Antioxidant Skincare

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What’s in Your Mug?

Whether it’s tea or coffee, most Americans are loathe to drive to work without something warm and awakening in their travel mugs. For years, coffee has received a bad rap for its tendency to cause nervousness, jitters, rapid heartbeat, stomach pains, elevated blood pressure levels, and higher cholesterol levels when consumed in excess. However, more and more studies show that coffee’s antioxidant levels may provide as many benefits as those found in antioxidant green tea, white tea, and black tea.

A study published by Dr. Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, stated that coffee is the leading source of antioxidants in the average American diet. You read that right, folks! While coffee may not be the highest on the ORAC scale, most Americans receive the highest amount of their daily antioxidant intake through their morning cup of joe – up to 1,299 milligrams! Unfortunately, while this means coffee is providing us with anti-aging benefits, it also means that Americans still aren’t eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables, which are healthier sources of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

Coffee is also being studied for its ability to protect against liver and colon cancer, Parkinson’s disease, cavities, and type 2 diabetes. While much more research needs to be done in order to fully know coffee’s risks and benefits, it is clear that, when consumed in moderation, coffee is a great contributor to one’s health and general well-being.

Like coffee, tea is a favorite morning beverage. Tea is available in thousands of variates, and known for its soothing, comforting, and rejuvenating abilities. Green tea has long been touted for its high antioxidant levels, but green tea’s antioxidants are actually surpassed by those found in white tea. Black tea comes in last place for antioxidant levels, most likely due to the fermentation process. Though white tea does have higher antioxidant levels, green tea is still the front-runner for improving one’s overall health. Green tea can help burn excess fat, reduce one’s risk of cancer, and help prevent inflammation.

So, which is better? Even with coffee’s relatively new-found redeeming qualities, tea is still a healthier choice. However, coffee does provide antioxidants and other benefits, so don’t give up your morning jolt if you don’t want to! Whether you’re a steadfast tea drinker or a hardcore coffee lover, you have skin antioxidant options, too. While tackling free radicals internally, try Juara’s Invigorating Coffee Scrub or Green Tea Botanicals’ Anti-Aging Calming Serum with Peptides. These skin care products, as well as other products containing tea or coffee ingredients, will improve and protect your skin with antioxidants while supplying targeted actions against visible signs of aging and damage.

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A History of Antioxidants

Before antioxidant skin care and daily antioxidant supplements, there was the prevention of metal corrosion and rubber vulcanization. Antioxidants have been around long before today’s beauty care products and pomegranate-acai beverages became popular, and they’ll continue to provide benefits after the antioxidant craze dies down. Ever wonder how antioxidants became known as one of the greatest anti-aging tools we have at our fingertips? Here’s a brief history of antioxidants from its first uses to today’s antioxidant-infused world.

Antioxidants were used by engineers in the 19th century to prevent metal from corroding and rubber from vulcanizing, thereby saving millions of dollars in materials every year. However, it wasn’t until the 20th century that the same principals were successfully applied to biotechnology, a feat that would change the course of history.

During the mid-20th century, scientists set out to lengthen the life of foods. Using foods high in unsaturated fat, the scientists applied antioxidants and found that they were able to prevent rancidity. As the scientists continued to study the effects of antioxidants on foods, they discovered that many of the essential nutrients consumed by humans on a daily basis were actually antioxidants! It was then that one man who would later be known as “the father of the free radical theory of aging” set out to study the effects of free radicals and antioxidants on human aging.

In 1954, Denham Harman became a research associate at Donner Laboratory of Medical Physics at UC Berkeley. Harman quickly set out to study the puzzle aging and its causes. After four months of dead-ends, Harman considered the role of free radicals in aging. Like most new ideas or discoveries, the theory was initially scoffed at by Harman’s peers. Regardless, Harman was able to get his findings published in the Journal of Gerontology, and his article is now an often cited piece of science.

Thanks to the engineers of the 19th century, and scientists like Denham Harman, we now know that antioxidants are able to improve our health and quality of life. When used in skin care products, antioxidants are able to prevent visible signs of aging, like fine lines and wrinkles, which indeed helps us appear younger and healthier. Perhaps the Fountain of Youth exists after all, filled to the brim with antioxidants.

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Antioxidant Vitamins A, C and E

Three of the best antioxidant ingredients in skin care are the vitamins A, C and E. (They also happen to be extremely important taken internally!) These three wonder vitamins are able to boost many of the body’s functions while supplying exceptional antioxidant protection.

Used solely for their antioxidant benefits, the vitamins A, C and E are able to prevent against wrinkles, discoloration and sagging skin. They effectively neutralize free radicals while providing individual actions that further improve the health and beauty of the skin. Here’s a look at the other benefits these vitamins offer your skin.

Vitamin A: The Refiner
Vitamin A is able to refine and thicken the skin to help reduce the appearance of visible signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles. It also improves dermal collagen density and elasticity, both of which also help create a younger-looking complexion. Vitamin A may heal and prevent sun damage, keratosis pilaris, stretch marks, eczema and other skin concerns, making it one of the best multi-tasking skin care ingredients.

Also known as: retinol

Vitamin C: The Brightener
When taken internally, vitamin C helps the body regenerate its own vitamin E, increase iron absorption and even minimize your risk of cancer. Vitamin C in antioxidant skin care products can help repair and protect against UV damage, diminish discoloration irregularities and boost the production of collagen while enhancing skin brightness and radiance. Vitamin C may also be an effective treatment for fine lines and wrinkles, although sufficient studies have not yet been performed to confirm these beliefs.

Also known as: L-ascorbic acid

Vitamin E: The Conditioner
Of the three vitamins featured here, vitamin E is the star. It smooths, softens and conditions the skin for a silky, youthful texture. It helps prevent sunburn, photodamage-related hyperpigmentation and even skin cancer. It enhances the skin’s barrier function to reduce irritation and diminishes transepidermal water loss, allowing the skin to remain hydrated and calm. On top of all of this, it can boost circulation, balance oil production, enhance new cell growth, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, diminish stretch marks and even more. The benefits of this antioxidant-rich vitamin are truly incredible, making it one of the greatest skin antioxidants.

Also known as: tocopherol

Any anti aging skin care or antioxidant product is greatly enhanced by any one of these ingredients. Take a peek at your skin care products to see if these antioxidant vitamins are included. If not, a regimen revision could be a great way to boost your antioxidant protection, skin health and beauty.

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Antioxidants and UV Protection

We all know how important it is to wear sunscreen while spending time outdoors. But, did you know that antioxidants are as important as sunscreen when you’re aiming to keep your skin looking healthy and youthful? Antioxidant products are an effective way to reduce wrinkles and keep visible signs of aging at bay. Luckily, more and more beauty companies are including skin antioxidants in their sunscreen formulations.

One of the leading causes of free radicals is UV damage. Free radicals, in turn, wreck havoc within the skin, sometimes leading to cell death. In addition, UV rays can induce collagen breakdown, DNA repair interference and an inhibited immune system. All of these actions can induce premature signs of aging, skin disorders, less defense against infection, pigmentation issues, changes in skin texture and even cancer. One of the best defenses against UV-induced skin problems is using antioxidant skin care products, as well as fortifying your body internally by eating antioxidant foods.

When building your skin care regimen, take special care to incorporate as many antioxidant-rich products as possible. Many skin care products use antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, which also help the skin by brightening, conditioning and nourishing. Natural skin care products use botanical, marine, fruit and even vegetable extracts, many of which contain high levels of antioxidants. If you begin your day by applying antioxidant products, your skin’s defense against free radicals will be generously increased.

If you are not currently using a daily sunscreen formulation, step back and take a good look at your skin. If you’re not seeing any damage yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not there! Any exposure to the sun can be damaging to your skin, and excessive sun exposure is certainly causing issues, even if they’re not yet visible. However, the sun can be tricky, too. While too much sun exposure can be dangerous, too little exposure can also cause problems. It is recommended that one gets 10-20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure a day to get a good dose of vitamin D while strengthening the skin’s defenses against UV radiation.

Antioxidants – think of them as the body’s body guard. One of the main culprits behind the aging process is Oxidation, which is caused by free radicals. These highly unbalanced atoms attack healthy cells, causing the cells to die. Antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E or Green Tea interact with and kill free radicals, keeping the cells safe and healthy. Antioxidants are abundant in many vitamins, especially in fruits and vegetables. Skin care products formulated with antioxidants can be directly applied to the skin for immediate and lasting results.

More recently, possibility of using antioxidant to protect the skin from the harmful effects of the sun have been studied. Learn more about UV-protection from antioxidants.

This Antioxidant resource web site is brought to you by Glow.com as an information resource because we believe that information is key to your skin’s health and beauty.