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Anti Aging Skin Care



by James Redder

The use of anti-aging skin care products has grown enormously over the last two decades; reducing the visible signs of ageing is the goal for many people as they grow older, and why shouldn't it be?



This is done using skin care products that encourage the growth of the protein collagen which happens to be the main source of the protein used in the connective tissue of skin; with around a quarter of our skin protein being collagen, the importance of this substance has not gone unnoticed. Collagen is related to other natural substances which help to slow down the ageing process; this group is called antioxidants and apart from their cell repairing ability, they may be able to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.

You probably know many anti-oxidants by name, including vitamin C, the use of which is still, even now, hotly debated in the science and nutrition community. The main problem when using any skin care treatments which use vitamin C is that oxidization can occur as soon as they have contact with the air.

Other skin care treatments which mimic the effects of vitamin C are being tried all the time. They seek to be more stable in the atmosphere and also cheaper to produce. While vitamin E and lipoic acid are not as effective as vitamin C they are anti-oxidants as well.

The body uses vitamin E as an antioxidant and is also used to increase the natural defense we have against disease, including many types of cancer, it is a fat soluble vitamin in people's blood. Lipoic acid is also an energy making component of the body, found in every cell, it can also help reduce the aging process which affects the skin.

Other compounds called phytochemicals have proved to be beneficial in the formulation of anti-aging skin care products; they are removed from various plants. A secondary but more important use of phytochemicals is the effect they have on the prevention of breast, prostate and colon cancers.

For some time now it has also been known that the vitamins B5, B6 and B12 also have anti-aging skin care properties. This just goes to highlight just how complex and far reaching the whole field of anti-aging skin care products is and why so much more research is required.

In time new discoveries will be made advancing our understanding of the aging process and products that can reduce or reverse the effects more successfully. The amount of research going on in this field will undoubtedly bring results in time, hopefully bringing down the cost of these anti-aging skin care products in addition to increasing their reliability.

Fortunately there is a number of natural anti-aging regimes that can be carried out that do not rely on science. You know all these things but how many do you practice? Regular exercise, restful sleep, drinking plenty of water, eating a healthy diet and keeping your stress levels low are all necessary.


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