Science Catches Up with Tradition

EVERY civilisation boasts of remedies and concoctions to improve both body and mind, and enhance beauty and prolong youthfulness. Many of these ‘beauty secrets’ were passed on from one generation to the next, and trickled down through centuries to become custom and tradition.

Across cultures and regions, particularly in ancient Chinese and Indian traditional medical practice, many of these remedies were intended to improve blood circulation to the skin so that it remains nourished, smooth and supple. At the heart of Traditional Chinese Medicine, herbal remedies and food-based therapies are meant to promote blood circulation; enhance metabolism; and increase the passage of bodily wastes. Similarly, according to ayurveda, or the ayurvedic medicine practice in India, the skin is considered the ‘mirror’ of the body that reflects the state of health of the blood and plasma, and dietary remedies are recommended based on the type of skin, and are aimed to restore the body’s balance.

Combinations of foods, herbs and spices were concocted and prescribed to aid metabolism, help nourish and repair skin, as well as rid the body of metabolic wastes.

Science-Based Approaches

Many traditional therapies continue to be used widely in modern society, although their therapeutic efficacy may be largely anecdotal and have not been supported by enough peer-reviewed clinical studies. Our understanding of the physiology of aging, and of skin damage & repair, however, have lead us to science-based approaches to some of these traditional beauty treatments. We now know that:

 Proteins in our skin – collagen and elastin – are excellent water binders, and keep the skin supple and hydrated, and that when skin has sufficient hydration, it stays smooth and wrinkle-free.

 We lose collagen as we age, at about one per cent per year, and that the periodic loss of elastin makes us lose our ability to stretch our skin smoothly and flexibly.

 Sun exposure – specifically ultraviolet radiation from sunlight – can hasten collagen and elastin loss by prematurely breakingAir Jordan