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Beauty Food Tips For An Antiaging Boost |
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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 |
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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 |
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