Body Armor

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <hsiresearch

HSI e-Alert - Body Armor

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 12:00:00 -0500

 

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Body Armor

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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November 17, 2005

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

If everything in life worked as efficiently as skin we'd have no worries.

 

Skin is your body's largest organ, and it's a marvel of nature. It

protects you from bacteria, infection and dehydration while it helps

distribute key nutrients throughout the body and converts sunshine

into vitamin D. When your body overheats, skin helps it cool off. When

the weather is cool, skin helps prevent heat loss. When skin is

damaged, it immediately begins healing. Your skin is alive, it

breathes, and it constantly regenerates itself.

 

Today we'll look at a couple of ways to take good care of your skin so

you can help it take good care of you.

 

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Payback time

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November is National Healthy Skin Month, so what better time to answer

this question from an HSI member named Barbara: " I am a new member

trying to learn how to treat keratoses with alternatives to retin-A,

which my dermatologist prescribed. "

 

Actinic keratoses is a scaly or crusty spot on the skin, which occurs

primarily on the face, ears, neck, forearms and hands. And it's no

coincidence that these are the areas of your skin that get the most

sun exposure, because keratoses lesions are the result of sun damage

at an early age. All those sunburns you may have experienced as an

adolescent or a teen come back to haunt you in the form of keratoses

as you grow older.

 

Unfortunately, actinic keratoses is a precursor of the two most common

types of cancer: nonmelanoma squamous cell or basal cell cancer, so

it's very important to address keratoses in its early stage when

treatment is fairly easy.

 

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In the arid zone

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Retin A is a prescription drug derived from vitamin A, primarily used

to treat acne. Side effects include burning, itching, blistering and

peeling of the skin. It's not recommended for people with eczema or

other chronic skin problems.

 

Rather than using a drug associated with vitamin A, a better choice

for keratoses treatment might be actual vitamin A.

 

Earlier this year the journal Clinical Cancer Research carried a study

conducted in a place where sun damaged skin is quite common: Arizona.

A previous study from the Arizona Cancer Center at the University of

Arizona (UA) showed that when 25,000 IU of vitamin A supplements were

taken daily, risk of squamous cell skin cancer in patients with

moderately severe keratoses was significantly reduced. So the UA team

designed another study to test higher doses for both safety and efficacy.

 

Nearly 130 subjects with severely sun-damaged skin on their forearms

were divided into four groups to receive daily doses of 25,000,

50,000, or 75,000 IU of vitamin A, or a placebo. Biopsies were

conducted on the damaged skin of each patient before the study period

began, and again one year later at the end of the study.

 

The effects of vitamin A supplementation were dramatic:

 

* Placebo subjects: 25 percent had less skin damage when their

pre-test and post-test biopsies were compared

* 25,000 IU subjects: 65 percent had less skin damage

* 50,000 IU subjects: 81 percent had less skin damage

* 75,000 IU subjects: 79 percent had less skin damage

 

No significant adverse reactions were reported in any of the four groups.

 

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Going direct

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A more direct method of arresting keratoses is the use of a topical

treatment called glycoalkaloids.

 

Glycoalkaloids are chemical compounds found in an Australian botanical

called the devil's apple plant. Historically, the use of

glycoalkaloid-rich plants in addressing skin conditions goes back to

the second century A.D.

 

As a treatment for keratoses, glycoalkaloids are thought to work by

exploiting structural differences between healthy and sun-damaged skin

cells. As skin cells are damaged, the cell walls become more

permeable, allowing glycoalkoloids to penetrate into abnormal cells.

Once inside the cell walls, glycoalkaloids release enzymes that

apparently break down the cells from the inside out.

 

For more information about using glycoalkaloids for keratoses, there

are several Internet sources that sell glycoalkaloid products; just

search using the phrase " sun-damaged " along with " glycoalkaloids. "

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

Health freedom may have just taken an important step forward.

 

Last week, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas introduced the Health Freedom

Protection Act (HFPA). During his speech on the House floor,

Representative Paul said, " The American people have made it clear they

do not want the federal government to interfere with their access to

dietary supplements, yet the FDA and the FTC continue to engage in

heavy-handed attempts to restrict such access. "

 

The HFPA aims to block the FDA and the FTC from severely limiting the

truthful claims (backed by scientific evidence) that can be made for

food products and dietary supplements.

 

For instance, the bill would reverse the FDA restrictions of these

nutrient-disease association claims:

 

* Saw palmetto for benign prostatic hyperplasia

* Omega-3 fatty acids for coronary heart disease

* Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate for osteoarthritis

* Calcium for bone fracture risk

 

This bill has a long way to go before it sees any significant action

in the House and Senate. Right now, several industry leaders are

organizing a grassroots campaign to make sure their voices are heard.

But we know it's going to take more than a small chorus of voices to

get the government to loosen its grip on this industry. So sharpen

your pencils and practice your typing. I'll let you know when the time

is right for us to join the fight.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

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Sources:

 

" Safety and Efficacy of Dose-Intensive Oral Vitamin A in Subjects with

Sun-Damaged Skin " Clinical Cancer Research, Vol. 10, No. 6, 3/15/04,

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

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