Hyaluronic Acid - The Natural Face Lift?


If So What Is It and What Does It Do?

In Yuzuri Hara, a village in Japan, ten percent of the population is 85 or older. Diseases of aging, such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's, are virtually unknown. People rarely see a doctor and their skin rarely shows signs of aging. They live long, healthy active lives.

As reported on the ABC News program 20/20, researchers have discovered the 'magical' ingredient that appears to keep people in Yuzuri Hara young. It is hyaluronic acid, which is found naturally in the carbohydrate foods that are unique to the hilly terrain of this village.

The Times Newspaper (UK) reported 'New LIFE in OLD BONES: Researchers are looking for the genes involved with osteo-arthritis, which may lead to more effective, targeted therapies. Some studies have also shown positive results from injections into arthritic joints of hyaluronic acid, a component of the bodies own lubricant fluid, which seems to delay the need for a joint replacement.'

What Is It?

    • Hyaluronic Acid; or HA is a natural substance that is plentiful in our bodies when we are born.

    • It is found in all human connective tissue.

What Does It Do?

    • HA occurs naturally in the deeper layers of our skin (the dermis). It helps to keep skin smooth and "plump" through its ability to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water.

    • It lubricates the joints.

    • HA plays a critical role in the rapid repair of wounds and other skin conditions.

    • Improves eye-sight

1. Moisture Retention

The ability to retain and hold moisture is the secret to youthful, healthy, vibrant skin.

Aging robs us of this innate ability to hold in moisture. As we get older our bodies produce less and less HA. The drop in HA starts at around the age of 18-20 years. But after the age of 40 the down slide becomes apparent. Skin starts to lose its elasticity and lines and wrinkles appear.

HA also supports the formation and maintenance of collagen, an important connective tissue. Collagen degradation is believed to cause a decrease in skin tone and elasticity.

Healthy, youthful skin comes from the inside. By replacing the components that naturally deplete with age, we can reverse the signs associated with aging.

HA supplementation puts back in what is naturally lost to restore radiance and youth.

2. Joint Lubrication

HA occurs throughout the body in abundant amounts in many of the places people with hereditary connective tissue disorders have problems such as joints, heart valves and eyes. Hyaluronic acid abnormalities are a common thread in connective tissue disorders e.g osteoarthritis

3. Wound repair

Another important part of good skin is the ability to quickly heal wounds. This ability is slowly degraded with age. In part, it is due to the slowing down of cell mitosis, crucial aspect of cellular repair and regeneration. A possible contributing factor is also the decrease in the amount of HA available in the body.

4. Vision

HA makes up 80% of the human eye - it is present in the vitreous humor of the eye and assists in vision. HA is a shock absorber to the retina thus helping to prevent trauma to the eye.

Anti-aging products that use Hyaluronic Acid

There are two types of HA anti-aging products:

• Those that are applied externally in cream form

• Those that are taken as a health supplement and work internally, providing moisture to the inner layers of the epidermis. By reaching the corium layers of the epidermis, you penetrate, like no topical application is able to. This provides essential HA components to the cell level where it can work effectively, whilst still moisturizing the skin and reducing wrinkles


More Resources

Illness - What Can We do About it?
Illness concerns everyone. How can we approach it? And what is the reason behind illness? Whether you need to stay well or get well, lifestyle changes are essential to help you win the fight against illness.
Hypertension, An Alternative Approach
For many years high blood pressure has been defined based upon actuarial tables prepared by life insurance companies. By that definition, blood pressure of 140/90 is borderline hypertension in a person 40 years of age.
Learn About Falun Dafa
I have been practicing an advanced form of qigong for almost 5years now. The name of this practice is Falun Dafa.
Voice Care for Recovery from Colds and Vocal Strain
Every singer, no matter how careful they are of their instrument, has times when they have cheered a bit too much for their team, or had three weeks of cold and flu, and feel plain vocally awful.Here are some tips that will bring you back to health and ensure complete healing for your voice.
Alzheimer's Home Testing Manual Now Available Online
If you're concerned about the condition of an older family member or loved one, you are likely asking yourself: "I know there's something wrong. Could it be Alzheimer's?"You aren't alone.
Herbs and Essential Oils - Powerful Medicine
We can find many beneficial uses for natural herbs and their essential oils in our lives. The essential oils contain the concentrated part of the herb.
Aromatherapy - Essential Oils for Physical and Psychological Well-being
What is Aromatherapy?It is the practice of using volatile plant oils (and essential oils) for physical and psychological well-being.Before I get started take note that fragrance oils (fragrances) are not essential oils.
So What is Organic?
With allergies on the increase and sensitivities to synthetics becoming life threatening,we are looking for products which aren't going to make us sneeze or break out in rashes or irritate our children's sensitive skin. We scan the supermarket and health food store shelves and find there is a huge range of products on our shelves that claim to be "all natural" and "organic", but are they?When it comes to skin care or body products, the ingredients used are generally derived from plants.
Shemale Breast Enlargement - Transgender Breast Development
Shemales, or transgender males who strive to achieve more feminine qualities and physical features, are turning to natural supplements, often also used by women for the same purpose, to increase their breast size and give them heavier, larger breasts that look like a woman's breasts, and actually are biologically the same as a woman's breast.Although most herbal breast enlargement supplements will not work the same in a man's body due to biological and chemical differences, there is a supplement that actually is not herbal in nature, and works just as well on a man, or shemale as it does on a woman for breast enlargement.
All About Bad Breath, its Symptoms & Prevention
Bad breath (or halitosis medical term root from Latin) can be a serious handicap on your social or business life. It is a source of embarrassment and shame.
The Importance of Touch
Through the simple process of touch, Reflexology is so effective in the healing process. In the hi-tech world that we live in, touch has taken second place to machines.
Health in the Self
What is health?Is health the absence of disease? Is health a birth right or simply luck? According to Ayuveda, India's ancient art of healing, the meaning of health is a single word: Swastha. Swa = self + Stha = established.
Everything Old Is New Again: Rebuilding Your Vision
Glasses, contacts, or surgery. These are the usual choices offered to those of us with bad vision.
Achieve Instant Calm
For instant calm, try one or more of the following simple calming exercises, herbal allies, or movements, and can give you more details on how and why they work: Unfreeze yourself: Curl up in a fetal position (on your side with keens drawn up), breathe deeply, and hum. You may want to rock back and forth.
Treat Osteoporosis Naturally
Osteoporosis is a condition that faces every baby boomer; man or woman. Women are more prone to getting this after menopause, but men can also have "porous bones.
More Sinus Headaches Home Remedies
One of the best sinus headaches home remedies, is called acupressure. All you got to know is your sinus points and then you can use this acupressure method to treat your self and rid yourself of the pain, and the best thing about the acupressure method is that it has no side effects.
Aromatherapy - Part I: Essential Oils
a) WHERE DO ESSENTIAL OILS COME FROM ? - Essential Oils - Part 1The odoriferous substances (Essential oils) themselves are formed in the chloroplasts of the leaves where they combine with glucose to form glucides and are then circulated around the plant in this form. At certain times of the day or year they are stored in particular parts of the plant.
Not Now, I Have A Headache
Home Remedies - Facts or Quacks?That's what I recently asked myself. Myths and legends often have their basis in a grain of truth.
Consultation Guidelines For Hypnotherapy
The initial consultation may well be the most crucial aspect of hypno-psychotherapy, if not all therapies. Everything from the interpersonal dynamic to the eventual success of the intervention has a basis in this first meeting between the client and the therapist.
Constipation and Natural Remedies
There are two types of constipation, organic and functional. Organic constipation is a result of some physical change, obstruction, or distortion in your colon.

More Alternative Information:

Related Articles

Hypnosis CDs vs One-to-One Treatment
What's best?Whenever we are about to invest money, whether it be a tin of baked beans, or a complete new hi-fi, we ask ourselves the question what's best? Where will we get the best value for our money? Where will we get the best return for our investment? Now where we all differ is in what we consider best. For some of us, value is the most important so we go for the lowest price that does the job (covers the toast, or plays CD's).
Eucalyptus Oil for Colds and Flu
Recently I came down with a cold, flu, and some heavy chest congestion. My 8-year daughter also became sick.
Fitness-related Benefits of Massage
Ask someone their reason for getting a massage and you're likely to hear "because it feels good". We all know that a massage can relieve stress, help to make sore muscles feel better and even reduce anxiety, but can it help us achieve our fitness goals? Research shows that the massage you get to relieve stress can also have a positive effect on your muscle-building capabilities and fitness level.
An Introduction to Bach Flower Essences Part II - The Seven Helpers
The 12-7-19 Method of Bach Flower ClassificationDr. Edward Bach, developer of flower essence therapy, classified the original 38 essences he used in his practice according to the 12-7-19 method: the Twelve Healers, the Seven Helpers, and the Second Nineteen.
Using Herbs to Relieve Hemorrhoids - Aloe Vera, Bilberry, Butchers Broom
To relieve hemorrhoids first look for ways to get your bowels moving easier and more frequently so they produce softer stools. I have suggestion ways, in other articles, to do this by changing your diet.
Body Mass Index Is Not The Only Focus of Your Weight Loss Plan. Think About The Stress in Your Mind
The first of January will bring a new group of folks out to the local gym and the fitness equipment store. Many of us have been a part of this crowd once or twice in our lifetimes.
Ginseng: Root of Immortality
Translated to mean man root in Chinese, the name ginseng premises on the belief that the roots, with their attached limbs, resemble a human being. Due to its perceived kinship with the gods, the Chinese named it the root of immortality.
Understanding Holistic Living
Holistic living is simply living your life with all aspects of it in mind, not just in reference to one part or a few of them. Your entire lifestyle must come under scrutiny and improved upon for the betterment of your existence.
Mental Health Maintenance Is Made Simple
Your mental health is often drastically improved when you use the techniques Dr. Kuhn teaches in this article.
The Causes Of Stuttering In Childhood
Stuttering is a problem that affects approximately one in every hundred people. It is mainly men who stutter, seven out of ten people who stutter are male.
Kundalini Questions
Alex Wrote;"What is the difference after the kundalini awakens, and how do you know if it did?About 25 years ago I was sitting alone by a creek in the morning, not formally meditating (which I've never done), just watching the water flow.Suddenly there was an extremely intense ball of energy that formed at the base of my spine, buzzed there for a bit, then shot up my spine and 'exploded' in my head and 'out my eyes' and turned what I saw into a sort of mosaic made of the colors of what was there, but not the exact forms anymore.
Home Spa and Bodys Adaptation. The More the Better?
The More The Faster The Better?Or Some Words About The Body's Adaptation."Change your mindand you will changeyour life"Today we will talk about the tendency in our busy world to make more activity and procedures in one spa day to get fast results.
Disabilities Stuttering
There are many types of disablity. Would people class stuttering as a disability?I think most people would probably say no, however I disagree.
Superfood or Superfad
I have been reading a lot lately on the subject of anthrocyanins. Anthrocyanin is a pigment found in many fruits and vegetables but especially in berries.
Snoring - A Small Change Can Make A Big Difference
We all know how annoying snoring can be, both for the snorer and the partner. The effects and seriousness of snoring are becoming more apparent with snoring being linked to conditions like high blood pressure and coronary disease.
Concept of Agni in Ayurveda
Being one of the panchamahabhoota, agni (fire) has the characteristic that it cannot exist without a base. In the body it exists in pitta dosha.
History of Essential Oils
Extracted from botanicals, that is, from plants and trees. They are part of the plants immune system processed by distillation but others such as the citrus oils may be extracted in different ways.
Herbal Medicine
Herbal Medicine, also referred to as Herbalism or Botanical Medicine, is the oldest healthcare known to mankind. Herbal medicine is the utilization of herbs for therapy or medicinal purposes.
Vibrational Medicine
Vibrational medicine attempts to treat people with various forms of pure energy. The influence of alternative medical systems such as Chinese, Ayervedic or Tibetan medicine have led in part to the development of machines that can 'image energy'.
Quiet Discoveries Lead to Fast Sinus Relief
It's amazing what you can find when you start your search a little outside the bulls eye. While clicking through Magnetic Resonance Imaging research online, my colleagues and I found some intriguing scientific studies completely by accident!What did we find? Well, let's just say if you've got a stuffy nose you should try magnets before sniffling through that bottle of nasal spray!Did you know that every year, more than 35 million Americans suffer from sinusitis? It's one of the leading chronic diseases in the United States [1].