Skin Aging
We generally take skin for granted and tend not to take very good care of it. Our skin is responsible for protecting internal organs from toxic external world. Our skin protects us from heat, cold and physical injuries. It also provides us with sensory information about nature of external world and is our first defense against invasion by bacteria, viruses and other toxic elements. The skin is also an excretory organ, removing toxins from the body via perspiration.
Although there are many diseases that can affect the skin, the most common problems that we all have are the effects of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun over time.
Skin and free radicals
Scientists now believe that the free radical theory of disease also applies to the aging of the skin. Free radicals are unstable small molecules generated by an oxygen environment which requires stabilization by the body's antioxidant system. Free radicals occur throughout every cell in our body simply by virtue of the fact that oxygen is our principal metabolic fuel. Strong sunlight readily generates free radicals in the skin. Our hands, face, neck and arms are the areas usually chronically exposed to light. These parts of the body, particularly the face, are where aging of skin shows up.
The skin protein collagen is particularly susceptible to free radical damage and when this damage occurs, it causes the collagen protein molecules to break down and then link back up again in a different way; this is known as cross-linking. Collagen cross-linking causes the normally mobile collagen to become stiff and less mobile. Sunlight also causes the messenger molecules present in skin cells to become active and create inflammatory products.
Skin cancer typically occurs in skin that is photo-aged. Wrinkles, laxity, uneven pigmentation, brown spots and a leathery appearance characterize photo-aged skin. In contrast, chronologically aged skin that is protected from sun is thin and has reduced elasticity, but is otherwise smooth and unblemished.
The following factors can accelerate skin aging
- Sun exposure
- First- or secondhand cigarette smoke
- Environmental toxins
- Poor diet
- Excess alcohol consumption
- Stress
- Harsh soaps or detergent-based moisturizers
- Sleep deprivation
One way of mitigating effects of these skin-damaging foes is to increase levels of protective antioxidants through a dietary supplement rich in antioxidants
Antioxidant property of Noni
Endogenous antioxidants and role of Noni : Human body has evolved with endogenous defense mechanisms to protect against free radical induced cell damage. Glutathione peroxidase, catalase and Superoxide dismutases are three primary antioxidant enzymes in human body, which involved in direct elimination of free radicals or reactive oxygen species from the body. They require micronutrients like selenium, iron, copper, zinc and manganese as cofactors for their formation and optimum catalytic and effective antioxidant activity. Noni contains all the trace minerals that help optimum catalytic activity of those three important antioxidant enzymes for an effective antioxidant defense mechanism.
Glutathione, ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene, bilirubin, selenium, dihydrolipoic acid, reduced CoQ10, melatonin and uric acid as a whole play a homoeostatic or protective role against ROS produced during normal cellular metabolism and after active oxidation insult. Noni contains all the above phyto chemicals and vitamins in abundant quantity. Glutathione (GSH) is the most significant component which directly quenches Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) like lipid peroxides and plays major role in xenobiotic metabolism. Glutathione is a tripeptide made up of amino acids gamma-glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine. Noni contains all those glutathione making amino acids in abundant number. Thus Noni increases the body's glutathione level. Noni stimulates more melatonin secretion from the pineal body. It also maintains ascorbate (vitamin C) and alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), in their reduced form, which also exert an antioxidant effect by quenching free radicals.
Exogenous antioxidants : Contribution from Noni
A number of other dietary antioxidants known as phytonutrients or phytochemicals are being increasingly appreciated for their antioxidant activity. One example is flavonoids which are a group of polyphenolic compounds. They are responsible for the different brilliant colors like blue, scarlet and orange. Noni contains 150 and above phytochemicals including all flavonoids. Flavonoids exhibit several biological effects like antitumoural, anti-ischaemic, anti-allergic, anti-hepatotoxic, anti-ulcerative and anti inflammatory activities.
These are also known to inhibit activities of several bad enzymes like lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase, monooxygenase, xanthine oxidase, glutathione-S transferase, mitochondrial succino-oxidase and protein kinases. Many of the biological activities of flavonoids are attributed to their antioxidant properties and free radical scavenging capabilities. Noni is rich in many flavonoids.
Vitamin C : Vitamin C is fat-soluble and penetrates rapidly the skin. It is very much helpful in reducing and preventing skin damage. Vitamin C does more than inhibit skin-damaging free radical activity. It is also required for collagen synthesis, which declines markedly in aging skin. As humans age, they suffer diminished microcapillary circulation within the skin, thereby depriving skin cells of the supply of vitamin C, it needs for youthful collagen synthesis.
The topical application of vitamin C in a skin-penetrating medium can enhance availability of vitamin C for collagen production. Vitamin C regenerates vitamin E in the skin. An antioxidant like vitamin E can only suppress a limited number of free radicals before it runs out of electrons to donate. Vitamin C regenerates vitamin E and enables vitamin E to provide sustained antioxidant protection in the skin's elastin fibers. Vitamin C also plays a vital role in skin repair. When skin is injured, its vitamin C content is used up rapidly in scavenging of free radicals and in synthesizing collagen to speed healing.
Noni contains all the vitamins including Vitamin C and Vitamin E in abundant quantities. Use of Noni for a longer period will be beneficial for your skin health.
Recommended Dosage
Divine Noni Concentrate
5ml morning and 5ml evening for 3 days. Then
10ml morning and 10ml evening for next 3 days. Then
15ml morning and 15ml evening for next 8 months.
