Ask any person (especially women) about what worries them the most regarding the aging process and the answer is always the same: Wrinkles! Those dreaded lines that cut through our skin – signifying the reality that we are simply growing older – keep most of us awake at night. After all, nothing is more detrimental to our physical appearance than this specific physiological process. And this is probably why Botox usage is becoming increasingly popular on a global scale; the aim behind such procedures is simply to minimize the appearance and number of wrinkles. But what if there were proactive steps that you could take today in order to minimize the development of these dreaded “lines” and to boost the overall health of your skin; wouldn’t you be willing to take such steps? Certainly, you would. No matter what we do we will age, however, there is a huge difference between aging quickly/unpleasantly and aging slowly/gracefully. A healthy diet – low in harmful sugars and high in nuts/seeds/veggies/clean meats – goes a long way in making the latter a reality. Additionally, using the right natural supplements could do wonders in that regard.
You often hear the term antioxidants, but few actually understand what it means. Simply put, antioxidants are specific natural nutrients, vitamins and minerals that protect the body against “evil” molecules called free radicals, which when their numbers increase beyond a certain limit lead to something called oxidative stress. At this point, free radicals begin attacking the main structural component of the skin known as collagen – leading to a phenomenon named cross-linking. Without delving deep into this issue, let us just say that this is bad news for anyone interested in maintaining a healthy and vibrant skin. Cross-linking means that the skin turns rigid, cracked and wrinkly. Therefore, a commonsensical approach to addressing the wrinkle problem starts by tackling oxidative stress (in other words, targeting the root cause that eventually leads to wrinkle development.) And there is good news: A natural nutrient has been shown in scientific research to tackle this problem and empower the skin on various fronts!
A powerful nutrient that gets the job done
Alpha Lipoic Acid is a nutrient that is more effective than many other antioxidants simply because it protects both fat and water environments in the body – unlike, for example, the water-soluble vitamin C and the fat-soluble vitamin E. And it is not an overstatement to say that this powerful antioxidant will in time ward off wrinkles and provide a natural facelift. But how, you might be wondering. Well, ALA activates a transcription factor called AP-1, which helps it in promoting the digestion of damaged and wrinkle-inducing collagen (produced by the previous oxidative stress episode.) ALA also works within the skin cells, prohibiting oxidative stress from doing damage. Additionally, it improves the cell’s ability to excrete toxins. And that is not all; ALA also increases the production of a master antioxidant called Glutathione, which has a remarkable ability to latch onto toxins before escorting them out of the body. Without glutathione, toxins simply remain in our body – causing a myriad of health problems while accelerating the aging of our skin and other organs.
So to put everything into perspective, there is simply nothing like Alpha Lipoic Acid in terms of preventing future skin damage and repairing previous damage. Consequently, your best policy for a healthy and beautiful skin is to consume food sources rich in ALA like grass-fed beef, spinach and broccoli. And you can surely take it in supplement form – anywhere from 200 to 600 milligrams on an empty stomach will do the trick. Start with a minimal dose and in time you may gradually increase it. However, always consult with a health specialist before ingesting any food supplement.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2756298/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25906193
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17953631
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