Sagging Skin

Please excuse this slight deviation from the topic at hand. I'm in need of help with certain something.

Recently, I've noticed slight jowls and my jawline less defined. At first you might think it fat, but that's impossible, seeing how skinny I am otherwise. At the time, I realized several other things - my entire face is sagging slightly which I ascertained by the perpetual fatiqued look, folds around my mouth and weird excess skin under my ears.

This would all be perfectly normal as a sign of aging, if I weren't 20 years old.

I picked up Tom Hagerty's scalp exercize which did wonders for my damn itch, and am thinking it a possible culprit for this. Appart from that, I can't for the life of me see the cause. Severe vitamin deficiency of some sort, perhaps? I need help with this.

How could I possibly forget -- I forgot to mention that I've also taken up facial steaming, around two times a day using mint/balm mint/camomile tea. I've also been putting on some sort of herbal facial mud - two times so far.

I've, naturally, stopped the tea treatment. I intend to continue with the mud.

I think the scalp exercize a tad bit too... coincidental but, who knows, maybe it's been tag-team trinity of vitamin deficiency (I don't eat any sort of bread or milk), the aforementioned exercize and the steam rape.

... So how do I reverse the effect?

What about stress?

I just went through a really stressful time in my life and I can totally tell that it aged my face and I am young too, 25!

How are the stress levels in your life? I think that it really accelerates the aging process!!

I've found that aging is in its purest sense, a reduction of hormones. Cortisol when produced in excess (say due to stress) is extremely destructive to everything--purely catabolic unless it is balanced with sufficient hormones that are anabolic. During heightened stress cortisol rises, and testosterone and the good estrogens can fall.

I use a hefty amount of hyaluronic acid to prevent wrinkles or skin sagging since it is responsible for keeping skin full and hydrated. It's the primary reason why old people look like raisins.

There's a cheaper way to get a large dose of hyaluronic acid without the expense. I prefer to blow money on the supplements, but here's a recipe for a bone broth. Making bone broth is the cheapest way get hyaluronic acid.

Bones are loaded in hylauronic acid, and these can come from fish, poultry, beef, lamb, or pork. The bones can be
raw or cooked, and they can be stripped of meat or still contain meat remnants and skin. I found this on the Internet, author unknown:

Cover the bones with water in a covered pot. Add a couple of tablespoons of
one of the following per liter of water: apple cider vinegar, red or white
wine vinegar, or lemon juice. Gently stir and then let it sit for about 30
minutes to let the acid go to work. It is recommended using a pot made of
either stainless steel or porcelain. Using aluminum is not recommended
because the acidic vinegar or lemon juice may cause aluminum to leach into
the broth.

Then bring the water to a boil and immediately cut back to a slow, steady
simmer. Cover and continue to simmer for 4 to 6 hours for fish, 6 to 8 hours
for poultry, and 12 to 18 hours for the other types of bones. Keep a lid on
the pot to avoid having to add water (but add water if and when necessary).
A slow cooker works well since the temperature is generally low enough that
the lid will keep in the steam and it won't require much attention.

If only the broth is desired, then one can strain the liquid through a
colander and consume it immediately either by sipping it as a tea or soup,
or making it into gravy. But the liquid can also be used to cook rice,
beans, or grains. If you want to add vegetables, strain the liquid first and
then add the vegetables for about the last 30 minutes. Feel free to add
other items-such as salt, pepper, butter, or olive oil-to enhance the
flavor. The broth can be stored in the refrigerator for about five days, or
stored frozen for several months.

halfempty wrote:What about stress?

I just went through a really stressful time in my life and I can totally tell that it aged my face and I am young too, 25!

How are the stress levels in your life? I think that it really accelerates the aging process!!

My stress levels are immense, indeed. I suppose, being 20, it's about time for it to show?

I've also, according to some people, lost weight (!) in the recent months. I didn't think it possible, and I don't really see it, but it seems to be the case. If so, it's plausible that my skins sags because there is simply no meat to hold on to.

In any case, Caustic, thanks a *TON* for that recipe. Supplements in the long run are more or less out of the question and I've got loads of bones around, at all times. I've seen the pictures of your forehead. You're what, around 30-ish? Well, mine looks the same at 20, so it's clear you're doing it right. Obviously, it's time to load up on hyaluronan.

Just tell me one thing please, this slight skin sag *IS* reversible, right? I won't just mantain my current sag level?

ITITCHES - I'm a month and change away from forty, but during the time I shot that photo I wasn't taking any hyaluronic acid at the time--at least not regularly. These days my forehead lines are not as prominent as before.

Anyway stress is a killer. Hair follicles contain their own HPTA as they act as a minature organ.

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/reprint/04-1968fjev1

I wonder what is more potent of a hair killer during stress, is it the release of endocannabinoids (neurogenic inflammation) or is it excessive cortisol release?

Chronic release of cortisol almost always leads to lower levels of testosterone, which eventually tears the body apart.

Caustic, are the endocannabinoids released when someone smokes pot?

halfempty - Yes & No. The body also produces cannabinoids, referred to as endo for endogenous (produced within the body) , however weed does provide exocannabinoids (introduced from outside the body), yet it has other constituents that may help cancel out the negatives. Weed, without merely isolating 9-delta-hydrocarbinol has components that suppress inflammatory eicosanoids that would ultimately produce COX-2 for example.

During times of stress, neurotransmitters and carriers of neurogenic inflammation are definitely destructive to hair. What isn't so clear is that while exocannabinoids can alter hair follicle cycles, the use of weed isn't necessarily bad since it may have other factors to help neutralize the negatives.

Capsaicin or cayenne pepper is a suppressor of the CB1 receptor, so under times of neurogenic inflammation or high stress, it should cancel out the neurogenic inflammation.

CausticSymmetry wrote:ITITCHES - I'm a month and change away from forty, but during the time I shot that photo I wasn't taking any hyaluronic acid at the time--at least not regularly. These days my forehead lines are not as prominent as before.

Anyway stress is a killer. Hair follicles contain their own HPTA as they act as a minature organ.

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/reprint/04-1968fjev1

I wonder what is more potent of a hair killer during stress, is it the release of endocannabinoids (neurogenic inflammation) or is it excessive cortisol release?

Chronic release of cortisol almost always leads to lower levels of testosterone, which eventually tears the body apart.

And all it takes is proper intake of hyaluronic acid? That's amazing!

As for stress - you make it sound like I've got a choice in the matter. Unforunately, a higher dose of hyaluronan is what will have to do. Thanks for the help.

ITITCHES - Not much choice on stress without some help. There are lots of options, but the question would be
is the body extra sensitive to stress or is it constant external stress?

Is this stress expected to continue for a while?

Cayenne pepper capsules may help counteract neurogenic inflammation caused from stress. These are very cheap.

Then there's a question of cortisol. Chronic cortisol release via stress can cause rapid breakdown, so there are minerals and adaptogenic herbs that may help.

cpio had a cool post showing that Curcumin can reverse the effects associated with chronic stress. I think this is the same or a similar study he posted.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17022948

In other posts we've discussed Ashwagandha (Sensoril) and Phosphatidyserine which help decrease cortisol.

CausticSymmetry wrote:ITITCHES - Not much choice on stress without some help. There are lots of options, but the question would be
is the body extra sensitive to stress or is it constant external stress?

Is this stress expected to continue for a while?

Cayenne pepper capsules may help counteract neurogenic inflammation caused from stress. These are very cheap.

Then there's a question of cortisol. Chronic cortisol release via stress can cause rapid breakdown, so there are minerals and adaptogenic herbs that may help.

cpio had a cool post showing that Curcumin can reverse the effects associated with chronic stress. I think this is the same or a similar study he posted.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17022948

In other posts we've discussed Ashwagandha (Sensoril) and Phosphatidyserine which help decrease cortisol.

Yes, it's external stress, and will continue for a while at the very least, but what is this you say, I can actually counter it's physical effects?

If so, let me ask you, will regular cayenne powder or even actual raw cayenne peppers work just as well? I'm afraid capsules of these are tad too exotic to be available in my neck of the woods... And as for circumin and ashwagandha, if they can be found in 'spice form', I think with a bit of luck I can find them as well.

I was able to score some delicious coconut oil recently - what do you think of it, as far as anti-inflammatory action goes?

ITITCHES - Cayenne is usually found in bulk powder, but it is not standardized in heat units. That is okay, I have used it in bulk form before. Curcumin would be found as Turmeric or curry in the spice section but would have a lot less curcuminoids, so taking a lot of it would probably be necessary.

Ashwagandha is limited to a capsule.

Thanks for the info about the bone broth IH.

I just had some chicken bone broth and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Just add a bunch of salt and mix it with garlic and onion and the taste really isn't much different than Campbell's chicken with rice.

Here's a good article that I'd recommend everyone to read on the benefits of bone broth

http://northdenvernews.com/content/view/227/2/

Thanks for the link jdp!

I've looked everywhere for valuable information regarding hyaluronic acid and this has to be one the best articles to date on the subject.

hope this helps

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http://www.drpasswater.com/nutrition_library/Sardi.html

Oral Hyaluronic Acid: Anti-aging, Skin, Joints and Healing:

An Interview with Bill Sardi.

By Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D.

My interest in oral hyaluronic acid (HA) was first sparked in early 2001 by my older son, Richard, Jr. Richard was in contact with Professor Akio Kobayashi of the Biochemistry Department at Osaka University regarding the health benefits of HA. I had been aware of the importance of HA in maintaining the proper viscosity of synovial fluid and vitreous gel of the eye, but the importance of HA to skin smoothness and brain was new to me. It wasn’t a complete surprise, considering that HA is the principal compound in the body for retaining water in connective tissue, skin and some organs, but I hadn’t seen studies demonstrating these health benefits before.

Over a year ago, I recommended oral HA to a close friend in the veterinary dietary supplements business. A few months ago, my friend showed me several unsolicited letters he has received from his customers. Notice that I said " customers," but I could have said "users." Often, it seems that when horse owners find a product that helps their horses, they try the product themselves if they have the same condition.

One letter reported, "After three and one-half weeks taking your oral HA, I am off my prescription medicine. My hands quit hurting, and the rest of my body followed. Last year, my doctor told me that I was about two years away from knee replacement. Even with my meds, my right knee hurt. All the pain is gone now. My 13-year old German shepherd has stopped dragging her back feet and doesn’t cry at night. She is also off of her meds. My vet started giving HA to his old lab last week and says he was very skeptical, but saw differences the next day. He started taking it himself after seeing the dramatic improvement in his dog."

This really got my interest. Knowing that Bill Sardi had just written a book on oral HA, I called Bill to ask him to share some of his research with us. Many readers know Bill from his other health books and articles. Bill is a health journalist and has written numerous books, including The Iron Time Bomb, In Search of the World’s Best Water, Why Babies Die, and his latest book, How To Live 100 Years Without Growing Old.



Passwater: Bill, your book captures your excitement about HA. What aroused your initial interest in oral HA?

Sardi: The startling ABC News Prime Time Live TV program (Nov. 2000) in which Connie Chung went to Yuzurihara, Japan (the "village of long life" ) and showed pictures of people who were in their 80’s and 90’s, and who had flawless skin (no wrinkles, no age spots), flexible joints, good eyesight (few wore glasses) and a full head of hair. Some had even habitually worked in the sun much of their lives, smoked tobacco and drunk copious amounts of saki. A World Health Organization (WHO) survey of 990 villages and towns in Japan found Yuzurihara had the oldest population. There are 10 times more people living beyond the age of 80 in Yuzurihara than any place in the United States. This report came on the heels of the WHO announcement that the Japanese live the most disease-free years of any country in the world.

I eventually traveled to Japan to see this for myself. Farmers were still working in their fields into their 70s and 80s and looked like men half their age. One woman in Yuzurihara was in her 90s and had perfect skin, no age spots, no wrinkles whatsoever. This was all confirmed by Dr. Komori, the town doctor. Unlike in other parts of the world where human populations claim to live long but have a difficult time substantiating their claim—like the Hunzas in Eastern Pakistan—the people of Yuzurihara have real birth certificates to prove their longevity.

These people live an hour and a half north of Tokyo, next to the town of Nishi, on a slope where rice, the traditional staple of Japan, cannot be grown. So they eat root vegetables, fish and low iron foods. This diet helps these people retain HA (the root vegetables themselves provide no HA).

HA is the naturally produced water-holding molecule in the connective tissue of the body. Just one gram of HA holds about six liters of water. Think of how the skin of very young babies looks—it won’t even create a scar if cut or scratched. That’s what HA acid does. It is nature’s healing agent and scaffolding or "space filler" for the skin, hair, eyes and joints. It also serves as a barrier against disease.

Passwater: At what point did you become excited enough about HA to write the book?

Sardi: When I began to see it work. The first convincing evidence was when my dog of 17 years, a 10 pound Maltese with arthritis, regained his ability to run up stairs again. Animals don’t know what the placebo effect is. Then my twin brother came to my front door with his knee brace in hand and said he didn’t need it anymore. He had a very bad Baker’s cyst problem from running cross-country races. I could tell there was a difference in my own skin when I shaved. It was now smoother and small nicks from shaving healed right up. These results were observed within two to three weeks. I have since noticed the bounce is back in my legs. In recent years if I jumped three or four feet onto hard pavement my knees would hurt. But now the spring is back in my legs, just as it was when I was younger.

Passwater: Who should be interested in reading your book?

Sardi: Anybody who is going to live past 50 years of age should learn more about HA. There are a lot of claims about anti-aging effects from growth hormone, or this herb or that. There is no question that the loss of HA over time is responsible for the visible signs of aging, wrinkled skin, hair loss, voice changes, diminished eyesight, wear-and-tear, osteoarthritis, yet little is known of this wonderful molecule.

A remarkable finding is that these visible aging signs can be reversed with oral HA supplements. A 57-year old woman called me from Florida. She works at a golf course. Her knees were painful and "clicked" when she moved. She called to say, after just two weeks of taking 300 mg of daily oral HA, that her knee pain had disappeared, her husband had told her that her facial skin looked better than following two previous plastic surgeries, her hair dresser noted that her hair had begun to grow and was thicker, and, most astonishing of all, she had no need for her reading glasses any longer! Others have written or called to say they had canceled knee operations, their crow’s feet (wrinkles on the temples) had disappeared, and friends began asking if they had undergone plastic surgery. The visible results of oral HA supplementation can sometimes be remarkable and rapid.

Passwater: We focus much on the main proteins in skin—collagen and elastin—when we look at skin health. A primary cause of the degeneration of collagen is the decrease in hydrated HA, which supports collagen. This is why skin moisture is so important. Putting moisturizers on the skin surface helps, but this is like using a small Band-Aid on a large cut. Replenishing skin HA is much more important. Drinking plenty of fluids also helps keep the HA hydrated. HA helps keep the collagen intact and smoothes out the skin to prevent wrinkling.

Are there common foods that are high in HA?

Sardi: There was a misconception that since the people in Yuzurihara retained HA because of their diet that others can do the same. One would have to eat that diet throughout life. The diet in Yuzurihara is instructive since the root vegetables and low iron content produced longevity and youthfulness. In Yuzurihara this is attributed to a small sweet-potato-like vegetable called tamaji. Actually, a good example of an equivalent would be Echinacea, which helps to protect and retain HA levels in the body. Other nutrients such as bioflavonoids (quercetin, bilberry, cranberry, green tea, grape seed, others), ferulic acid from Ginkgo biloba and oryzanol in rice bran, as well as IP6 phytic acid, all of which bind to iron and copper and some which inhibit viral replication, help to retain HA levels.

Passwater: One form of oral HA is derived from rooster combs. I’m not aware of many instances where rooster combs have been dietary staples, but I have come across accounts where during a famine in China, rooster combs were consumed in an effort to get more calories out of chicken, and people noted improved skin health. Soon rooster combs were sought after as a beautifying food. There are reports that Marie Antoinette favored rooster combs for her complexion. Eventually, rooster combs were eaten as a delicacy in France, northern Italy and China.

Are you aware of any other instance where unusual dietary items rich in HA have been used?

Sardi: Well, I know that ancient Egyptians had some rather odd glandulars that they ate as medicines. They ate eyeballs from animals. The eyeball is a very rich source of HA. You might say it was the first HA supplement. Today rooster combs and chicken sternum collagen are sources used to produce oral HA supplements. Also, HA is cultured and produced by a microbial fermentation process. These are all good sources of HA. What distinguishes one form of HA from another is its molecular weight, solubility, dosage and cost. Results are observed much more quickly with daily dosage of 150-300 mg. This dose would be cost prohibitive for some oral forms of HA. Benefits are reported from the use of all the oral HA products.

Passwater: Are oral HA supplements legal for sale, according to the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA)?


Sardi: DSHEA allows structure and function claims. Companies marketing oral HA supplements, and their retailers, can say oral HA helps to create healthy skin, hair, eyes and joints. The manufacturers will have to provide data before they can make claims of a cure for osteoarthritis or other diseases.

Passwater: How about the part of DSHEA that stipulates that pre-existing drugs can’t be introduced as new supplements?

Sardi: This question arose with red yeast rice used to lower cholesterol. Since the statin drugs are synthetic statin molecules, and statin molecules were also found in red yeast rice, the subject arose as to whether red yeast rice was a drug or a food supplement? (A closer definition would be a nutraceutical, but I’m not sure if the FDA uses that nomenclature.) So, to answer your question, HA has been used in injectable form during eye surgery for over a decade and recently has been used in high molecular weight injected into joints and skin. Does that make oral HA a drug or a dietary supplement? The oral HA products are mostly of low molecular weight. HA in an injectable form ranges from 3 million to 6 million daltons molecular weight, while some oral forms are as low as about 1,500 to 3,000 daltons. A dalton is a unit of mass equal to the mass of a single hydrogen atom.

Passwater: I have seen test results of one oral HA supplement that determined it was about 5,000 daltons. It seems logical that the smaller molecular weight forms of HA are more easily absorbed in the intestines, but that may not be the complete story. Clinical results are what are important.

Sardi: By the way, this is the same problem that some of the medicinal mushrooms and Beta glucans have—too high a molecular weight and poor solubility. Some mushrooms and beta glucans have only been demonstrated to work in injectable form. When they are formulated into oral products, they simply aren’t absorbed through the gut. Some doctors question whether oral HA is absorbed, mistakenly believing it is the same high molecular weight molecule as injectable HA.

Passwater: When did oral HA supplements become available?

Sardi: Oral HA supplements have been available for a number of years, but the manufacturers didn’t know how to market them. They kept bundling them in with or calling them collagen supplements. HA isn’t collagen. Think of cells in the body as bricks and the collagen or connective tissue between cells as the mortar in a brick wall. The HA is the agent that keeps the mortar from drying out and cracking.

Passwater: What does the body normally use HA for? Where can it be found in the body?

Sardi: HA is the water-holding molecule of the body. It holds water in connective tissues, in between cells. Thus it cushions nerves and ends of bones, provides shape and form to the human eye and skin, and forms a barrier against the spread of disease. It’s interesting to note that the female egg is wrapped in HA and that the male sperm produces hyaluronidase, the enzyme that breaks down HA. Hyaluronidase then permits sperm to invade the egg and enable it to be fertilized. This knowledge opens the door to creating a natural form of birth control. Taking natural hyaluronidase inhibitors in high doses, either by the male or female, might prevent conception. This is unproved—just on the drawing boards, so to speak.

Passwater: How does the body make HA? And does this production decrease with age or illness?

Sardi: HA is naturally produced, a few grams a day, and some is degraded and excreted through the liver. Vitamin C in combination with iron helps to break down HA and creates a healthy turnover of fresh HA every day. Unfiltered sunlight (UV rays), viruses and malignancies can cause accelerated breakdown of HA. For instance, in some cancer patients the HA is being broken down at a rapid rate and this can be used as a marker for bladder cancer. Degraded HA is what clogs the lymph glands and blocks the downstream spread of tumors.

In very young children with a disease called progeria, HA is excreted in the urine at a rate 17 times that of healthy children. These progeria kids, at age 2 and 3, look like they are old, very old. They have facial wrinkles, they are bald, and they have cataracts. Progeria serves as evidence that aging is not a function of the number of birthdays but a process involving the loss of HA. Lose HA and a person will look old, regardless of his or her birth date.

Passwater: Seems like it would be more efficient to absorb HA from the diet. How well is oral HA absorbed?

Sardi: For quantification, I think the manufacturers of the oral HA supplements are going to have to conduct tracer studies so the absorption and excretion of oral HA can be measured. For now, we are left with observing the changes in the body, some of which are quite visible, particularly in the skin.

Passwater: Are there any side effects from taking oral HA supplements?

Sardi: Yes, there are, though they are not common. First, understand that oral HA causes water to gel up, like Jell-O in the refrigerator. Now if a person were to be dehydrated, or be taking extra doses of a diuretic, he or she might experience a whopping headache due to a rise in blood pressure. This actually happened to a woman who inadvertently doubled up on her water pills and had a hypertensive crisis while taking oral HA. Fortunately, the problem subsided. Patients with high blood pressure on diuretics should be aware and take lower doses of HA, let’s say no more than 150 mg per day, and they must remember to drink water. Many hypertensive patients take oral HA supplements and report no problems. One of the pieces of advice I offer in my book is to not to forget to drink water. HA plus H2O is the way it all works.

Then there are cancer patients who have lymphedema, a condition in which the lymph glands are filled with HA degraded by the tumor and the HA has blocked the drainage from the lymph glands. This results in swelling in the legs. Oral HA would be contraindicated in cancer patients with lymphedema.

Probably, oral HA should be avoided by patients with rheumatoid arthritis, which comprises less than 5% of the cases of arthritis. The classic symptoms of morning stiffness in a rheumatoid arthritis patient are caused by an autoimmune reaction degrading HA during sleep. Upon awakening, the rheumatoid patients find their joints are rigid because they are filled with excessive amounts of degraded HA. Once physical activity and the circulation gets moving, the stiffness disappears.

Passwater: What do we know about how well the various sources of HA work?

Sardi: All of the oral HA products work. I hesitate to say that one type is superior to another because it may create the false impression that one source is problematic or even undesirable. Manufacturers are often too eager to oversell their products, and in seeking to point out the weaknesses in their competitors’ products, they destroy any interest or demand for the product in general.

Therefore, I prefer to say that HA is good for the aging body, and you’d better get some. Period. Even higher molecular weight products seem to yield some benefits. To be accurate, HA is a long, thin molecule, which is how it gets its high molecular weight. In simplistic terms, it isn’t a wide molecule, it’s a long one. It is a disaccharide, that is, two sugar-like molecules strung together and repeated over and over. Some manufacturers appear a bit reluctant to reveal their molecular weight for fear it will be used against them. The lowest number is not necessarily superior. It just helps to have low molecular weight material. Someday there will be a study comparing the various sources.

Passwater: How does oral HA compare to glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate?

Sardi: HA is a double molecule, glucosamine that holds hands with glucuronic acid. Glucosamine (technically in the form of N-acetyl-glucosamine while a constituent of the complex molecule of HA) is only one half of the HA molecule, hence the reason why glucosamine only yields mild benefits for arthritis sufferers who usually have to take it in high doses (1,500 mg) for prolonged periods of time to experience any results. Just 150-300 mg of oral HA will work better and faster at restoring joint health.

Chondroitin sulfate raises the production of HA in the body. Dr. Lester Morrison, a cardiologist at Loma Linda University in the 1970s, used very high doses of chondroitin sulfate (5,000 mg tapered to 1,500 mg over three or four months) following a heart attack or bouts of angina to successfully rebuild and heal cardiac tissue. Some of these patients also experienced anti-aging benefits, such as renewed hair growth, cancellation of prostate surgery and disappearance of angina.

Passwater: I’ve put some basic information about the structure of HA in a box (Page XX) for readers wishing to know more about the biochemistry of HA. How much HA does the body lose each day?

Sardi: The body makes and degrades a few thousand mg of HA per day. With advancing age or disease, the degradation rate is not completely made for up by the rate of synthesis, resulting in what we know as the slow progressive signs of visible aging. Not all HA loss is systemic. HA wears out in localized tissues where there is repetitive use, the knees, the wrist (carpal tunnel), the shoulder, the temporomandibular joint (symptoms of TMJ), or where there is greater exposure to the sun (crow’s feet, shrinkage of the HA gel inside the eyes that leads to vitreous detachment and floaters).

Passwater: What dosage of oral HA do you recommend for various conditions—joints, skin, and so on?

Sardi: HA is appropriate for adults, age 40 or 50 and up, or anyone who has worn out HA in a particular area. I had a 32-year old piano mover write to me that he was ready to give up his job and undergo knee surgery. He took oral HA and within a month had no pain. The loss of HA can occur early, depending upon wear and tear. Imagine what oral HA supplements could do to extend the career of athletes. I expect Olympic athletes to be using oral HA soon. Oral dosage should be 150 mg per day, with possibly a loading dose for one month of 300 mg per day. More HA is not always better.

Passwater: Let’s get back to aging. You mentioned that the aging process results in a loss of hydration due to a loss of HA. How would oral HA help besides making skin look younger?

Sardi: I have predicted that oral HA supplements will result in people literally walking out of their wheelchairs. I would like to see actor Christopher Reeve try a course of oral HA. Recall that Reeve suffered paralysis following a horse riding accident. The healing of nerves simply can’t take place adequately without the cushioning provided by HA.

I also have observed other profound effects of oral HA. For example, as oral HA refills the eyes, it slightly lengthens the front-to-back length of the eye. This means the focus point of the eyes is altered. Therefore, farsighted people who take oral HA supplements may find their vision improving without glasses. Since all adults become a bit farsighted with advancing age, this has enormous possibilities to keep people out of reading glasses.

Also, the other half of the HA molecule, glucuronic acid, is similar to the food supplement calcium D-glucarate, which helps maintain hormone levels. Many women taking oral HA supplements have reported that their hot flashes and symptoms of menopause have abated with use. This is not surprising. Women have been advised that oral estrogen supplementation doesn’t prevent disease, and may in fact slightly increase the risk of disease. An alternative to estrogen would be oral HA. Why do women have beautiful skin? Because estrogen elevates HA levels in the skin and body. Once natural estrogen production has ceased (menopause), the natural alternative would be oral HA.

Passwater: What impact will oral HA make upon the natural products industry?

Sardi: There is so much hyperbole, so much pseudoscience, among all the natural products now available, it is difficult today to determine the good "waterholes" from the bad ones. Understand, the natural products industry often doesn’t fully understand what it is selling.

For example, take red yeast rice, which now has been removed from the market by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because it has been declared a drug. Patients sought red yeast rice because they wanted an alternative to the sometimes troublesome statin drugs. But red yeast rice contained statin molecules and posed the same risk for side effects. The industry simply wasn’t helping the public find a good non-toxic alternative when it began selling red yeast rice.

Similarly, there are a lot of collagen products being marketed for joint health, and they are cause for confusion. Even though Type II collagen accompanies some oral HA products, the collagen is a sideshow. It’s the HA that is doing all the healing. Collagen products promoted for joint health simply aren’t going to produce the results that HA does. Once the industry sorts all this out, there will be a stampede for these HA products. Go into a health food store today and ask about hyaluronic acid. They haven’t a clue what you are talking about.

There are so many natural products that lay claim to "anti-aging" benefits it is often confusing. There is no argument that the visible signs of aging—baldness, voice change, skin wrinkling and dryness, shrinkage in height, joint pain and dependency upon eyeglasses—all emanate from the loss of HA and not to direct shortages of any hormones like DHEA, or minerals like coral calcium, or any other widely promoted natural remedies.

Passwater: Thanks Bill for sharing this information about HA with us.

Sardi: It’s my pleasure. What I have shared with you here should have profound impact on anyone who reads this interview. It should have a profound impact upon medicine and in particular natural medicine. Understand, just like glucosamine, the demand for oral HA is being led by the public. It is not a doctor-driven revolution. This is probably the way it should be. For readers who want to learn more about HA’s age reversing properties, they might be interested in picking up a copy of my new book How to Live 100 Years Without Growing Old, available at www.hereandnowbooks.com. For further questions about HA, readers may wish to contact me at my website www.askbillsardi.com. WF



Note:

How and Why HA Promises Benefits

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is not a single compound, but a family of similar structures. Let’s start with a brief review of the compounds and nomenclature involved with HA. The monosaccharide glucose, the principal sugar of the body, is the most important carbohydrate in the body. This is true not only because it is the primary fuel for producing energy, but because it is used for building many complex compounds.

When an amino group is added to glucose, glucosamine is formed. The body uses glucosamine to form several other larger compounds, but when it uses glucosamine this way, an acetyl group is added. Thus, the form of glucosamine found in complex compounds is actually N-acetyl-glucosamine.

Glucuronic acid is formed from glucose when it is converted into an organic acid by essentially replacing the hydroxyl group on carbon #6 with a carboxylic acid group. Galactose is another monosaccharide. It has almost the same structure as glucose, except that the hydroxyl group on carbon #4 points in the opposite direction. Galactosamine is formed with the addition of an amino group. Likewise, in complex molecules, galactose is converted into N-acetyl-glactosamine.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a member of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) family, which includes chondroitin sulfate, dermatin sulfate and heparin sulfate. Unlike other members of this family, HA is not bound covalently to proteins. HA is comprised of linear, unbranching, polyanionic disaccharide units consisting of glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-glucosamine joined alternately by beta 1-3 and beta glycosidic bonds.

Figure 1 (Page XX) shows the chemical structure of HA. The ring structure on the left is glucuronic acid and the ring structure on the right is N-acetyl-glucosamine. The brackets indicate that these two components are repeated " n" times. Thus, HA is not a single compound having a single formula. Technically, any compound where " n" is greater than 10 can be called HA. However, the final synthesis of HA normally produces compounds where " n" can range widely from a few thousand to several million.

Chondroitin sulfate is a closely related family member, but it doesn’t hold as much water. The structure is similar, but the difference is biochemically significant. In chondroitin sulfate, there is the same glucuronic acid ring, but the other ring is n-acetyl-galatosamine. Chitin is also very similar except that it is basically a polymer of N-acetyl-glucosamine.

CausticSymmetry,

BTW, I'm not sure if you've noticed but instead of taking the NOW hyaluronic acid pills like you've mentioned in the past, you can always experiment with this hyaluronic acid to save money

http://www.iherb.com/Neocell-Labs-ImmuCell-Collagen-Type-2-120-Capsules/8368?at=0



If I'm not mistaken, this brand appears to be the same but would cost more than taking the NOW hyaluronic acid ...

http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-Best-Hyaluronic-Acid-with-Chondroitin-Sulfate-60-Capsules/4457?at=0

The reason why I posted the Doctors Best brand is it appears you get 100 mg of hyaluronic acid per 1000 mg from the "patented Biocell Collagen II." So I assume that would be the same for the Neocell brand as well. There is also another brand by Jarrow but would also be more expensive than the NOW hyaluronic acid http://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Type-II-Collagen-Complex-500-mg-Per-Capsule-60-Capsules/15926?at=0

But again, check out the Neocell brand. It appears this may save some money buying this over the NOW hyaluronic acid.

dp710 - Thanks for the very informative article on HA. I thought I "knew" everything about this, but I didn't!

Assuming that collagen type II products yield a 10% supply of HA, that would mean that product you suggested might supply about 240 mg of HA.

I'll add that taking Ecklonia Cava helps preserve the body's HA supply.

Having tried the more expensive, lower molecular weight versions of HA, I can attest that regular HA is cheaper and works just as well but at more reasonable cost.

I've been taking 200 milligrams of HA for quite a while now (two of those double-strength from Now brand). I compared the value difference between Neocell Labs, ImmuCell, Collagen Type 2 and Now's double-strength HA.

Assuming Neocell Labs supplies 240 mg of HA per serving (4-capsules) and Now Brand-double strength (2-capsules) 200 milligrams. Based on using these products into a 30-day supply, It breaks down to Neocell Lab's at 9.27 cents per milligram and Now-DS at 9.4 cents per mg. Pretty close.

Thanks again for the article.

Thanks for doing the math CS. It looks like my math skills at 3:00 in the morning aren't as good as they use to be, lol. I ordered some anyway as I was running low on the NOW hyaluronic acid and I know Neocell labs is really good stuff as I use their Type I and Type III collagen pills for skin as well. http://www.iherb.com/Neocell-Labs-Super-Collagen-Type-I-III-Powder-7-oz-198-g/6074?at=0

Oh, thanks for the info about the info about Ecklonia Cava preserving hyaluronic acid. I was hoping it would do this. I've just recently been taking this as there doesn't appear to be anything that it can't do, lol. I took grapeseed extract for over 10 years but I replaced it with something much more powerful ... Ecklonia Cava.

Here is an interesting quote about hyaluronic acid that I had stored on my computer

"As Hyaluronic Acid is present in every tissue of the body; hyaluronic acid’s importance cannot be underestimated. Retention of water is one of the most important biological functions of hyaluronic acid, 1 second only to providing nutrients and removing waste from cells that do not have a direct blood supply, such as cartilage cells. With a lower than adequate amount of hyaluronic acid, nutrients cannot be moved into these cells and waste cannot be eliminated from cells."

You're probably aware of all this but here is some good info on Ecklonia Cava,

----------------------------------------------------

http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/nutrients_ecklonia.html

Ecklonia Cava Extract - Super Antioxidant & Beyond

Ecklonia Cava Extract: Polyphenol / Phlorotannin Derived from Brown Algae

Ecklonia Cava Extract (ECE) is a standardized natural complex of unique marine molecules that originate from a specific species of brown algae (Ecklonia cava). ECE represents a unique category of polyphenols often called phlorotannins. Their unique polyphenolic structure endows them with biological activities that are not found in land-based plants.

ECE naturally occurs as high-molecular weight tannin (Mw> 2,000 Dalton) and low-molecular weight tannin (Mw=400-1000 Dalton). ECE can be classified into four types depending on the ratio of high molecular weight and low molecular weight tannins. Various physiological activities of ECE have been evaluated in vitro, in vivo and clinically as individual compounds (ECE1-ECE14) and complex forms (ECE, Type I-IV).

Millions on Research

Dr. Haengwoo Lee and his team of M.D.’s and Ph.D.’s have spent over thirty million dollars on research, from in vitro to animal and human studies. Much of the work was done in Korea, and some at the University of Washington. ECE has been found to be an impressive therapeutic agent in a wide array of clinical applications.

SUPER ANTIOXIDANT

The power of an antioxidant is determined by its structure, which is made up of rings. These rings capture stray electrons from free radicals. Most flavonoids generally have three interconnected rings. ECE has up to eight interconnected rings, making its free-radical scavenging ability 10-100 times more powerful than other polyphenols. It is substantially more powerful than green tea catechins, which only have four rings.

Multiple Antioxidant Profiles of ECE

ECE’s antioxidant activities against various reactive oxygen species have been confirmed to be highly potent in physiologically relevant concentrations. The effective dose of ECE for free radical scavenging is in the 10-20 µg/mL range which belongs to most potent families of natural antioxidants. ECE itself and its individual compounds have demonstrated potent reducing power and radical scavenging activities against DPPH radical, oxidized LDL and peroxynitrite.*

Much Longer Half-Life

ECE is a unique polyphenol in that it has a very long half-life in the body. This is because ECE is a marine-based polyphenol which is 40% fat-soluble. Virtually all other polyphenols are derived from land-based plants and are water-soluble. The half-life of ECE is up to 12 hours, compared to 30 minutes for water-soluble, land-based polyphenols. ECE has the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

The Research of Martin Pall, Ph.D.

Peroxynitrite is the most notorious of the free radicals incriminated by Martin Pall, Ph.D.'s groundbreaking research on multiple chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, Gulf War syndrome, and fourteen other conditions. Peroxynitrite plays a main role in Dr. Pall’s mechanism, along with NF-kappaB and other inflammatory mediators. ECE also reduces tissue specific NF-kappaB.

*Peroxynitrate is a central reactive oxidant, which appears to play a major role in many disease processes.

FIBROMYALGIA

ECE: Phase I Clinical Trial Results (Preliminary)

In an 8-week, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of established fibromyalgia patients, ECE was used as an adjunct therapy to the patients’ current standard of physician care. The results established the general safety of ECE. ECE cut the time it took the participants to fall asleep by 47 minutes; it increased total nighttime sleep by 1.6 hours; it improved soundness of sleep by 80%; it boosted their energy levels by 71%; it gave them 2 1/4 more good days per week; it helped reduce their pain by 31%; and their general condition improved by 39%. Interestingly, these improvements were achieved at all doses. Patients given the placebo had no improvement during the study.


BRAIN FUNCTION: MEMORY, RELAXATION, ALERTNESS

Acetylcholine & Memory

Memory is dependent on the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh). In an animal study, ECE increased rodent ACh by 140% in brain regions responsible for learning and memory in seven days. Memory enhancement increased by 100-200% at an oral dose as low as 0.2-1mg/kg.

With regard to mechanism, it is thought that the mild acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of two phlorotannin compounds found in ECE, dieckol (DE) and phlorofurofucoeckol (PFF), may be involved in the up-regulation of acetylcholine.

Increased Blood Flow

ECE crosses the blood-brain barrier and significantly improves blood flow, which is likely another way ECE improves memory. More specifically, Dr. Lee’s group found that ECE can increase the velocity of blood flow in the carotid artery from an average of 36.68 cm/sec. to 40.09 cm/sec., while the placebo showed no improvement.

Relaxation & Alpha-Waves

An EEG study on brain waves of healthy middle age volunteers found that ECE compounds increase alpha-waves. Alpha-waves are an indicator of relaxation.

Alertness

Yet another study found that ECE compounds prevented sleepiness in bus drivers and in high school students during daytime activities. This is likely due to increased blood flow and oxygen delivery.

Neuroprotective Effects

ECE demonstrated powerful neuroprotective effects owing to several features of its components. ECE compounds are both powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents capable of scavenging free radicals and suppressing excessive inflammatory reactions. Fucoidan in ECE has recently been found to protect neuronal cells from ischemia-induced inflammatory reactions which often occur in the aged and highly stressed brain. ECE compounds also neutralize the neurotoxic free-radical peroxynitrite.

Enhancement of Acetylcholine Levels in Mice

After 7 days oral administration of two ECE compounds (DE 10mg/kg and PFF 2mg/kg), mice under ethanol-induced cognitive impairment showed substantial enhancement of acetylcholine in three brain regions related to memory formation, as compared with non-treated mice. Especially, 140% enhancement was observed in the frontal cortex that is crucial in long-term memory and associative thinking.

Resistance of Stress-Induced Learning Deficit in Mice

In a 5-day study, ECE treated mice showed significant resistance to electric shock treatment-induced learning deficiency, as compared to non-treated mice whose learning process was significantly retarded during the test period.

Memory Enhancement in Mice

The beneficial effects of ECE compounds on memory enhancement were further demonstrated by measuring the latency time avoiding the previously experienced electric shock treatment in mice as passive-avoidance memory testing. After 7 days oral administration of two ECE compounds DE and PFF (as low as 1 and 0.2mg/kg), mice under ethanol-induced cognitive impairment showed 130-140% improvement, especially in the PFF group.

Beta-Amyloid Deposition Inhibition in Rats

Researchers at the National Institute of Health’s aging research labs in Baltimore studied ECE in rats, and found it to inhibit beta-amyloid deposition in the brain. Beta-amyloid is the same substance that accumulates in Alzheimer’s disease. The rats also learned maze challenges faster, which demonstrated improvement in short-term memory.

ARTHRITIS, INFLAMMATION, NEURALGIA

Dr. Lee and colleagues found ECE to naturally suppress inflammatory responses and neutralize inflammatory damage caused by reactive oxygen species. The optimal combination of ECE’s natural anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective properties appears to enable dramatic improvement in both arthritis and neuralgia. In a human trial, ECE significantly reduced pain in a group of knee arthritis patients compared with placebo.

Comparable to CelebrexÆ

ECE’s ability to treat arthritis was found to be comparable to CelebrexÆ, the prescription drug that reduces inflammatory cox enzymes.

The influence of ECE in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced generation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) using RAW 246.7 cells was studied. While PGE2 was barely detectable in non-stimulated cells, more than one hundred times the amount of PGE2 was detected in the stimulated cells. ECE, celecoxib (CelebrexÆ) and aspirin all showed significant inhibition of PGE2 generation in the concentration range tested. ECE showed inhibition of 61%, 85%, 92% and 99% at concentrations of 10, 30, 60 and 100 µg/mL, showing similar activity to celecoxib which showed 65%, 79%, 85% and 96%.

Cartilage Protecting Activities

As demonstrated above, ECE compared almost identically to celecoxib in the ability to reduce PGE2 by slowing down the lipoxygenase (LOX) system. ECE compounds have more than double the ability of resveratrol to inhibit LOX. These results were demonstrated in a study on rabbit cartilage cells. Those cells treated with ECE had up to an 80% reduction in degeneration.

Rabbit Model

In an animal study, rabbit articular cartilage explant culture was treated with recombinant human interleukin 1 (rhIL-1) to induce proteoglycan degradation. The amount of glycosaminoglycan released into the medium was measured as an index of proteoglycan degradation. When the rabbit cartilage explants were treated with rhIL-1 for 60 hours, the amount of released glycosaminoglycan into the culture medium increased significantly compared to the vehicle group (1.44 ± 0.06µg/mg vs. 0.30 ± 0.01µg/mg). Diclofenac, which is known as a selective COX-2 inhibitor was used as a positive control at a dose of 10µM (3.2µg/mL). ECE significantly interfered with the rhIL-1-mediated degradation of proteoglycan in all concentrations tested (p <0.001). It showed 53%, 79%, 81% and 70% of inhibition at 1, 3, 10 and 30 µg/mL concentration.

Neuropathy: 4-Week Clinical Trial

Researchers recently studied ECE on 40 patients with neuropathy. ECE reduced nerve pain by 40% in four weeks. Overall, 80% of the patients responded favorably.

Speculation about Neuropathy Mechanism

The strong lipid and cholesterol reducing potential of ECE supports reduced vascular inflammation. Increasingly, the scientific literature supports the notion that many forms of nerve pain or neuropathy are caused by nerve pressure, as exerted by swollen, inflamed blood vessels adjacent to the nerves.

ALLERGIES / ASTHMA

Overall, ECE appears to significantly relieve allergic reactions without drowsiness, dizziness and other side effects of anti-histamine drugs.

Allergic Inflammation: Mouse Model

Dr. Lee and his team found that ECE significantly reduced allergic inflammation in mice. Specifically, ECE reduced the migration of eosinophils to the lungs by 75%. Inflammatory white blood cells (CD4+4 T Cells, resultant cytokines Il-4, 5, 13) were reduced by 50%. Mucus plugs in the airways were reduced by 75%. Airway epithelial hyperplasia reduced by 75%. Collagen-causing fibrosis in lung interstitium (fibrosis, airway remodeling) and smooth muscle cell thickness was reduced by 20% and 32%. These latter findings suggest that ECE compounds can prevent or reverse the progression of chronic lung disease such as asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX)

5-Lipoxygenase (5-LOX) catalyzes the first step in the oxygenation of arachidonic acid, thus leading to the production of biologically active compounds such as leukotrienes and 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. The peptidoleukotrienes (leukotriene C4, leukotriene D4 and leukotriene E4) are powerful spasmogens, which have been implicated in inflammatory and allergic responses. Therefore, inhibition of 5-LOX is a medicinal target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. One of the ECE compounds (8,8-BE) significantly inhibits 5-LOX compared with other well-known natural medicinal compounds such as resveratrol and EGCG.

University of Washington Asthma Mouse Model

The efficacy of ECE for asthma was demonstrated in an allergen-induced murine asthma mouse model by Dr. Emil Chi, Chairman, Department of Histopathology, University of Washington.

The researchers tested an ECE product (KLS) in a mouse model of allergen-induced chronic lung inflammation and fibrosis. BALB/c mice, after intraperitoneal antigen sensitization on day 0 and day 14, were given weekly intranasal inhalations of antigen from day 14-60. The antigen-treated and challenged mice developed an extensive eosinophil and mononuclear cell inflammatory response, mucus cell hyperplasia and mucus occlusion of the airway.

KLS was found to be effective in reducing allergic reaction in inflammation. By feeding at a concentration of 5.4 mg/ml in the drinking water for 12 days, KLS reduced the airway mucus plugging, and sub-epithelial fibrosis in the antigen-sensitized / challenged mice. The reduced BAL fluid eosinophil indicated that KLS is effective in improving the asthmatic lung structures. No pathological alterations in the liver, kidney, spleen, or small intestine were found.

CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFITS

Coronary Artery Disease

ECE has been shown to improve coronary artery disease (CAD). Researchers found that ECE is even more potent at inhibiting the oxidation of LDL cholesterol than green tea catechins, and appears to scrub the plaque off the endothelial lining. ECE also reduces vascular inflammation by preventing oxidation, which also directly effects inflammatory mediators such as inflammatory prostaglandins, etc.

Coronary Artery Disease: 6-Week Clinical Trial

A clinical trial using ECE was conducted confirming its capacity to regenerate vascular endothelium and recover plasticity of blood vessels after 6 weeks of treatment by measuring flow-mediated dilation (FMD) & nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) of normal and CAD patients with narrowed coronary arteries by 50+%. FMD indicates nitric oxide (NO) releasing ability of endothelial cells to expand blood vessels by detecting shear stress caused by incoming blood flow (low FMD value can indicate endothelium damage).

After 6 weeks of treatment with ECE, clinical data showed that FMD, the endothelium-dependent dilation, was greatly enhanced in the CAD group, indicating its remarkable activity of inducing recovery of endothelial cells. NMD, the endothelium-independent dilation, which represents the vascular plasticity, also showed remarkable improvement in the CAD group, again supporting ECE’s ability to support restoration of vascular integrity by reversing atherosclerosis.

Cholesterol: 6-Week ClinicalTrial

Researchers gave 39 adults (average age 55.6) low dose (100 mg) ECE compounds for six weeks. Their average cholesterol dropped from 228 to 224. LDL dropped from 141 to 135. HDL rose from 46.5 to 50.7 (highly significant). Triglycerides fell from 215 to 195, and the atherogenic index dropped 12.5%.

Some of the parameters from the above study show very mild changes, which in themselves, may not be statistically significant. However, all parameters went in a health-positive direction, so taken together, the changes in LDL, HDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, and antioxidant protection are very significant. Also, endothelial cells were protected against oxidative damage, and were able to produce significantly more NO, which dilates blood vessels. Dramatic increases in blood flow were also found at this low dose.

Hypertension: 4-Week Animal Study

The remarkable effect of ECE on vasodilation was clearly demonstrated in renovascular clipping induced hypertensive rats. Renovascular clipping surgery is known to increase ACE activity via the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) from 140 to over 200 mm Hg after 4 weeks. Upon oral administration of phlorotannin (99.4%, 50 mg/kg) or enalapril (commercial hypotensive drug, 10 mg/kg) SBP dropped to as low as 160 and 140 mm Hg. Upon cessation of treatment, SBP increased again in both cases. Although ECE showed a similar pattern to the drugs, it also showed a slower rebounding of blood pressure during the no treatment period, which indicates its potential as a vascular protector with prolonged oral administration.

ACE Inhibition

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), is responsible for conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II and degradation of bradykinin, and is a key component in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Angiotensin II regulates cellular proliferation, inflammation, and endothelial function, and is therefore important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications. Aging or various vascular risk factors tend to increase ACE levels resulting in excessive vasoconstriction and hypertension. Current hypotensive drugs block the action of ACE or its by-product angiotensin II.

ECE tannins have been found to be potent natural ACE inhibitors, demonstrating more than 15 times the power to inhibit ACE as the most powerful land-based polyphenols, including the natural hypotensive substance catechin found in green tea. One of the compounds found in ECE, THP-BE is comparable to the physiological vasodilative hormone bradykinin.

Antiplasmin Inhibition

Plasmin (a fibrinolytic enzyme that breaks down blood clots) is rapidly blocked by a protein called antiplasmin. ECE compounds are natural potent inhibitors of anti-plasmin, capable of efficient promotion of plasmin that performs fibrinolysis. ECE compounds have shown remarkable activity which is 40-200 times greater than synthetic compounds Flufenamate and Chloramine T. One study on ECE compounds found a small but significant rise in prothrombin time and a fall in fibrinogen levels.

ERECTILE FUNCTION - ECE V. VIAGRAÆ

Nitric Oxide

ECE can regenerate the vascular endothelium, the cells critical to the inner lining of the blood vessels. They generate the chemical nitric oxide (NO), which keeps the arterial walls relaxed and dilated. After a six-week study of ECE, flow mediated dilation and NO mediated dilation increased by 60% and 50%. In another study, coronary artery disease patients were given ECE for six weeks. Blood flow controlled by NO increased 50-60%. These results confirm that ECE can rejuvenate damaged endothelial cells to produce NO. This effect was further confirmed in a study on erectile dysfunction (see below). Interestingly, ViagraÆ works by increasing NO in the penile artery.

ECE v.ViagraÆ: 8-Week Clinical Trial

Scientists studied 31 men with erectile dysfunction (ED) for over six months. They compared eight weeks of ECE use to ViagraÆ. They looked at orgasmic function (OF), intercourse satisfaction (IS), overall satisfaction (OS), and erectile function (EF). Over those eight weeks, ECE scored 87%, 74%, 62%, and 66%. ViagraÆ scored 27%, 44%, 39%, and 66%. No side effects were reported with ECE:

Population with 25+% Improvement in IIEF (International Index of Erectile Function) score was as high as 81%. Total IIEF score significantly increased from 29.1 ± 13.1 to 47.0 ± 14.5 with 62% of improvement. When the IIEF scores were grouped into five separate domains, mean IIEF scores at the 8th week were significantly greater than those at week 0 for all domains (all p<0.01). The degree of improvement was significant in the following order: OF (87%), IS (74%), EF (66%), and OS (62%). Scores on key questions (asking frequency of penetration and asking frequency of maintaining an erection after penetration), which directly indicate the ability to achieve and maintain an erection sufficient for sexual activity, were improved up to 74% and 77%, respectively (p<0.01).

It is very important to note that despite the marginal improvement in sexual desire (20%) that is of psychological nature, great improvements were reported in the domains directly related with erection that is of physical nature and dependent on normal vascular function of the penile artery.

Also noteworthy, was a significant increase in the orgasmic function score (87%), intercourse satisfaction (74%) and overall satisfaction (62%) as well as erectile function (66%) in comparison with the results for sildenafil reported by Marks, et al. (Marks, et al., 1999) (27%, 44%, 39% and 66%, respectively), which indicates that ECE significantly contributed to the normalization of the general vascular conditions around the sexual organ.

These results strongly indicate that the long-term administration of ECE significantly contributes to the neutralization of oxidative risk factors, thereby improving peripheral blood circulation around muscles and nerves involved in sexual function as well as the penile artery. No side effects were reported.

Vasodilation & Erectile Function

It has been reported that vasculogenic ED patients have elevated levels of angiotensin II for the duration of the erection process. The demonstrated action of ECE on ACE and resulting vasodilation is thought to play an important role in inducing successful erectile function.

Long-Term Improvement Via Vascular Protection

As discussed, ECE phlorotanins have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Together with ECE's ACE inhibitory activity, which is also beneficial to vascular homeostasis, these activities, upon long-term oral administration, may all contribute to supporting a healthy vascular system, including the penile artery.

WEIGHT LOSS

DGAT Inhibition

Diacylglycerol acetyl transferase (DGAT) is the enzyme involved in the final step of triglyceride synthesis. Triglycerides are circulating fat bodies that ultimately wind up in the fat cells, and are almost always elevated in diabetes. They also have emerged as a major risk factor in vascular disease.

Dr. Lee found that ECE compounds inhibited DGAT more than 50%. In genetically caused obese laboratory rats, ECE reduced body fat and increased physical activity. In another study, ECE caused leanness and fat-resistance in animals given a high fat diet.

ECE Beverage: 2-Week Clinical Trial

In a human study, 141 young adults were given a beverage containing ECE at 200 mg daily. In two weeks their average weight dropped nearly 2.5 pounds, muscle mass increased by nearly 2.5 pounds, and body fat dropped by 4 pounds, or 7.48%. ECE stimulates the body to burn fat by increasing muscle mass.

OBESITY

Obesity & Cardiovascular Disease

As discussed, ECE contains an optimal combination of natural compounds capable of suppressing triglyceride synthesis, while promoting cholesterol removal and cardiovascular protection. ECE provides additional cardiovascular protection for obese patients prone to CVD and CHD through lowering LDL cholesterol and scavenging free radicals.

DGAT Inhibition & Obesity

DGAT inhibition has recently been recognized as a novel and safe target for the treatment of obesity. DGAT is involved in intestinal fat absorption, lipoprotein assembly, regulation of plasma TG concentration, fat storage in adipocytes, and energy metabolism in muscle. DGAT knockout mice have been shown to have obesity resistance with a high-fat diet, the mechanism of which was confirmed to be through energy expenditure.
DIABETES

Aldose Reductase Inhibition

When blood sugar levels become elevated, aldose reductase is the enzyme that converts excess glucose into the sugar alcohol sorbitol. Sorbitol can build up in critical cells and cause damage. Recent research found that animals deficient in aldose reductase were protected from the retinal complications of diabetes. ECE compounds have been found to be potent aldose reductase inhibitors, which may be of benefit for patients with metabolic syndrome, syndrome X, or diabetes.

Reduced Fat in Liver & Pancreas

A mouse study showed that ECE reversed fat deposition in liver and pancreas cells. Furthermore, this same study showed that ECE served to markedly inhibit NF-kappaB inflammation in the pancreas. A recent Harvard (Joslin School of Diabetes) mouse study directly implicates excessive fat deposition in the mouse pancreas as turning on the NF-kappaB inflammation pathway, resulting in full-blown type II diabetes and insulin insensitivity in the mice.

BTW, I'm not sure if you've heard this role for hyaluronic acid but check out the sentence in bold ...

"Potentiating Agents
Hyaluronic acid is a major carbohydrate component of the extracellular matrix and can be found in the skin, joints, eyes and most other organs and tissues. It has a simple, repeated disaccharide linear copolymer structure that is completely conserved throughout a large span of the evolutionary tree, indicating a fundamental biological importance. Through its complex interactions with matrix components and cells, hyaluronic acid has multifaceted roles in biology utilizing both its physicochemical and biological properties. These biological roles range from a purely structural function in the extracellular matrix to developmental regulation through effects of cellular behavior via control of the tissue macro- and microenvironments, as well as through direct receptor mediated effects on gene expression.73 Hyaluronic acid is utilized in many chemotherapy protocols as a potentiating agent.74 Hyaluronic acid is also being utilized for many novel applications in medicine.75 76 Personal experience has shown that the addition of 2 ml with the DMPS tends to improve the excretion of mercury by two-fold. There is virtually no toxicity with this agent.

http://www.klinghardtneurobiology.org/MercuryToxicityandDetoxification.pdf

itiches - if you hagerty's scalp exercice, it 's very important to put some oil on your forehead, and more generally your face. to prevent wrinkles, and perhaps sagging skin...

i hope you do it....and i hope you do the scalp exercice WELL.

Do any of you guys know if Tom Hagerty has received a face lift? It looks like it to me.

nope.

but it takes a lot of work to achieve his results. Every day. exercices.

But you know, it's better to go and make a lift.
I assume this is why people prefer have transplants instead of searching to combat hairloss with natural supps....

As always, results always make people jalous. what is his secret ??!!???
Good news : He tell us.

Fell free to believe him or not. I know the guy, and i can assure you he's an honnest one.
But that's my word.

oh, by the way halfempty, I only do the fifth exercice, also know as the "scalp exercice".

I do not do the 1,2,3 and 4 ones. Funny, i deciced 2 days ago to make them a go, i see lots of benefits in there, and especially for me that cannot blink my eyes individually ! ;-)

But what i can tell you is that only with the scalp exercice ( apart the hair benefit that i cannot attribute : what would be my hairs without the scalp ??) , my face is very toned up, i look more youngfull, forehead etc.... i get used to it now, but at the first, that's my relatives that told me that. That says it all.
And apparence speaking, because hair is all about apparence at the end, i can assure you that a firm and youngfull face make ALSO the difference in term of apparence.

But for doing this for a long time ( MARCH 2003 ) , i just can say that it really a pain in the as to do that. Not every day a pain in the ass, sometimes a pleasure, an habit. But, it's always difficult to do it on busy days, or days with people. MAke it in toilets , reading the news paper...but it sometimes difficult for the concentration to do many things together. sort of workout of your brain, and i'm sure brian is gonna love it that way, aren't you brian ? ;-)

;-) ;-) ;;;;;-)
;-) yeahh !!! i can do that now !! blink my eeeeeeyes ! thank you so much CausticS !!!!

;-)