Tag Archive for: vitamins

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Why our skin needs Vitamin D, Dr. G reports

 Why is Vitamin D crucial in skincare?

In addition to being a key factor in skin cell growth and replacement, vitamin D also plays a major role in skin repair and protection. When microorganisms attack the skin, they secrete certain extracts that stimulate your skin to produce vitamin D. This vitamin D signals your skin’s innate immune system to start manufacturing a substance called cathelicidin, a very powerful germicide. Cathelicidin disrupts the integrity of bacterial cell membranes, resulting in the death of the microbes. Cathelicidin also helps promote the development of blood vessels and encourages new cell growth, both of which are essential for proper wound healing.

Your skin is also extremely susceptible to free radical damage because of its high rate of metabolism and fatty acid content. Free-radicals deteriorate your skin’s structural support and decrease its elasticity, resilience, and suppleness. In order to protect itself from this constant oxidative stress, your skin has a natural supply of antioxidants. One of the most powerful of these is vitamin D. In fact, Vitamin D has been shown to be more effective than vitamin E in reducing lipid peroxidation.

Technically speaking, vitamin D isn’t a true vitamin. A vitamin is defined as a substance that’s essential to daily life, which can’t be manufactured by the body. Since your skin can produce approximately 10,000 IU of vitamin D after just 20-30 minutes of summer sun exposure, it doesn’t really fit the profile. Vitamin D more closely resembles a hormone than a vitamin. The active form of vitamin D, called calcitriol, is the most powerful hormone produced by the human body. It has the ability to activate over 2000 genes, many of which are involved in critical aspects of skin cell metabolism, growth, repair, and protection.

What is better for absorbing Vitamin’s D’s benefits for the skin? Topical application, oral supplement or the Sun? 

 Applying topical products, which contain Vitamin D, or getting Vitamin D from the sun is very different than taking a vitamin D oral supplement. Oral supplements have to be broken down in the stomach and then distributed throughout the body. The last place supplements will reach (if they even do) is the skin. This is why we recommend using topical products, which contain Vitamin D for, skin health.  However, oral supplementation of Vitamin D is crucial for internal health. You need to do all.

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How to increase Vitamin C internally

“Vitamin C is arguably the most important vitamin due to all its capabilities internally and externally.”

Dr. Goldfaden

Photo via @designlovefest

We know what vitamin C does for your skin, but it is also crucial for your body and that coveted glow! Vitamin C is an antioxidant that fights free radicals, supports the immune system and helps make collagen in the body! Vitamin C has also been shown to lower LDL (the bad cholesterol), ward off heart disease and absorb iron in the body. But here comes the tricky part…Humans lack the ability to produce their own vitamin C. Because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, a large portion of the vitamin C we ingest gets excreted before our body can actually use it.

How much we need

Men need around 90 mg per day while women need 75mg. If you’re pregnant or breastfeeding you need anywhere from 85-120mg a day!

How to get it

Oral supplementation:

65-90mg per day should do the trick. Don’t take too much as it can interfere with the absorption of other crucial vitamins and upset the digestive system.

Eating foods rich in Vitamin C:

Red peppers, bell peppers, strawberries, kiwi, oranges, kale and fermented foods as mentioned in Health.com (kimchi or sauerkraut) all rank super high in vitamin C. A diet high in these fruits and vegetables will ensure glowing skin.

 

 

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Should you be taking a Probiotic?

Could it be true that taking a daily probiotic will ward off depression, anxiety and mood disorders? In 2011 48 million prescriptions for Xanax were written. And with one out of every ten Americans taking anti-depressants we are in crisis. Not only is anxiety and depression unhealthy for the brain, mood and outside of the body, now a recent study has shown that anxiety shortens the length of telomeres and actually speeds up aging!!

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Depression and mood disorders have always been linked to brain function, but recent studies have shown a direct link to microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract ability to affect the brain. There are close to 100 trillion microorganisms living in the gastrointestinal tract, that’s 10 times more cells than our actual body! They have their work cut out for them to say the least. Recently the term gut-brain axis has been getting a lot of overdue attention. The gut-brain axis is the relationship between the microbes, the gastro tract and the brain and what happens when one affects the other.

Studies have also shown that trauma in early life can affect the flora in the stomach and release stress hormones (Cortisol). So it makes sense taking a daily probiotic can help even without the early trauma.

Probiotics or “healthy bacteria” fight off the bad bacteria in the gut. You may have taken a probiotic while on an antibiotic to reverse the damage they can do to the good flora in the gut and to prevent yeast infections. Probiotics have been shown in some studies to prevent and protect against the following: high blood pressure/hypertension, oral diseases, halitosis, cavities, rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer and although very controversial, links to helping people on the Autism spectrum.

When we asked Dr. G to weigh in he said that he takes a probiotic every singe day and that is one of the most important supplements to take!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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