The unsung heroes for this search for beauty and eternal youth, which in itself appears to be an eternal journey, are usually found amidst the colorful splashes of nature: plants.
Nature intelligently weaved a tapestry of life teeming with plant nutrients that form an integral part of the fight against aging. Picture fruits, vegetables, and plant extracts as storehouses of chemical entities known as phytochemicals or phytonutrients, replete with surprising benefits to skin health and general beauty.
In the plant kingdom, these phytochemicals fulfill several vital functions. They paint the plants in every color of the rainbow to attract bees and other pollinators so that life can be perpetuated through pollination.
They act as warriors: they fight against insect pests that may be detrimental to plants, and at the same time, they prevent voracious grazers from feeding on them, a guarantee that the plants will survive. But that is not all; as scientists have gone deep into these botanical wonders, they come up with a welter of information about how these chemicals can help improve human health and wellness.
This is the reason fruits and vegetables go way beyond the simple vitamin C or the mere building blocks of our bodies; they are, in fact, complex elixirs that have been brewed in Nature’s laboratories to perpetuate life.
In this sea of phytochemical stars, the brightest are antioxidants. Antioxidants can be visualized as guardians of our cells against an impending menace known as free radicals. Free radicals are indeed unstable molecules-not necessarily bad guys-that just want to be stable.
Many of them go on a hunt for an additional oxygen molecule, and if they can’t find one, they steal it from other compounds in our bodies. This predatory behavior will then turn otherwise healthy molecules into free radicals themselves, a sort of domino-like behavior.
Free radicals are simply a by-product of metabolic processes within the body and are also produced from the actions of the immune system responding to the constant barrage of pathogens and environmental toxins.
A real balancing act occurs within our bodies. In order to remain healthy, our bodies need sufficient amounts of antioxidants, equal ounce for ounce, to the free radicals produced 24/7. When the scales either way are tipped, our skin pays the price.
Free radicals have a bad reputation in the world of skin health due to their three most profound ways of attack. First, they ravage the fatty layers of our cellular membranes, which are responsible for giving stability to our cells, as well as for regulating permeability through which nutrients and agents come in and out of the cell.
The second villainous act is interference with the DNA of our skin cells. This results in early wrinkles and sagging that prematurely ages our skin. If our DNA is damaged, then it gives a faulty blueprint for collagen and elastin fibers, and they cannot function as they should.
If that were not enough, good collagen and elastin are also responsible to ensure pores are small and tight. Without this balance, the large and open pores become an unfortunate fact.
Then there is the treachery of cross-linking collagen fibers in an insidious process that unfolds in the dermis of the skin. A result of the stiffening, thickening, and finally binding together of the collagen and elastin fibers is what causes wrinkles to form, as well as our skin sagging loose and those expression lines from our everyday expressions to remain on our faces permanently.
If we had robust collagen and elastin, those expression lines would simply fade upon the relaxation of our facial muscles. Unfortunately, free radicals not only incite this cross-linking but also encourage the enzymes that metabolize collagen-an attack on the very substance that gives our skin its youthful appearance.
Yet, where there seems to be little hope left, it springs up again in the plant kingdom through other important phytonutrients, including carotenoids and flavonoids. These powerful compounds are major players in helping our skin maintain its vitality. Flavonoids have an affinity for healthy blood vessels, strengthening the capillaries that carry vital nutrients to our skin cells and reinforcing cellular membranes.
Healthy cell membranes are able to regenerate fast and help delay the onset of the aging process. Carotenoids, famously found in carrots, also work in a similar manner-they toughen these membranes-proving this modest vegetable has much more to offer than a trite concept of improved eyesight. More so, flavonoids are excellent anti-inflammatory agents and enhance the levels of glutathione, which is one of the most powerful antioxidants within our bodies.
As we begin to walk into the ocean of skin health and beauty, let us never forget that in nature, on its leaves, is a masterpiece of recovery and rejuvenation truly embroidered.
By embracing this wisdom, through plant-based nutrients, one can unlock secrets to preserving the glow and vitality of one’s skin so that when one looks in the mirror, one sees not just a reflection of oneself but the beauty of nature’s finest gifts.