Healthy Aging : Reduce Crinkly and Wrinkly?
Are you feeling stiff in the morning or a little creaky if you have been sitting at your computer for too long? Or maybe you feel like your skin has lost its luster and that you have aged a bunch in the last couple of years?
If the answer is Yes.. that sounds like me then it could be that you have broken collagen.
WHAT IS COLLAGEN?
Collagen is a hard, insoluble, and fibrous protein that makes up one-third of the protein in the human body.
Collagen is needed to repair wounds as well as make healthy skin, hair, and nails. Broken or damaged collagen leads to saggy skin, weak nails and creaky and stiff joints.
In most collagens, the molecules are packed together to form long, thin fibrils.
These act as supporting structures and anchor cells to each other. They give the skin strength and elasticity.
There are at least 16 different types of collagen, but 80 to 90 percent of them belong to types 1, 2, and 3. These different types have different structures and functions.
Collagen is secreted by various cells, but mainly by connective tissue cells.
It is found in the extracellular matrix where 80% of our cells live. This is an intricate network of macromolecules that determines the physical properties of body tissues.
WHAT DAMAGES COLLAGEN?
Some factors can deplete the levels of collagen within the body. If you want to age well then a daily proactive approach is the best plan.
A high-sugar diet: increases the rate of glycation, a process where blood sugars attach to proteins to form new molecules called advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
Glycation: free radicals and subsequent inflammation is responsible for slowly degrading our cells. The leads to too much damage and cells die not only on the outside but on the onside too! Think Rusty…
This is also true if you technically eat a healthy diet??? or you are under a lot of stress. Stress creates high Cortisol which in turn can cause you to be on the insulin and glucose rollercoaster all day long. The more you spike your glucose and fructose the more that will influence your ability to make healthy collagen.
Smoking: Many chemicals present in tobacco smoke damage both collagen and elastin in the skin.Nicotine also narrows the blood vessels in the outer layers of the skin. This compromises skin health by reducing the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the skin.
Sunlight: So sunlight is good for us however too much like anything can cause damage. Ultraviolet rays in sunlight cause collagen to break down more rapidly, damaging collagen fibers and causing abnormal elastin to build up. The damage to the collagen in the dermis, and the skin rebuilds incorrectly, forming wrinkles.
Autoimmune disorders: Some autoimmune disorders cause antibodies to target collagen like Scleroderma. All autoimmune conditions are also pro inflammatory to the whole body affecting the extra cellular matrix, where 80% of our cells live. Calming inflammation along with support for the effect tissue is super important if you suffer from an autoimmune disease.
HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR FLEXIBILITY AND YOUTHFUL GLOW
The aging process causes collagen levels to deplete naturally over time, so we want make sure that the choices we make today and tomorrow benefit our future cells.. (self).
- Hydration is key! Are you getting enough good clean filtered water each day? Think moist and flexible not dry and brittle.
- Movement. Again think flexibility and fresh oxygen and blood to all the cells. Movement along with hydration also helps us take out the trash.
- Add a clean easily absorbed Collagen Peptide Powder to your morning coffee or tea.
- Take Gotu Kola Complex. from Mediherb .. They call it Botox in a Bottle 2 a day. (4 a day if you are recovering from surgery and want faster healing.
- Take Protofood at bedtime 1-2 per day. Protofood contain those needed amino acids for collagen synthesis.
- Keep your Blood Sugar Stable. If you are Insulin Resistant or have been diagnosed with PCOS then you will have to be very intentional about doing this. Pick up a copy of the Book ” The Glucose Revolution” if want to learn more about how lower those glucose pikes and keep down inflamm-aging
- Add Antioxidants like Vitamin C or Collagen C and take care not to get too much sun exposure on you summer vacation.
We all want to feel good, look healthy and enjoy a quality of life, then we have to take care of our choices today in all aspects of our lives cause they affect our tomorrow and the next day and so on..
Have a healthy week…
Dr Pia
