Are you a grape or a raisin?
By David J. Wirth, MA
Are you a grape or a raisin? Does your skin appear supple, smooth and well hydrated, or rather flaccid, wrinkled and dry? If you're one of the many women who feel they belong in the latter group, you may have already tried a number of methods to re-hydrate the skin. While a select few topical treatments may truly offer benefits, the reality is that addressing skin health from the outside can only go so far.
For real, lasting and noticeable change to occur in our skin, research reveals we require two nutrients in combination -- both of which are abundant in nature, but not typically consumed in sufficient amounts, or not always together.
Before we get to the solution, however, let's take a closer look at the problem.
Saving your skin
As we age, our skin slowly begins to lose its ability to retain moisture, a process that begins as early as in our 20s. UV exposure only speeds this dehydration, as free radicals damage the skin cell membranes and allow further water loss to occur. Dryness increases again when estrogen levels start to decline during perimenopause and menopause. Dehydration is associated with scaly, taut skin, superficial lines and wrinkles, and premature aging.
So how do we re-hydrate the skin from the inside? Drinking lots of water helps, but it won't be enough to keep the skin hydrated. Back to the grape/raisin analogy. You can't just add water to raisins and come up with grapes again. Why? Because while raisins are made by taking water out of grapes, in the end it's more than just the water that is lost -- there's a structure that is lost in the process, too. In grapes it's called the mesocarp, the inner flesh made up of a network of tiny cellular capsules that hold water. In us humans, it's called collagen.
The collagen conundrum
Collagen, the main component of all our connective tissue, is a fibrous network of protein that supports our bones, cartilage, tendons, organs -- and skin. Known as the "glue of life," it is the most abundant protein in our bodies and the structure upon and around which skin is built.
Collagen binds with water, so it helps keep our skin hydrated, supple and smooth. If the collagen structure is strong, tightly bound and able to hold water, the skin appears healthy and taut. If it is weak, sparse and lacking water, the skin appears unhealthy and wrinkled.
As we age, the collagen fibers in our skin will typically become fewer and farther between. The skin gets thinner, less elastic and less able to hold its shape as the collagen network shrinks.
So is there a way to slow or reverse damage to collagen, to improve its water-binding potential and support healthier-looking, supple skin? According to years of research on the critical role of silicon and vitamin C in collagen synthesis, the answer is "yes."
Silicon: The lost nutrient
The link between silicon and collagen formation was first noted nearly four decades ago, but only recently have scientists fully understood its potential to dramatically enhance skin health and appearance.
We can get silica from foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, but there's a problem: refining can remove up to 99% of the silicon content, especially in grains. Most animal products are low in silicon, apart from the cartilage, skin and tendons which few of us eat.
Worse yet, our serum silicon levels naturally decline as we age. Scientists found that healthy infants have the highest silicon levels (hence their wonderful "baby skin"), followed by healthy children, then healthy adults. Among these adults, pregnant women had the absolute lowest levels. It's no wonder, then, that many women notice changes in skin health after pregnancy.
Silicon is vital to the formation of connective tissue in many body systems, including the skin. Scientists now know that without adequate silicon, an enzyme (prolyhydroxylase) involved in the formation of collagen cannot function properly. By supplementing with silicon (in the form of silica), to make up for what is lacking in our foods and declining in our bodies, we have the ability to keep silicon levels steady and supply one of the vital raw materials for collagen production and youthful skin.
Researchers have witnessed the power of silicon in the lab, where they found that enriching tissue samples with silicon increased collagen production by more than 200%. The results have also played out in human trials. In one such study, 50 women with signs of aging skin, thin hair and brittle nails took 10 ml of a liquid silica gel supplement orally, and also applied it topically to the face daily. Significant improvements were noted (and confirmed by ultrasound) in the thickness of skin, wrinkles and the health of hair and nails.
The vitamin C connection
As great as silicon is for skin health, it works even better in the company of another well known nutrient: ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Back in 1981, researchers exposed human connective tissue cells to vitamin C and reported an 8-fold increase in the synthesis of collagen! More recently in 2007, a study involving 4,025 women aged 40 to 74 years revealed that those with higher vitamin C intakes had a lower likelihood of a wrinkled appearance and skin dryness.
When there's not enough vitamin C in our bodies, things can get ugly. Those infamous British sailors who developed scurvy on long sea voyages in the 1700s literally fell apart from a lack of vitamin C. Thankfully, these days an extreme vitamin C deficiency isn't quite so likely. But keep in mind that, unlike most other living things on this planet, we humans cannot manufacture our own vitamin C. We need to get it from our diet or from supplements every day -- and it's used up quickly for normal body functions in healthy people.
Keeping up healthy levels of vitamin C is vital, not only to support collagen production for optimum skin health, but because making collagen actually destroys vitamin C, which then in turn needs to be replenished.
Supplement -- for your skin's sake!
Our skin is a vast and complex organ, and like all of our organs, it is mainly nourished (or malnourished) from within. As the research reveals, ensuring that your body has what it needs to rebuild or maintain its vital collagen structure is the first and most important step towards healthy, supple and youthful-looking skin.
Along with sticking to a healthy diet and ensuring a generous water intake, find high-quality supplements of both silica and vitamin C, preferably in liquid forms. Liquid supplements are fully dissolved and allow for optimum absorption of key nutrients along the entire gastrointestinal tract. After all -- it's liquid that separates the raisins from the grapes!
Working naturally from the inside out may take a little time. It won't produce the "quick-fix" results of harsh surface treatments like microdermabrasion or even more dramatic procedures such as liposuction or cosmetic surgery. But correcting vital nutrient imbalances or deficiencies and allowing the body to work as it was designed to will always provide longer-lasting, more dramatic and more satisfying results.
Sources: J Int Med Res, 1993 Jul-Aug;21(4):209-15; SK Gaby & VN Singh, "Vitamin C," in Vitamin Intake and Health: A Scientific Review by SK Gaby et al, Marcel Dekker, New York: 1991; JH Chung et al, Modulation of skin collagen metabolism in aged and photoaged human skin in vivo. J Invest Dermatol. 2001 Nov;117(5):1218-24; EM Carlisle et al: "Silicon," in O'Del/Sunde: Handbook of nutritionally essential mineral elements; Marcel Dekker, New York: 1997; How to Live Longer and Feel Better by L Pauling, Avon: 1996; Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1981 May;78(5):2879-82; Am J Clin Nutr, 2007;86(4):1225-31
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