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Introducing
Nutri Centre’s
Q & A section
Suppliers of complementary medicine,
Nutri Centre (now offering their range of products in a number of
larger Tesco stores), are providing laterlife visitors with the
opportunity to ask questions on health issues.
The Q & As are produced by Senior Nutritionist Alex
Shalet BSc (Hons) in conjunction with
the Nutri Centre.
NATURAL SOLUTI0NS September 2007
Nutri Centre’s Q & A
By Alex Shalet
Skin Complexion
Q: Now that I am 53, I can accept
the inevitable lines and wrinkles. But I always used to have
great skin when I was younger and now my complexion has turned
dull and dry. I don’t have the money to have regular facials and
I was wondering if there are any natural supplements that can
help improve my lifeless skin?
A: Cell regeneration slows down as we age and
when there are no longer enough new cells to replace old or
damaged ones, the result is ageing. This is then exacerbated by
the fact that as we get older we may not be absorbing those
nutrients the body needs to stay young and well. One of the more
common deficiencies that have shown up in studies of older
populations living in urban areas was a lack of vitamin A, which
not only prevents tissue damage due to ageing, but also protects
the body’s surfaces, including the skin.
Your diet is also crucial to how you look; you are what
you eat. The more colourful your diet, the richer in anti-aging
antioxidants it will be. Good antioxidant food sources are red,
orange and purple fruits such as blueberries, strawberries and
cherries and colourful vegetables such as carrots, spinach and
sweet potatoes.
Dehydration is often the problem when you have dry skin.
The skin needs adequate hydration to look good so drinking lots
of water every day is vital. The two underlying causes of dry
skin are deficiency in essential fats and insufficient vitamin
A.
To ensure that you are getting high levels of the
nutrients that your skin needs, the right supplements can be
very helpful. Pycnogenol provides very good antioxidant
protection and is effective in stabilising collagen, the
structural component of the skin that maintains skin elasticity.
If you’re a non-smoker then Beta Carotene is very important as
this precursor of vitamin A, also has potent antioxidant
properties.
For skin dryness, I would recommend taking VegEPA as this
contains essential fats. The EPA in this product is of
particular importance. It also contains evening primrose oil and
anti-oxidant vitamin E. These nutrients combine to help protect
and oil the skin from the inside.
PRODUCTS:
Pycnogenol 50mg from Viridian Nutrition -
£20.75 for 30 veg capsules
Beta Carotene Oceanic 7mg from Solgar -
£7.49 for 60 softgels
VegEpa 500mg from Igennus - £9.95 for 60
capsules
Tired Around the Eyes
Q: I have dark circles under my
eyes that won’t go away no matter how much sleep I get. They
really stand out, making me look exhausted and ill. They are
really annoying and I spend so much time covering them up with
make up concealer, but they always reappear. Can you recommend
anything that can make them go away or help to reduce the
visibility?
A: Skin ageing is a natural process and can’t be
avoided. Dark circles can be caused by the appearance of
veins beneath the skin under our eyes where the skin has
accumulated damage due to sun exposure and become thinner,
allowing veins in this fatty padded area under the eye to appear
more prominent.
Persistent dark circles that are not simply a sign of
ageing skin or tiredness may be caused by pigment deposits
under the eye. In Chinese medicine, the eyes are linked with the
liver, so any stress on this organ is said to affect the eyes
and surrounding area. Sufferers will also benefit from taking a
daily supplement that will work to relieve a toxic load on an
overworked liver.
A very beneficial supplement to support the liver is
Liv52 as this can help regulate levels of enzymes and optimize
assimilation. It also improves the functional efficiency of the
liver.
Diet can also help with detoxifying, follow a diet
rich in foods that support the liver’s capability to detoxify,
good choices for this purpose include cauliflower, broccoli,
brussels sprouts, onions, artichokes, beets and garlic. Try also
to include as many raw fruits and vegetable in your diet as
possible. Substitute oily fish for animal fats so as to increase
essential fatty acid intake. It is best to reduce alcohol
intake, and drink at least 2 litres of bottled or filtered water
every day to help the kidneys flush out toxins and avoid
dehydration which makes dark circles worse.
Dark circles under the eyes may also be the result of
food allergy or sensitivity as well. Wheat and milk products are
the two biggest culprits, although different people react to
different foods, including alcohol.
PRODUCT:
Liv52 from Vedic Medical Hall - £10.99 for
100 tablets
Senior Nutritionist Alex Shalet BSc
(Hons) completed a three year degree in Nutritional Therapy at
the University of Westminster, where the course included
extensive supervised clinical training in the university’s
polyclinic. He has been a practicing nutritional therapist for
several years. In addition to his work with The Nutri Centre at
their branch within the Tesco superstore in West Cromwell Road,
Kensington W14, he also practices at a complementary therapies
clinic in North London. He is a registered practitioner with
the British Association for Nutritional Therapy (BANT).
If
you would like to ask a question, please send an email to
nutricentre@laterlife.com
The information above is provided by the Nutri Centre.
Laterlife cannot endorse any information presented and
recommends that you consult your doctor if in doubt about any
medication or health-related matter.
* Please note questions cannot be answered
personally but will be selected for inclusion in future editions
of 'Natural Solutions'
laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com
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