Tag Archives: body inflammation

The stress cycle and impact on beauty

January 26, 2015

The stress cycle and impact on beauty – How Stress Can Wreak Havoc on Your Hair and Skin

The stress cycle and impact on beauty

The stress cycle and impact on beauty is real since stress also widens blood vessels, which causes redness and aggravates rosacea

It is very ironical that beauty is sort by everyone across the globe yet one of the biggest enemies of beauty is stress which is also a common problem to everybody globally today. While we all want to look radiant composed and beautiful, managing situations which stresses us is an uphill task in our daily lives. In the process of juggling with beauty and stress we find ourselves compromising in most cases and the stress cycle and impact on beauty continuous. To overcome this stress cycle, we need to get the experience opinions of the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care. Doctor Akoury founded this facility to offer her expertise help to many people who are struggling with the health of their skin. It has been established that stress is one of the major obstacle to attaining optimum beauty and this is what is being addressed professionally at this facility. Therefore for ultimate beauty, you can call doctor Akoury today to schedule for an appointment to commence treatment right away. In the meantime, we want to further look into ways and means through which stress is becoming an impediment of beautiful skin.

There is a lot of science behind the stress and its effects to the skin.

  • Actually the way stress affects your skin is that when you’re anxious, your brain releases cortisol, a stress hormone, into your bloodstream.
  • This then communicates to the oil glands to ramp up production, leading to breakouts.
  • Stress also widens blood vessels, which causes redness and aggravates rosacea.
  • Another side effect is that the skin becomes dehydrated, sensitive, and more susceptible to damage.
  • Besides causing lines from furrowing your brow, stress also makes you look markedly older.

Ordinarily the human body loses one percent of its skin’s collagen supply every year at the age 20, however with stress this can be accelerated further. It is therefore proper to say that majority of younger women are visiting many skin care professionals to have their wrinkles eliminated while much older ones are also struggling with acne. These issues are caused in large part because majority of the people seeking for such treatments are more stressed out than they were even five or a few years ago. Some triggers of stress may include: relationships, money, work, and family among many others. Nonetheless we are also seeing a considerable rise in cultural stress i.e. the feeling that women expect perfection from themselves in all areas at all times. While appreciating that stress is radically unhealthy for your major body organs like the heart and the brain, it is also very important to take note of the damage it causes to the skin which is also the largest organ of the body. The effect of stress on the skin is not something one should take lightly and so we want to look further on the stress cycle and impact on beauty.

The stress cycle and impact on beauty – How Stress affects Your Hair and Skin

Much as we may not agree with it, stress is not just an irritating byproduct of everyday life but it is also a major health and beauty trespasser. A simple lack of sleep, dehydration, and junk food cravings often go hand-in-hand with stress, which trickles down to poor hair and skin health. You’d be surprised to know that stress could actually be the root of these six beauty issues.

It weakens overall skin and hair health – Stress can interrupt sleep patterns a key component for skin and body repair. Coupled with stress, skimping on sleep weakens the immune system and puts the body’s chemicals out of smack, often leaving you with lackluster skin and dull eyes.

It promotes skin irritants – Stress also causes you to release certain hormones, which can trigger your body into channeling blood away from the skin toward muscles and other organs. In particular, chronic stress deprives your skin of oxygen and essential nutrients and without adequate amounts of them you get skin conditions like acne.

It dries out everything – The negative effects of stress can present themselves on the skin with extreme dehydration that results in:

It must be remembered that when the stress cycle and impact on beauty exceeds the limit, the dead cell layer on the surface of the skin becomes thin and develops microscopic holes, which cannot provide sufficient defense against aging and ultraviolet rays. Again not only can stress cause breakouts, but it also creates tiny perforations in cell membranes that allow water to leak from cells and dehydrate the skin. That’s when fine lines and a lackluster skin tone begin to appear.

It gives you wrinkles – Stress hormones increase blood pressure, raise pulse rates and constrict blood vessels, which in turn redirect blood away from the skin towards other organs. The result is that our muscles tense, our skin loses that rosy glow, and wrinkles begin to form.

It causes hair loss – As stress causes the blood vessels to constrict, hair follicles are then deprived of the oxygen, minerals, and vitamins they need for healthy hair growth. Therefore when you’re feeling so frazzled, your body burns more energy and directs the vitamins and nutrients to those body parts that it needs for survival like the heart, lungs, and brain. This would then means that your scalp will not get the benefit of these essential nutrients.

Over the years it has become easy to spot clients who are dealing with a lot of stress. Signs like hair loss, hair thinning, and an overall lack of shine and luster are common. In extreme cases, patients start to suffer from ailments such as Alopecia and Psoriasis, both of which contribute to weak and fragile hair that breaks easily.

It leads to bad beauty habits – Sometimes severe stress can lead to formation of nasty habits like hair twirling or twisting or nail biting which become almost subconscious. All that twisting can result in chronic trauma to the hair in some areas, leading to broken hair and even hair loss.

The stress cycle and impact on beauty – How Stress Can Wreak Havoc on Your Hair and Skin

 

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Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging

December 30, 2014

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – The redox stress hypothesis

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging. Numerous complex inter-related mechanisms contribute to age-related inflammation. The redox stress hypothesis of aging is based on age-related changes in cellular redox balance.

We have just introduced the effects of inflammation in aging in our pervious article and now we want to progress with the discussion focusing on the mechanisms of inflammation in aging. If you are joining us for the first time in this life changing site, I would recommend that you get to the introduction for a better flow of information on this worthy topic. Numerous complex inter-related mechanisms contribute to age-related inflammation. The redox stress hypothesis of aging for example is based on age-related changes in cellular redox balance supplemented by age-related deregulation of the immune system. However other processes like endocrino-senescence and declining levels of sex hormones also likely contribute to high inflammation in older age. In addition, a number of diseases, especially age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and dementia, have strong inflammatory components. Meanwhile in view of the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care, the following are some of the components that are likely to affect your skin into premature aging.

  • Redox stress
  • Mitochondrial damage
  • Immunosenescence
  • Endocrino-senescence
  • Epigenetic modifications and
  • Age-related diseases

With the help of experienced experts at this facility founded by doctor Akoury, we will make certain emphasis about each of the above mechanisms of inflammation in aging as follows.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – The Redox stress

Endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) are hypothesized which play a key role in molecular, cellular, and structural damage of your skin over time. Under normal physiological conditions, reactive oxygen species like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) have vital roles in signal transduction cascades and function to reversibly oxidize or reduce protein cysteine thiol groups as molecular on/off switches. However, age-associated increases in reactive oxygen species may lead to over-oxidation and irreversible changes in protein structure and function. The biological process to remove these accumulated damaged proteins stimulates inflammatory responses leading to a chronic inflammatory state.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – The Mitochondrial damage

Mitochondria, the primary sites for chemical energy (ATP) production, are essential for normal cell function and maintenance of redox homeostasis as well as regulating programmed cell death. Mitochondria are the main source for reactive oxygen species therefore; they are key components in redox stress. The mitochondrial free radical theory of aging is based on oxidative damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) due to overproduction of reactive oxygen species. This damage results in dysregulation of cell and organ function leading to the overall system decline recognized as aging. mtDNA alterations have been reported to accumulate with age; the ensuing loss of energy production likely underlies sarcopenia. Other tissues affected by age-related mtDNA alterations include ovary, testis, and adrenal organs with noted loss of function with age. In addition, apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a highly regulated process that leads to cell death without stimulation of the inflammation response and damage to surrounding tissue. With age, mismanagement of apoptosis due to mitochondrial dysfunction results in increased inflammation and tissue injury.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – Immunosenescence

Oxidative stress and energy dysregulation are also hypothesized to play a key role in immunosenescence, the gradual decline of the immune system with age. Immunosenescence results from the accumulation of molecular and cellular defects due to oxidative damage and thymic involution the age-related reduction in thymus size and activity, and hyper stimulation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems. The ultimate result of these processes is increased exposure to diseases and increased morbidity and mortality due to infections and other age-associated diseases.

Thymic involution results in significantly reduced levels of naive T cells at older ages. While the adaptive immune response to previously seen antigens dependent on memory T cells remains functional, although in a reduced capacity, the ability to respond to new infectious agents, requiring naive T cells, is severely impaired. Poor immune function combined with continued exposure to antigens, results in chronic activation of macrophages and other pro-inflammatory cells and contributes to chronic low level inflammation common in older age. In addition, senescent cells demonstrate significant increases in production and secretion of many pro-inflammatory cytokines. Chronic inflammation, therefore, not only results from, but also drives immunosenescence.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – Endocrino-senescence

In addition to immunosenescence, the endocrine system also experiences age-related declines in function (endocrinosenescence) most notably affecting sex steroid production. Levels of growth hormone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its primary circulating form dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) decrease with age as well. However, cortisol production is increased due to over-stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

Chronic over-stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis leads to immune dysregulation and contributes to immunosenescence. Decreased levels of DHEA and growth hormone also likely play a role in immunosenescence. Both DHEA and growth hormone enhance the proliferation and activity of cellular mediators of immunity and DHEA reduces inflammatory cytokine production. Reduction in levels of these hormones and increasing levels of cortisol with age would therefore lead to increased.

Sex hormones also modulate the production of inflammatory cytokines. Studies indicate that interleukin-6 gene transcription and secretion are inhibited by both estrogen and androgen. Many studies show an increase in interleukin-6 and other pro-inflammatory cytokines in women subsequent to menopause. Similar inverse relationships have been reported for testosterone levels and inflammatory markers in older men. As levels of these steroid hormones decrease with age, levels of inflammatory cytokines are increased contributing to chronic inflammation, cellular senescence, and other age-related diseases.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – Epigenetic modifications

Epigenetic modifications are modifications to phenotypes or gene expression resulting from changes other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. These changes may be retained by the cell throughout its lifespan and, for germ line cells, may be passed to future generations. DNA methylation is one of the most well characterized epigenetic changes.

DNA methylation is essential for normal development and survival. During aging, however, the DNA methylation pattern can change resulting in a global decrease in methylation with hyper methylation of some promoter regions, most notably promoters of several tumor repressor genes. Histone modifications lead to both gene activation and suppression. Histone modifications and changes in DNA methylation near telomeric regions correlate with telomere attrition and cellular senescence. In addition, these epigenetic changes are associated not only with activation of inflammatory genes, but also with cancer, dementia, atherosclerosis, and a number of other diseases.

Finally this article is very fertile with strong medical terms which may not sound clear to the ordinary man’s understanding. While appreciating the need for more clear view of the effects of mechanisms of inflammation in aging, the writings still had to be the way they are. However in a one on one with doctor Akoury in her office, you will be able to get clarity in all of your concerns. Remember that our target is to deliver beauty to you in the most professional way. Therefore on your part, what you need to do is to schedule for an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care and all your beauty concerns will be professionally addressed.

Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging – The redox stress hypothesis

 

 

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Inflammation Control to Slow Premature Aging

December 28, 2014

Inflammation Control to Slow Premature Aging – Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging

Inflammation

Inflammation control to slow premature aging is the way to go if you are to be in-charge of the aging process especially the premature aging

In our desire to keep the beautiful skin that everyone will admire, we are consistently faced with several challenges. Some of the challengers can be very devastating and will require the professionals to be involved if permanent solution is to be found. For this reason, we are going to be consulting with doctor Dalal Akoury from time to time as we progress into the discussion about calming chronic inflammation and slow premature aging. Just for the record, doctor Akoury is one of the few professionals with more than two decades experience in beauty and skincare management. She is also the founder of a health facility known as AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center where we focus is on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

With that brief introduction, let’s get into the discussion. Chronic inflammation can destructively affect your health and even accelerate your skin’s aging. Therefore inflammation is a critical part of the body’s healing process: It occurs at the cellular level when the immune system tries to fight off disease causing germs and repair injured tissue. Inflammation can be invisible (if your body is battling an infection internally) or visible: Rashes or pimples, for example, occur when blood vessels widen near the skin’s surface to increase blood flow, which in turn expedites healing.

Redness, heat and swelling can also occur alongside inflammation. When the fight is over, the army of inflammation-triggering substances is supposed to withdraw, however in many cases they don’t. Besides that studies have implicated chronic inflammation with heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many more of such diseases. When it attacks the skin, it can accelerate fine lines, wrinkles and enlarged pores, as well as puffiness, sagging, blotchiness or reddening of the skin. All this impacts negatively on the health of the skin and the end result is premature aging. Therefore aging is a progressive degenerative process tightly integrated with inflammation. However the cause and effect are not very clear though a number of theories have been developed that attempt to define the role of chronic inflammation in aging including:

  • Redox stress
  • Mitochondrial damage
  • Immune-senescence
  • Endocrino-senescence
  • Epigenetic modifications and
  • Age-related diseases

We are going to discuss each of this aspects as we progress on but nonetheless, no single theory explains all aspects of aging, it is likely that multiple processes contribute and that all are entangled with inflammatory responses. Take for example human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals experiences premature aging phenomenon this may provide indicators to better explain the nature of inflammation in aging. Environmental and lifestyle effectors of inflammation may also contribute to variation of both inflammation and age-related dysfunction.

Inflammation Control to Slow Premature Aging – Inflammation and Aging

It must be noted that aging itself is not a disease. However it results from the accumulation over time of detrimental changes at the molecular and cellular levels, and ultimately at the level of tissues and organs, resulting in disease and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Traditionally, robust immune and inflammatory responses allowed early humans to endure to reproductive age. However, these same response mechanisms lead to a variety of lethal consequences now that humans routinely endure to older age. In a highly elaborate process, organs lose functionality and structural integrity both deriving from and leading to age-related diseases like atherosclerosis, dementia, and cancer. While the etiology of the aging process is not fully understood, inflammation clearly plays a major role, inseparably linking inflammation and aging.

Nonetheless it is not clear whether inflammation causes age-related processes, results from these processes or both. For the purpose of this article we will concentrate on current theories about the nature of chronic inflammation associated with aging including the causes and effects of inflammation with a focus on the highly entangled nature of aging and inflammation and potential interventions to moderate the effects of inflammation in aging.

Inflammation Control to Slow Premature Aging – Chronic Inflammation

Subsequent to trauma or infection, the inflammatory response is initiated at a local, cellular level. A number of cellular mediators such as macrophages and monocytes are activated. These cells release cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 which act as molecular mediators and are responsible for the progression of the response to a systemic level encompassing multiple organs. The inflammatory cascade is designed to:

  • Destroy microbial pathogens
  • Initiate tissue repair processes and
  • Promote a return to physiological homeostasis

Remember that at an acute level, this process is marked by easily discernible heat, swelling, redness, and pain. However, in terms of aging and age-related diseases, the inflammation response is a chronic, low level, subclinical process mediated by the same effectors, but opposing significantly in degree Inflammation as a function of age has been well characterized in numerous epidemiologic studies. Levels of inflammatory mediators typically increase with age even in the absence of acute infection or other physiologic stress. While levels are still in the sub-acute range, this chronic inflammation underlies many aging-related conditions. However, a key question remains. Is inflammation a cause of the aging process or an effect? We are going to be answering this question in our next article when we handle Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging. You don’t want to miss this and so I asked you to stay on the link for a while as we unlock the truth about inflammation.

Meanwhile as I had mention in the introduction, this is not just any topic about healthcare. We are looking at the real issues that bring about premature aging. If you want to remain young even if you’re not, engage the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care. Schedule for that appointment today and get to know your position with the effects of inflammation. You may never know until you get the experts opinion. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you do, our concern is to help you keep that glamorous appearance for a very long time. Give us an opportunity to help you keep that youthful look by calling doctor Akoury today.

Inflammation Control to Slow Premature Aging – Mechanisms of Inflammation in Aging

 

 

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Body inflammation causes obesity

February 12, 2014

Body inflammation causes obesity-How it happens

Inflammation

When inflammation becomes chronic, as is the case with obesity, chemical mediators, derived from different cellular activities, change in dynamics causing a progressive state of decline

A common theme that links many diseases and chronic illness is uncontrolled cellular inflammation. It is a factor in diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and many autoimmune-related conditions. Obesity has recently been added to this group of diseases as it is now known to present a low grade inflammatory response within many of the body’s tissues, which cause deleterious effects, often leading to the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disease. It is well known that being overweight is detrimental to one’s health, but until recently the known mechanisms were limited. Scientists over the last decade have started to unravel the mystery of why obesity leads to premature death. Although there is still much to learn, it is valuable to comprehend the known effects of chronic inflammation, as the prevalence of obesity continues to be a rising problem among the American population, particularly in children.

Inflammation and obesity-What is the meaning

Inflammation is, by design, a protective response leading to the repair of tissue. When inflammation becomes chronic, as is the case with obesity, chemical mediators, derived from different cellular activities, change in dynamics causing a progressive state of decline. Fat cells are now considered an immune organ that secretes numerous immune modulating chemicals. Visceral fat, in particular, is associated with the low grade inflammation that seems to be a contributing pathologic feature for metabolic disease through insulin resistance and the promotion of atherosclerotic build-up in circulatory vessels. When high levels of visceral fat are combined with physical inactivity, over nutrition, and advancement in age, the effect becomes more pronounced. Visceral fat is highly metabolic and contributes to cytokine hyperactivity. Adipokines secreted from fat tissue influence the metabolic process and contribute to proper function. The consequent low grade inflammation associated with obesity causes disturbance in the secretion and function of adipokines. Research has identified changes in adiponectin, leptin, and resistin that exhibit harmful effects upon the body in obese individuals. Adiponectin is an antiatherogenic agent, meaning it helps prevent the development of atheroschlerotic plaque in blood vessels and slows the progression of atherosclerosis in coronary vessels. It does this by acting directly upon the vessel wall, inhibiting adhesive molecules from contributing to plaque formation and acts as a blocking agent to the formation of foam cells. In the skeletal muscle and the liver, adiponectin serves to promote insulin sensitivity and a positive blood lipid profile. Visceral adiposity reduces adiponectin concentrations. Lowering the adiponectin concentrations lessens the cardio protective effect, leading to increased cardiovascular risk.   Leptin regulates energy metabolism and balance in conjunction with the brain’s hypothalamus. Leptin is currently being touted as having cardioprotective benfits among its others roles in metabolism Leptin concentrations adjust in response to obesity and contribute to insulin resistance. The changes in leptin concentration have also been recognized as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Likewise increased resistin concentrations correlate with obesity related inflammation and may be associated with the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Resistin also promotes insulin resistance, although the actual mechanism is not known. Insulin resistance due to adipokine dysfunction is further influenced by free fatty acids liberated directly into the liver from visceral fat tissue. Visceral fat releases chemicals and fatty acids into the portal system where they act on the connecting organs. The portal circulation system is a specialized network of blood vessels that connect the visceral organs to the liver.   The excess fat in portal circulation has detrimental effects on insulin action, which is worsened by sympathetic hyperactivity in response to obesity. Sympathetic hyperactivity causes heightened lypolytic action resulting in excess free fatty acids in the blood. These actions combined with beta cell hypersecretion and reduced insulin clearance resulting in hyperinsulemia, lead to early stage diabetes.

Inflammation-Interleukin-6

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is possibly another factor associated with inflammatory detriment within the portal system. High levels of IL-6 are a marker for inflammation and vascular pathology. Obese subjects demonstrated a 50% greater portal vein IL-6 concentration, demonstrating, again, the profound effect visceral fat has on pathogenic indicators. Portal vein IL-6 correlates with systemic C-reactive protein concentrations. C-reactive protein is associated with cardio- and peripheral vascular disease. C-reactive protein and oxidative stress are now presumed to interact in the early inflammatory processes of atherosclerosis. This is significant for young obese individuals. Although more research is necessary for conclusive association, C-reactive protein may be a new risk factor for CAD in individuals under 25 years of age.

Inflammation-imbalances

inflammation

If your immune system and its ability to quell inflammation in your body are impaired, watch out. You are headed toward illness and premature …

The imbalance between increased inflammatory stimuli with a concurrent reduction in anti-inflammatory activity may be the foundation for the accelerated endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance associated with obesity and the comorbid disorders of metabolic disease.   More research is needed to clearly delineate the particular relationships, but it seems evident that the low grade inflammation caused by obesity and visceral adiposity lead to the premature development of disease. This, more so than ever before, identifies the importance of weight management during the developmental years and ongoing efforts to control weight throughout one’s lifespan.   For individuals that are currently obese, there is still plenty of hope. Weight loss is related to reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation, and these beneficial effects likely translate into reduction of cardiovascular risk in obese individuals.   Likewise, exercise and dietary management, along with pharmacologic intervention can lead to atherosclerotic reversal in the earlier stages of CAD. Individuals with central adiposity, poor blood lipid profiles, hypertension, and/or insulin resistance should seek immediate professional assistance to prevent further health detriment.   The recent inclusion of obesity among chronic diseases makes Dr. Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center very resourceful for you. She will help you achieve optimal weight loss, the Dr. focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. What an opportunity, try and relieve yourself of this problem for good.

Body inflammation causes obesity-How it happens
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