Happy V Day — You & Your Skin

Flawless skin is the key to looking beautiful and youthful for always and forever. If you want to join the forever-beautiful kin show your skin some dedicated love and claw-on to good skincare habits as early as in your 20’s — Eat right, exercise regularly, and use sunscreen vivaciously. As you approach your 30’s commit to your skincare more rigorously — add regular exfoliation, antioxidants, energy-based devices and so on to keep your skin youthful, perky and taught. And as the tide of time takes you forward, keep building on these healthy habits you’ve already adopted. A consistent and quality skin care regimen is the single best step towards maintaining youthful, healthy and beautiful skin.

Wear Sunscreen Proudly — You have probably heard it a gazillion times but you can never underestimate this golden skincare advice. Sun damage is not a pretty sight — think wrinkles, loss of elasticity, pigmentation and dryness; and in some cases, it can be downright deadly in the form of skin cancer. Get a broad Spectrum UVA/UVB product with an SPF of 30 or above. Use it regularly — Never leave home without it!

Retinoids A Night Keeps Wrinkles At Bay — To prevent wrinkles and other signs of premature aging, this vitamin A derivative is your clinically proven best friend. Word of advice before initiation — it's not uncommon to have an initial irritation reaction to retinoids, as they change the skin's growth rate, increase skin cell turnover, and cause skin exfoliation. If that happens reduce how much you apply or change other products in your beauty routine e.g. vitamin C or alpha hydroxy acids and in few days the skin will begin to normalize.

Splurge On Vegetables And Fruits — You are what you eat, so why not nibble your way to beautiful skin? Pack in the antioxidants to fight free radicals and prevent inflammation.  Science confirms: it will make a difference. Clinical studies have shown that catechins from green tea, anthocyanins from dark berries and red cabbage, bioflavonoids from citrus, carotenoids such as lycopene and lutein from tomatoes, reservratrol from red wine and genistein from soy offer potent secondary antioxidant protection in the skin. By including these types of foods more often in the diet, the antioxidant defenses in the skin can be optimized.

Cut down on sugars and carbs they make your skin age faster by process of glycation.

Acknowledge The Importance Of Fatty Acids — Within the skin, fatty acids make up an integral component of cell walls that help maintain cell structure and function. Clinical studies show that the healthy balance of fatty acids in the skin dramatically decreases with aging and increased oxidative stress, such as that caused by chronic sun exposure. Therefore obtaining the right amount (and type) of fats through diet or supplementation is critical to maintain healthy skin as we age. Aim for a balanced intake of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (typically at a ratio of about 4:1). Excessive amounts of the omega-6 fat (arachidonic acid) found in egg yolks, poultry skin, and organ meats from animals fed corn-based diets have a pro-inflammatory effect in the body including the skin. Conversely, fish oil rich in the omega-3 oils eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids (EPA and DHA) inhibit the production of inflammatory metabolites. Due to their ability to modulate inflammation, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are effective in the management of inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea.

Younger Skin Through Exercise — Exercise not only appears to keep skin younger, it may also even reverse skin aging in people who start exercising late in life — that’s what a surprising new research at McMaster University in Ontario has deduced. Exactly how exercise changes skin composition is not completely clear, but in a portion of the study comparing skin samples of participants, the researchers checked for alterations in the levels of certain substances created by working muscles called myokines; these substances are known to enter the bloodstream and jump-start changes in cells far from the muscles themselves. The scientists found greatly augmented levels of a myokine called IL-15 in the skin samples of volunteers after exercise. The skin samples of the group with younger looking skin, showed almost 50 percent increase in IL-15 after they had been exercising than at the start of the study. The researchers suspect that additional myokines and substances are also involved in the skin changes related to exercise. You heard me — get up and get moving in the name of youth and beauty.

Have A Sublime Valentines Day!!

Mouth To Mane — Scrutinizing Vital Nutrients In Hair Loss

If your hairbrush is busy sweeping fists load of fallen tassels on daily basis then its time to put your “I Need To Know” cap on and dig for the real reasons behind your hair fall as wise people say, "prevention is always easier than transplant".  First suggestion I’d make, as a dermatologist is to take a closer look at your diet coz in majority of women having low vitamin and iron levels plays a triggering role in thinning locks.

Simple Fact For Sustained Hair Growth: — If your levels of vitamins are deficient for a sustained period, your hair follicles are not supplied with the crucial nutrients they need to maintain a normal hair growth cycle. Lacking in these nutrients, your hair can become brittle and susceptible to breakage as your body will become less efficient in the maintaining healthy hair growth.

According to clinical evidence the most common cause of hair loss in pre-menopausal women is not hormones, but a nutritional deficiency, with depleted iron stores (serum ferritin), vitamin D and B being the most crucial factors.

Vitamin D: — Many clinical studies have shown that majority of women experiencing hair loss also revealed lower levels of vitamin D2 and iron — and hair loss only gets worse as the levels drop. Lets look closely at the direct role of vitamin D in hair fall/growth — Published research has highlighted the fact that vitamin D3 increases the transforming growth factor TGF-ß2 and alkali-phosphatase activity — two essential features of hair-inducing dermal papilla cells. Vitamin D presumably also has a role in regulating the expression of genes that promote normal hair follicle growth. Scientific evidence pin pointing the fact that vitamin D can help dermal papilla stem cells to enhance and maintain their ability to produce hair has changed the way we manage hair fall these days.

All this research might not signify the creation of new hair follicles, but it does have implications for the reactivation of existing follicles in the production of healthy hair. In simple words the presence of vitamin D3 makes the hair grow thicker and helps it to last longer.

To get healthy hair going, aim for a minimum of 600 IU or 15 micrograms of vitamin D per day. While it can be difficult to get enough vitamin D in your diet, salmon packs 450 IU per 3-ounce serving, and fortified milk and orange juice has 115 to 135 IU. Spending time outdoors also helps, as the body produces vitamin D through direct contact with the sun.

Iron: — The function of Iron in the human body is helping in the production of both hemoglobin (the substance that carries oxygen within red blood cells) and myoglobin. Iron is also involved in the oxygenation of red blood cells. Low levels mean less oxygenation of the hair follicles.

Women with hair loss in majority of studies were discovered to have significantly lower iron stores than women without hair loss. In a recently published study in the Journal of Clinical Diagnosis the researchers have reported that 30% cases evaluated for hair loss had low hemoglobin and 82.35% cases had low serum ferritin levels.

Ferritin levels directly affecting hair loss have been highlighted in another phase I study where low levels of Iron lead to inhibition of an essential enzyme associated with hair loss in mice.

Have your doctor check your iron levels and ask how much of the mineral is recommended for you. Ferritin levels of 10-15 ng/mL are the "normal" range. But a ferritin level of at least 50 ng/mL is needed to help replenish hair. To promote hair growth doctors shoot for 70 ng/mL.

Clams, oysters, spinach, prunes, and raisins are among the highest food sources of the mineral, but beans are probably a more realistic everyday option. One cup of white beans packs nearly 8 mg of iron. I recommend these foods, plus supplementation with ferrous sulfate, 325 milligrams per day. There is some anecdotal evidence that orange juice, vitamin C, or lysine, if taken together with the iron, helps the absorption.

Vitamin B Complex: — Popular forms of vitamin B complex, such as B-12 (also called cobalamin), biotin, and niacin can help strengthen and condition hair. A 2013 study published in the Archives of Dermatological Research found that high-doses of vitamin B-6 along with L-cysteine helped prevent hair loss during chemotherapy treatment in mice. A Polish study published in 2001 in Wiadomosci Lekarskie found that intravenous vitamin B-6 helped improve hair condition and prevented hair loss in a group of women dealing with diffuse alopecia, or hair loss.

Looking at the individual members of Vitamin B complex family, we know that vitamin B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), and B3 (Niacin) contribute to the proper nourishment of hair follicle cells. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) gives the hair flexibility, shine and helps to prevent hair loss. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) helps to prevent dandruff. Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) helps in the prevention of hair loss.

Food sources of vitamin B-6 include poultry, fish, shrimp, milk, cheese, lentils, beans, sunflower seeds, whole-wheat products, wheat germ, spinach, carrots and bananas. Adults need 1.3 milligrams to 1.7 milligrams of vitamin B-6 a day for good health. While treating hair loss, the B vitamins deliver great results when they are paired with Zinc. Together, zinc and the B vitamins may inhibit the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Take Home Message: — The secret to thick, strong, shiny strands isn't an expensive shampoo or a fancy salon treatment — it's all about your diet.

Experts agree that a healthy diet with the right mix of protein, iron, and other nutrients can help improve the health, look, and feel of your hair. Eating a variety of healthy foods will give you the mane you've always dreamed of. Fill up on these nutrients to begin growing your healthiest hair ever.