Vitamin E is one of the main fat soluble antioxidant vitamins found in the body. It has protective functions within the cellular membrane, the lipoproteins as well as other structures that are oily in nature. Skin is particularly high in unsaturated fatty acids. Hence using vitamin E, both topically as well as orally, is very beneficial.
Flavonoids provide skin care
Flavonoids
There are a wide ranging group of plant pigments having antioxidant properties, which are known as flavonoids. These are the substance that gives most fruit, vegetables as well as flowers their colour. Besides providing colour that serves as a draw to animals and insects, these pigments also provide protection for plants from various environmental stresses. Flavonoids are strong antioxidants besides having anti-carcinogenic, anti-viral, anti allergens as well as anti inflammatory protection. There are more than 4,000 flavonoids classified and characterized, but only a few of them have been researched to any degree. There are two types of flavonoids which are valuable when it comes to skin care. These are proanthocyanins which are found in pine bark and grapes and polyphenols, which are found in green tea.
Summary of Coenzyme Q10, Lipoic acid, Cysteine, Methionine
Coenzyme Q10, lipoic acid, cysteine as well as methionine are all strong and viable antioxidants which also have other uses with regards to their antioxidant protection. You may refer to the discussion above on the conditionally essential nutrients.
Vitamin E : Use tocopherols and tocotrienols correctly for skin and health
vitamin E
The most common natural antioxidant is vitamin E, which is actually the best known antioxidant that is found in the human body. Its main biological function is the protect lipids from free radical damage besides oxidation. Lipids are a key component of the cell membranes besides other biochemical structures. Oxidation is a huge threat to lipid based substances as it can cause them to disintegrate within a few hours. This means that lipid protectors such as vitamin E are a vital thin, but they need to be used with some knowledge.
Just like all vitamins, a complete lack of vitamin in the diet would be fatal. But the good news is that just the minimum amount of vitamin E is needed in order to maintain basic health, so virtually any diet has enough vitamin E in it in order to prevent deficiency. For many years scientists have told us that amounts of vitamin E which are in excess to the minimum would provide extra benefits such as lowering the risk of heart disease, cataracts as well as slowing the aging process in the skin. But a few years ago the reputation of vitamin E was blemished as several noteworthy scientific trials showed that long term high level doses of vitamin E supplements did not have any effect on the risk of heart disease. One study showed that vitamin E made people more vulnerable to heart disease instead of protecting them from it.
Additional research has been done on vitamin E, which shows that well formulated vitamin E supplements can be even more beneficial. But you do have to use vitamin E with care in order to reap the benefits.
Most of the vitamin E supplements are made up of DL-alpha-tocopherol which is a combination of two visually different kinds of alpha tocopherol – D and L. DL alpha tocopherol does not prevent vitamin E deficiency in case it is used on its own. Rather, vitamin E is a representative of a broad range of related natural compounds which include alpha, beta, delta and gamma tocopherols besides alpha, beta, delta and gamma tocotrienols.
Tocopherols
The main ingredient in a majority of vitamin E supplements is alpha tocopherol, a well tested antioxidant. All the antioxidants work with a limited group of free radicals. Beta, delta and gamma tocopherols work with a different set of antioxidants than the alpha variety. The latter three work with and enhance the work of the alpha tocopherol in combating the free radicals as well as preventing diseases. One scientific study showed that large doses of alpha tocopherol could be used in order to lower the blood levels of gamma tocopherols by 30 to 50 percent. This could be the reason why in certain circumstances high volume doses of vitamin E supplements can do much more damage than good.
Tocotrienols – another of the vitamin E family
Another member of the vitamin E family is known as tocotrienols, which are the most important group as they are 50 times stronger than the tocopherols. They increase the average lifespan of animals by close to 20 percent. When their effects were studied on humans, tocotrienols showed a tremendous amount of promise in the treatment as well as prevention of degenerative diseases. In one instance they could reverse the narrowing of the carotid artery which was a result of atherosclerosis. Just like tocopherols, tocotrienols come in alpha, beta, delta and gamma forms.
Natural OR Synthetic
Synthetic vitamins can be as effective as the ones which are produced from natural substances, but this is not the case with vitamin E. Natural vitamin E is made of only the delta forms of tocotrienols and tocopherols, while synthetic vitamin E supplements are produced with an equal mixture of the D and L forms. It is expensive to isolate the D form of vitamin E, hence it is rarely done when the supplements are being mass produced. The L form seems to be less effective than the natural D form, particularly when it is taken orally in pill form. Even though it may be more expensive, but it is better to use the natural supplements.
Do you need vitamin E for your skin?
Till now there have been no conclusive studies of the effects of using oral or topical alpha tocopherol on its own compared to those containing a balanced mix of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Most probably, the topical mixture is much more effective than the one that has the mixture. When you go to buy vitamin E supplements, buy one with a balanced mixture of tocopherols and tocotrienols.
Unfortunately, most of the topical vitamin E supplements only have alpha-tocopherol. In case you can’t find one that has the mixture, make your own.