Let’s all have Beautiful Skin 18 Five Good for Guys

Let’s all have Beautiful Skin

By Charlotte Meschede - Nutritionist

Most people tend to forget how important it is to look after your skin until such time as it presents a problem. We tend to take it for granted and yet skin health is every bit as important as the health of every other part of your body. In fact your skin is the body’s first line of defense against physical invasion of foreign organisms. Just think how a cut or wound can allow pathogenic bacteria to enter the bloodstream and cause major diseases? If we don’t treat wounds appropriately, infections can be very detrimental to the point that gangrene can occur and amputations may be the result! I will never forget my first exposure to gangrene when I was doing my internship! The patient was a young boy, who had previously been admitted to hospital due to an illness. Once he was better, the doctor discharged him. However, this poor young boy had never slept on a bed or been given 3 meals per day so being discharged was literally the last thing he wanted! Once he was home, his main goal was to be re-admitted to hospital. After claiming fruitlessly that he was still sick and needed to go back to hospital, he put his feet and lower limbs into a bucket of boiling water! Needless to say, he was admitted with severe third degree burns from his knees down. Owing to his poor nutritional status, the burns turned gangrenous very quickly and he ended up losing most of the muscle tissue around his calves, but through careful nursing and major nutritional supplementation, we managed to prevent amputation. Whilst this is an extreme case, it is a grim reminder of how important skin health can be. None of us like to have scars or marks on our skin and let me not even discuss the effect of ageing on the skin! That topic requires a chapter all of it’s own!

The truth is that beautiful skin comes from what you put IN not what you put ON!

Skin is the largest organ in the human body. Strictly speaking, it is an endocrine organ as it controls both internal and external metabolic processes. The skin will reflect internal imbalances such as malnutrition, digestive issues, and deficiencies.

Therefore it goes without saying that the integrity of the skin and mucous membranes (Internal skin) is vital as it forms the protective coating for internal organs and tissues. Nutritional factors can affect hydration of the skin, sebum (oil) production and elasticity. The most common skin conditions associated with nutrition are the following:

• Dryness, dehydration and/or loss of elasticity • Acne

Dryness & Dehydration

Water, water, water! Most people simply don’t drink enough water, especially in the winter months. We don’t get as thirsty in cold weather as we do in warmer temperatures and our skin will feel the deficit. You should drink at least 1 ½ to 2 litres of water per day, and more if you are exercising or playing sport. Other liquids such as tea and coffee have a diuretic (encourage urination) effect, so drinking more tea and coffee to make up the excess can, in fact, do exactly the opposite and cause more dehydration.

Recommended AIM supplementation: Peak Endurance to ensure adequate hydration through electrolyte homeostasis.

Acne

The devastating effect of acne on teenagers is tangible. Most young adults have enough issues to cope with, let alone having physical manifestations such as acne, which can seriously undermine their confidence and emotional stability. Many of the teenagers I treat have absolutely NO idea how much nutrition plays a role in acne and general skin health. Either parents are ill advised or they are not getting the message across. I have also had many instances in which the parents’ diets are so bad that the role model they present to the children is one in which nutrition is not important and only genetics are to blame for bad skin. General nutritional advice for people suffering from acne is summarised below: • Avoid saturated fats such as visible fat on meat, ‘hard’ cheeses (Parmesan, Cheddar, etc.), processed

meats such as biltong, sausages and salami as well as butter • Limit red meat intake to once a week • Increase intake of ‘good’ fats such as avocados, olive oil, raw tree nuts and seeds • Eat fish, especially fatty fish as often as you can • Avoid fried foods of any description, but especially deep fried • Do not use other vegetable oils and margarine for cooking as this produces more trans fats • Reduce the intake of sugar • Increase consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those of colour such as blueberries (any berries are really good), pawpaw, oranges, mangoes, butternut, peppers and green leafy vegetables

Recommended AIM products:

Garden Trio – not only because of the plant pigments but also because of the natural source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. AIMega - to provide suitable essential fatty acids to help maintain the integrity of the outer layer of skin, as well as strength and elasticity. Essential fatty acids (the ‘good’ fats mentioned above) also have a strong inflammation fighting effect on the body.

IN CONCLUSION please remember that it is NOT necessary to go on very strict elimination diets such as dairyfree, gluten-free and/or vegetarian diets unless specifically indicated. Such diets can in their own capacity, lead to multiple nutritional deficiencies through food group avoidance and these deficiencies will only serve to add confusion and severity to symptoms. Try and identify a condition accurately before taking Dr Google’s advice. Sound nutritional principles should prevail.

Five Good for Guys

It’s a fact of life that achieving healthy nutrition is a challenge for many people. Guys tend to be among those even more challenged given the popularity of processed foods and snacks as well as fast foods that frequently end up as their go-to nutritional choices. Of course, this goes against the best advice for maintaining good health.

Missing out on recommended amounts of essential nutrients as well as beneficial phytonutrients negatively impacts health, so boosting intake from plantbased whole food as well as supplementation is simply good for guys.

Dads who take these nutritional steps for themselves are also doing something beneficial for their children: being there as healthy examples.

Looking at the AIM lineup reveals quite a selection of supplemental nutrition that supports men of all ages and lifestyles. To narrow the field a bit and hone in on specific nutrients that men should not miss, here are five manly choices. 1. Greens

It’s easy for men to increase their plant-based nutrient intake by making BarleyLife a go-to daily supplemental food. If the taste of the powder is a factor, capsules are a handy option. Either choice will give a guy a diverse, natural source of beneficial antioxidants, chlorophyll, enzymes, vitamins and minerals as well as the unique phytonutrients found in barley leaves. There’s even a gram of healthy plant protein in each serving.

2. Calcium

To build and maintain bone structure, men require a daily source of calcium, a major mineral that is also essential for the optimal function of their hearts, muscles and nerves. An effective way for men to supplement their daily calcium requirements* is with CalciAIM, a powder that becomes a free-ionic source of this mineral when mixed in water. *1,000 mg for men ages 19 – 70 1,200 mg for men ages 71+

3. Fiber

One of the most easily avoided essential nutrients from having a poor diet is fiber. This indigestible plant carbohydrate cleans the intestinal tract, so missing out leads to fecal and toxin buildup in the colon. Taking Fit ’n Fiber is an easy way for a man to avoid missing out on wasteeliminating fiber. And it’s a great source of prebiotics that feed the good bacteria that help a guy stay healthy.

4. Protein

Meat is a major protein source for most men. Burgers, steaks and chops are succulent standards on a man’s menu. But animal protein has its drawbacks, including increased saturated fat, bad cholesterol and acid production.2 Adding ProPeas to the menu helps to alkalize a guy’s body with low-fat pea protein. It’s just the way that plant-based nutrition from whole food works. Additionally, this “green” protein can help to boost a man’s metabolism and lean musculature.

5. Phytosterols

Plants provide a plenitude of beneficial compounds, including phytosterols, which are remarkably similar in structure to cholesterol, and, interestingly enough, may maintain a healthy serum lipid profile. The phytosterols in ReAssure SP have been shown to help with the symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate, a common occurance in men over the age of forty. Research indicates that phytosterols can increase peak urinary flow and decrease residual urine volume after a man relieves himself.3

Of course, some guys may doubt the benefits of supplementing their nutritional intake, but keep in mind that the old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” got to be so old because it still rings true to this very day.

References: 1 bit.ly/GuyDiet 2 bit.ly/AcidifyingProtein 3 bit.ly/ProstatePhytosterols