MOVE OVER BOTOX, HELLO EXERCISE TO REJUVENATE THE SKIN (ISSUE 126) APR. 22, 2014

By Diane Gold

So many people are concerned with how to rejuvenate skin that they inject various fillers into themselves, like Botox, mostly into their faces, in order to reduce the age they look. As is common with so many things, they look outside themselves, outside of what their bodies naturally can produce rather than inside at the marvels  of the body.

A new study conducted in Ontario at McMaster University by Mark Tarnopolsky (MD, PhD) and his team came up with something astounding: that exercise can rejuvenate the skin.

Many of us know that, usually in our twenties, collagen production reduces, we exfolate less and our fat cells shrink. The outer layer of skin gets thicker and drier. The next layer under gets less elastic and thinner by losing cells, making it look saggier.

So researchers in 2010 started wondering whether exercise could stop or reverse this aging process and looked at mice bred to age prematurely. The ones who stayed sedentary became frail, demented, ill, gray and bald. But the ones who exercised with a running wheel stayed healthy, alert, furry and didn’t turn gray.

So Tarnopolsky and team did testing on a group of 29 men and women, ages 20 to 84. About half were active, doing three hours of workout per week. The other half did less than one hour a week. So the team examined skin on the butt, since that area would have less sun damage.

The scientists biopsied the skin and did microscopic examination.  When compared strictly by age, older volunteers had thicker outer layers of skin and thinner inner layers.
But when researchers divided them by exercise habits, they found that those who exercised frequently had skin closer in composition to that of 20- and 30-year-olds, even if they were over 65.

To factor in whether lifestyles and diet made the difference, they took another sample of individuals for study. They put a group of previously sedentary people, 65 years and older, to exercise after first sampling their skin, which looked average for their age. They did a routine of jogging or cycling for 30 minutes two times a week for three months. At the end of this period, their skin measured that of 20- to 40-year-olds.

Tarnopolsky marvelled,

“I don’t want to over-hype the results, but, really, it was pretty remarkable to see.”
He said that under a microscope, the skin of these formerly sedentary volunteers
“looked like that of a much younger person, and all that they had done differently was exercise.”

The researchers are not totally clear as to how this works. They did do portion of the study to find that substances released into the blood stream called myokines increase from exercise. And the myokine IL-15 was found to be 50% more prevalent with exercise.

The researchers also said that taking a pill or applying an oral application of IL-15 would not have the same effect as exercise. They also did not conclude that sun damage could be restored with exercise.

Tarnopolsky did say,

“It is astonishing to consider all of the intricate ways in which exercise changes our bodies.”

Which leads me to talk about people’s habit of changing from the outside what they could more efficiently change from the inside.

I stepped out the other night because I promised a friend I’d meet her at a bar for people over 60 with music from the 1950s and 60s. Since I don’t drink because I don’t drink just two, I was able to observe the crowd. What I was not prepared for was the amount of people, both men and women, who had had injection procedures to make the face look less wrinkly.

Botox, an FDA approved substance that uses botulin toxin A, a neurotoxin from the bacterium clostridium botulinum was the first one of these injectables to get popular. The toxin inhibits the release of acetylcholine in the nerve endings which inhibits the contraction of muscles; so it comes down to no moving, no wrinkling. That’s why we have all seen frozen faces on some people. The muscles are prevented from moving naturally. Side affects like paralysis seem to take a back seat to the possibility of looking younger for a few months.

There’s not only one company with one patent for this kind of thing. There’s also Juvederm which uses synthetic hyaluronic acid made with bacteria (genetically modified prior to January 13, 2013).  But, wait. It is one company. Allergan (in the news for possible restructuring today) owns both Botox and Juvederm (and if its proposed buyers merge it with Bausch and Lomb, the resulting conglomerate will be the number one seller of lots more).

Wouldn’t it be simpler to jump rope, swim, bike, run, dance, or other work out?

CONCLUSION

We want to rejuvenate the skin because we like the look and how others look. Or some of us think about it, and that’s great. However, we look outside ourselves so often when the answer is within. It would be greatly advantageous if we saw our own inner tools and power. When we get injections, massage, chiropractic adjustments; someone is doing something to us. When we use our own body and mind to further our lives, we are doing for ourselves.

It’s always best to heal from within because it lasts. That’s why doing exercise to rejuvenate the skin is a win-win activity. Whatever we choose, we all have beauty for the world to see, and it’s good to take care of it as we choose.

ACTION STEPS

1)   This set of action steps is simple:

a)   Do an extra 5-15 minutes of workout this week, depending upon your usual routine. Write about that time. Then repeat for 3 more weeks in a row, writing down the specific experience each time.

b)   If that works, do an extra 5-15 minutes twice a week for 4 weeks. And write about it.

c)   Finally, if that works, add another 5-15 minutes making it 3 times a week for 4 weeks. And write about it.

This will get you moving and creating your own health through exercise. From your inner self out to the world.

2)   Drink many 12 ounce glasses of water a day.

The skin study at McMaster University was presented in April, 2014, at the American Medical Society For Sports Medicine’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Tarnopolsky’s quotes were taken from Gretchen Reynolds’ New York Times article on April 16, 2014.

If you wish to share your story, please hit reply in your email program to be contacted.

FEEDBACK

We value your feedback very much.

Please leave  a comment.

Please LIKE us on the website and at

WarriorsOfWeight on Facebook.

You can also follow us on Twitter @warriorsoweight.

Thanks.

DIANE GOLD, PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.

She is a believer in doing the work from the inside out but has great respect for everyone who makes decisions with independent thinking. She says,

“Although I, personally, am not interested in injecting my face, I like it when I look vibrant and when my wrinkles soften. This happens when my body likes the food I give it and from exercise, rest, love, creativity, good mental state and sharing.

“For all those who add chemicals to themselves for cosmetic reasons, be careful. For those who think one product is safer than others, remember the marketing you hear was created by the manufacturer.

“Finally, let us all take good care of ourselves because we are so worth it!”