I believe that low-fat living is really the pits for our skin and aging. Here’s why:
- When fat comes out of foods, sugar is used to replace flavor and moisture. Sugar, especially fructose, creates Advanced Glycation End Products, a factor in aging. It stops collagen from doing its thing.
- Essential fats protect against UV sun damage. Omega-3 modulates the UVR-induced inflammatory response in the skin.
- We all know smoking is terrible for your skin, but so is pollution. Fatty acids FORTIFY THE PERIMETER so toxins and pollutants are kept out.
Health freaks need fats too. Why?
- Key nutrients for glowing skin—vitamins A and E, carotenoids—are better absorbed with fat. Studies show quantity matters.
And it isn’t all about looks.
The skin's primary biological functions are acting as a protective barrier, playing an active role in our immunity, gathering sensory info from the environment, and regulating body temperature. Wow! For all of these reasons, let’s take a moment to appreciate our skin! Skin is active—it responds to cues from our lover or the weather—and kindly starts sweating as soon as we hit the tropics for our deserved mid-winter vacation. It is also metabolically active, synthesizing or modifying saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, collagen, cholesterol, and ceramides. Our skin changes based on the sun, the bacteria in our gut, the food and water we ingest, and aging.During epidermal aging:
- ridges between skin layers flatten
- sebaceous glands produce less sebum
- sweat glands become fewer
- fewer nutrients get to the skin
- women going through menopause have a huge drop in collagen production
- post-menopausal women no longer make the fatty acid GLA
- skin, hair, and nails can become weak, dry, fragile, and less resilient
And this is why it is important to eat fat. The right fats.
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are crucial:- for soft, smooth, velvety, healthy skin, connective tissue, and hair.
- for anti-inflammatory and moisture-enhancing properties to reduce dryness, flakiness, and irritability as well as impact psoriasis, acne, and eczema.
- to reduce the effects of aging skin.
Lipid metabolism in the skin:
As we know, EFAs are called essential because they’re needed for basic body functions just like essential vitamins or minerals, and EFAs must be obtained from diet.- The ones that are essential for the body as a whole are called LA and ALA.
- The skin, unlike the liver, lacks the enzymes that convert these to other ones (like GLA and DHA).
- That is why, for the skin, LA, ALA, as well as GLA, AA, EPA, and DHA fats are all considered essential nutrients.
- Because the skin does have some enzymes, it converts GLA to DGLA, which fights inflammation.
- GLA has been effective in reducing the symptoms of dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and acne as well as reducing redness and erythema due to UV radiation and improving healing of wounds.
