 21st century; an
additional 7 to 25 years of healthy, active life.
The puzzle of aging has undergone
a partial deconstruct! Most scientists believe that aging can
be traced to cellular damage caused primarily by the Free Radicals
(unstable oxygen molecules circulating in our blood that oxidize
tissue much as rust attacks metal), although other factors such
as sun, alcohol or psychological stress contribute.
With every breath you take, Free
Radicals are produced in your body. They attack surrounding
proteins, fats and genes. During your youthful years your body's
natural antioxidants swiftly repair most of the damage. But,
once the reproductive years are over, nature lowers your body's
defenses... its most important job, from nature's perspective,
is done. Your body systems, thereon, function less efficiently
to counter the attacks by the free-radicals, and damage accumulates
rapidly.
In other words, aging is the result
of oxidative stress, a process in which the body literally rusts
over time.
Medical science has proved that
free radicals are involved in more than 81 diseases, including
cardiovascular and heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diseases
like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neuro-degenerative disorders
- the diseases we associate with aging .
So what can you do? Bone up on
the newest research and use your knowledge of the newest treatments
and products available to take preventative measures.
Anti-oxidants are the elements
that fight the free radicals that age our bodies and lower our
defenses.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
is one of the most powerful antioxidants known to man. It is
found in several foods, yeast and liver,
kidney, spinach, broccoli and potatoes. It acts both intra-
and extra-cellularly while fighting oxidative damage in general,
and also helps maintain a normal blood sugar metabolism.
"Preliminary data suggests
that Alpha Lipoic Acid can protect against damage to the brain
or neural tissue as well. This is generally thought to be related
to potent antioxidant properties, which reduce oxidative damage"
.
A breakthrough study on Anti-Aging
was profiled in Readers Digest in November 2003. Conducted by
Dr Ames at the University of California at Berkeley, on an element
know as L-Carnite, it found that the most potent effect was
arrived at by combining the powerful antioxidant and "free radicals-fighter"
Alpha Lipoic Acid with Acetyl-L-Carnitine.
L-Carnitine
(the "L" refers to its chemical polarity) is used by the body
to transport long chain fatty acids to the mitochondria in cells,
where they are burned for energy. Since all muscular energy
is derived from burning fat , lack of L-Carnitine may lead to
low energy levels and muscular weakness. L-Carnitine deficiencies
can also appear as mental confusion or cloudiness, angina (heart
pain), and weight gain.
"Animal studies have also
indicated that supplemental Acetyl-L-Carnitine can reverse age-associated
changes in lipid metabolism."
Not only that, every new study
undertaken by scientists,doctors and nutritionists indicate
that the extra years now possible in the normal lifespan can
be healthful years of vigor and productivity, provided we take
active steps towards damage control by restricting the on-going
negative effects of the free radicals within our body .
Effective therapies for intervention
exist, but we must know which are for us, and how to use them.
There is no doubt, however, that Nutraceuticals provide the
key!
NADH:
The object of new and ongoing research is an element, a co-enzyme
called NADH, short for Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, with
the ‘H’ standing for hydrogen. On the basis of such research,
NADH is considered by many to be amongst the most biological
potent elements found in the body.
"Science is learning that
NADH may have a direct positive involvement in enhancing the
immune system, fighting disease and in repairing the body damage
caused by disease."
NADH is also a potent energy producer
that works directly with your metabolism to create more energy
for every cell in your body, including muscle, nerve cells and
the brain cells. While creating energy, it helps your body to
burn all foods. It also has potent effect on the memory cells,
too, in addition to being a mood enhancer (as it has a role
in the development of serotonin and dopamine, that cause a feeling
of well being).
Coenzyme Q10 : "It is an
essential component of one of the most fundamental biochemical
processes in living beings: the converting of fuel into energy.
That process is what allows all our hearts to pump, our brains
to work, our immune systems to fight disease. So a deficiency
of coQ10 could lead to a wide range of illnesses and health
problems -- and it could be fatal. Need I say more?"
"Biopsies on gums of individuals
with periodontal disease have shown a deficiency of this nutrient.
And, over the past 30 years, there has been growing research
showing that coQ10 can help heal gum disease."
HGH: Growth hormone is one of the hormones
secreted by the pituitary gland, the master gland of the body.
Situated at the base of the brain, it secretes multiple hormones,
which control growth, fertility, metabolism, utilization of
energy, responses to external temperature changes and generally
how our bodies maintain their balance.
While during childhood, it is really
involved mainly in growth and the attainment of final adult
height, after final growth has been achieved, growth hormone
is influential in the synthesis of proteins, which are the building
blocks of the body.
At the same time, growth hormone
also stimulates the liver to manufacture another hormone, which
is termed insulin-like growth factor 1 or IGF-1, which is a
very powerful stimulator of bony growth.
There is no doubt that GH (Growth
hormone) is one of the most complex and crucial substances produced
in the body. It regulates growth, fertility, metabolism and
many more bodily functions.
Lately, much has been written about
its possible use as an anti-aging miracle drug. But it's important
to separate fact from fiction in discussing the basics about
this essential human hormone.
People with age related deficiency
of HGH become fat, flabby, frail, and lethargic, lose interest
in sex, have trouble sleeping, concentrating, remembering things,
tire easily, and in general, lose their zest for life. With
HGH, all these so-called signs of aging are reversed.Now research
is being conducted with natural supplements that stimulate the
pituitary gland to release hGH . Some such studies have reported
benefits such as increased energy, reduced blood pressure, improved
sexual potency, weight loss, and diminished wrinkles and age
spots.
"With pituitary stimulants, the body's
doing the producing, so there's no feedback inhibition"
opine some doctors." However, there's no long term research
data available on the use of agents like arginine, ornithine,
GABA, and others to stimulate the pituitary to increase output
of human growth hormone... it's just too new to know much concerning
the long haul."
Despite the scepticism of the medics,
this line of treatment has its followers, and independent studies
have shown beneficial results. There are also some excited users
of such products, who see HGH as a panacea
to aging and the the ability to synthesize growth hormone in
the lab as the panacea to aging.
The fact that is indisputable is
even though HGH, human growth hormone,
may not be the wonder drug that keeps the body from aging, it
is a vital chemical that keeps the body healthy and functioning.
DHEA:Testosterone, androstenedione
and DHEAS are naturally produced in the body. DHEAS and androstenedione
are precursors for testosterone. They're made by the adrenal
gland as well as reproductive organs in our body. When anabolic-androgenic
steroids are prescribed appropriately, a patient who had low
levels, who was complaining of decreased mood, lassitude, fatigue,
decreased muscle tone, decreased libido, decreased sexual function,
each of those things could improve. Bone health can improve.
No shortage of options, is there?
Another new buzz word is COSMECEUTICALS - cosmetic creams developed
to stimulate collagen and cell renewal from ingredients that
work as a natural face-lift, (without the need for Botox and
other painful surgical procedures).
More on Cosmeceuticals here:
Note:
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at YoungAgainForever are committed to natural and holistic systems
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