Antioxidants slow the aging process. That’s a well-established scientific fact. Researchers estimate that 80 to 90 percent of all degenerative diseases involve age-causing and accelerating free radical activity. This makes including antioxidant ingredients in skin care a primary goal for smart cosmetic formulators.
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Antioxidants lessen the damage that free radicals cause in the body and skin. They help prevent the onset of disease. Some can even slow or reverse the progress of disease already underway.
We can very easily find a plethora of antioxidants in colorful fresh produce. If your dinner plate is devoid of color, you’re not consuming many antioxidants. Consuming a diet rich in fresh produce is key to slowing signs of aging.
Consider your diet your first form of skin care. You can get many antioxidant ingredients in skin care that directly comes from your diet.
Recognizing this fact, many cosmetics companies also formulate antioxidant ingredients in skin care products.
PHYTO5 is all about formulating antioxidant ingredients in skin care.
Benefit from natural antioxidant ingredients in skin care in PHYTO5’s Ageless La Cure, Metal and Water element lines of skincare. Antioxidation is integral to the mission of Ageless La Cure.
What are free radicals?
Free radicals are incomplete unstable molecules. They are waste produced by various chemical reactions in our bodies’ cells. When free radicals build up, they harm the cells of the body.
Here’s how it works.
Electrons hold molecules together. Normal molecules have pairs of electrons.
When a molecule loses one electron from a pair of electrons, the molecule becomes a free radical. This makes the free radical molecule unbalanced and extremely reactive with other molecules.
Electrons are compelled to be in pairs. So they scavenge the body searching for another electron to pair up with once again.
This action damages cells, proteins and DNA and leads to disease and symptoms of aging.
We generally call this process oxidative stress.
How do we develop free radicals in the body?
The Huntington's Outreach Project for Education at Stanford University says we ingest substances daily that generate free radicals thereby creating oxidative stress.
We find these damaging substances in the food we eat, the medicines we take, the air we breathe and the water we drink.
Just a few examples are fried foods, alcohol, tobacco smoke, pesticides and air pollutants.
In the 2010 article, Methods of Molecular Biology, researchers report that no officially recognized symptoms of oxidative stress exist, however generally recognized symptoms include:
fatigue
headaches
noise sensitivity
memory loss and brain fog
muscle and joint pain
wrinkles and gray hair
compromised vision and
lowered immunity.
What are good sources of natural antioxidant ingredients in skin care and in food?
There are probably thousands of substances that can act as antioxidants.
The most familiar and most used antioxidant ingredients in skin care and naturally existing in food are vitamins C and E (D-alpha tocopherol, beta-carotene and other related carotenoids. Many minerals also function like antioxidants including selenium and manganese.
You can find many of these vitamin and mineral antioxidant ingredients in skin care products.
The plant-based diet is based on high intake of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-rich plant foods. These foods naturally work to reduce risk of oxidative stress-related diseases and aging symptoms.
In the very comprehensive Antioxidant Food Database we learn a key fact: Plant-based foods deliver significantly more antioxidants to the body than non-plant-based foods.
“A plant-based diet protects against chronic oxidative stress-related diseases. Dietary plants contain variable chemical families and amounts of antioxidants. It has been hypothesized that plant antioxidants may contribute to the beneficial health effects of dietary plants.”— Monica Carlsen et al, The Total Antioxidant Content of More than 3100 Foods, Beverages, Spices, Herbs and Supplements Used Worldwide
The study goes on to report:
“The results demonstrate that there are several thousand-fold differences in antioxidant content of foods. Spices, herbs and supplements include the most antioxidant rich products in our study, some exceptionally high. Berries, fruits, nuts, chocolate, vegetables and products thereof constitute common foods and beverages with high antioxidant values.”
Examples of Antioxidant Ingredients in Skin Care and In Food (In fact, they’re superstars.)
Allium sulphur compounds: leeks, onions, garlic
Anthocyanins:(1) blue and blue-black foods like eggplant, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, forbidden rice, black lentils, black currants. PHYTO5’s quantum energetic Water line of skincare formulates many products in the line with these antioxidant ingredients in skin care.
Beta carotene: pumpkin, mangoes, carrots, apricots, spinach, parsley
Catechins:(2) matcha green tea,(2) other teas, red wine, cocoa, coffee(3)
CoQ10 also known as ubiquinone
Copper: beef liver, avocados, buckwheat, olives, sunflower seeds, lentils, almonds, dark chocolate and asparagus
Glutathione is made up of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. It’s the master antioxidant of the body.
The human body synthesizes glutathione so it’s present in most mammalian tissue. Glutathione directly scavenges a whole range of oxidants.
It also catalytically detoxifies a host of toxins. It protects cells from oxidants by recycling vitamins C and E. The reduced glutathione supplement has a direct reputation for mitigating symptoms of aging.
Glutathione also brightens skin when you take it as a supplement to your diet. Clinical tests have demonstrated the effectiveness of oral glutathione. A Penn State College of Medicine study shows oral supplementation is quite bioavailable while the body is able to store the nutrient.
Hydroxytyrosol is found in olive leaf and olive oil. It just may be the most powerful super-antioxidant discovered to date.
Hydroxytyrosol has an exceptionally high ORAC(4) value of 68,576. It’s 15 times higher than that of green tea and three times higher than CoQ10. Hydroxytyrosol is very bioavailable.
Several assays show significant benefits for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It’s not only a potent antioxidant, it reduces inflammation as a significant anti-inflammatory.
The organic compound alpha lipoic acid has gained a great deal of attention as a super anti-aging agent in recent years.
The human body produces alpha lipoic acid naturally but only in small amounts. This is why many older people turn to supplements which pack up to 1,000 times more bioavailable alpha lipoic acid in one capsule than they can naturally get in their daily diet.
Research suggests alpha lipoic acid plays a role in weight loss, diabetes, lowered blood sugar levels, reduced inflammation, improved nerve function and slowed aging of skin.
Animal products like red meat and organ meats contain alpha lipoic acid. Plant foods like broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and brussels sprouts also contain fairly good amounts of alpha lipoic acid.
Licorice root extract
Witch hazel water; enjoy this antioxidant ingredient in skin care in PHYTO5’s Skin Toner in the Ageless line.
L-arginine amino acid; also an effective hydrator
…
Endnotes for this article:
1) Anthocyanins are blue, violet, or red flavonoid pigments found in plants; from the Greek, antho means flower; cyan means blue.
2) Catechins are naturally occurring plant chemicals with well-demonstrated antioxidant activity; the particular catechin concentration in matcha green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).
EGCG is proven to reduce melanin secretion and production in melanoma cells.
“Together, these results suggest that EGCG might be used as a cosmetic ingredient with positive effects on skin hydration, moisture retention, and wrinkle formation, in addition to radical scavenging activity and reduction of melanin generation.” — Eunji Kim et al in “Skin Protective Effect of Epigallocatechin Gallate.” International journal of molecular sciences vol. 19,1 173. 6 Jan. 2018, doi:10.3390/ijms19010173
3) Coffee is a potent source of healthful antioxidants showing more antioxidant activity than the two antioxidants green tea and cocoa. Researchers believe chlorogenic acid, an important antioxidant found almost exclusively in coffee, helps prevent cardiovascular disease. Note: while green coffee beans have high levels of antioxidants, roasting is necessary to destroy the harmful compound acrylamide present in green coffee beans.
4) Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity defined as the ability to absorb cell-damaging free radicals.
Sources:
Carlsen, Monica H, et al. “The Total Antioxidant Content of More than 3100 Foods, Beverages, Spices, Herbs and Supplements Used Worldwide.” Nutrition Journal, BioMed Central, 22 Jan. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841576/.
Miller, Dr. Bruce. Antioxidants: Your Answer To Over 60 Degenerative Diseases Involving Free Radical Activity. Oak Enterprise Publications, 2015.
Palmieri, Beniamino, and Valeriana Sblendorio. “Current Status of Measuring Oxidative Stress.” Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.), U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20072906.
Yashin, Alexander, et al. “Antioxidant and Antiradical Activity of Coffee.” Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 15 Oct. 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665516/.
Watanabe, Fumiko, et al. “Skin-Whitening and Skin-Condition-Improving Effects of Topical Oxidized Glutathione: a Double-Blind and Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial in Healthy Women.” Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, Dove Medical Press, 17 Oct. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4207440/.
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Vilaplana-Pérez, Cristina, et al. “Hydroxytyrosol and Potential Uses in Cardiovascular Diseases, Cancer, and AIDS.” Frontiers in Nutrition, Frontiers Media S.A., 27 Oct. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4428486/.
Weiss, David J, and Christopher R Anderton. “Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography.” Journal of chromatography. A vol. 1011,1-2 (2003): 173-80. doi:10.1016/s0021-9673(03)01133-6
Kim, Eunji et al. “Skin Protective Effect of Epigallocatechin Gallate.” International journal of molecular sciences vol. 19,1 173. 6 Jan. 2018, doi:10.3390/ijms19010173
Eby, Myra Michelle, and Gazella, Karolyn A.. Return to Beautiful Skin: Your Guide to Truly Effective, Nontoxic Skin Care. United Kingdom, Basic Health, 2008.