A woman named Gabriela posted an interesting article she had come across. I think everyone should read it. Here is the link. http://www.dermascope.com/aging/10-things-about-topical-anti-aging-ingredients#.VfDN8Hh-9E4
This was my rude reply:
Gabriela, are you a biochemist? I ask because I hear the same crap being slung but never any credible research that shows what you say. The use of an antioxidant may or may not have some effect. That is assuming that the antioxidant is still an antioxidant.
Fe3+-EDTA chelate can catalyze via the Fenton Reaction to generate hydroxyl ion without reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+. On the other hand, Fe3+ and Fe3+-EDTA can be reduced to Fe2+ by ascorbate (AscH-) (Vit C) to generate the ascorbate radical (.Asc-). The reduced iron can then generate a hydroxyl radical by the Fenton Reaction. Copper ion (Cu2+) is 80 times more efficient at reacting with ascorbate than Fe3+. Vitamin C can be a powerful antioxidant as long as metal ions are not present, but small amounts of Vitamin C in the presence of metal ions can make Vitamin C as dangerous as a pro-oxidant (This is bad). Vitamin C has been called an “oxymoron antioxidant.”
The reactions in which the metal ion is regenerated as a catalyst can be summarized as: Fe++ + H2O2 (peroxide) —> Fe+++ + .OH + :OH- Fe+++ + AscH- —> Fe++ + .Asc- + (pro-oxidant). The sad thing about iron in a 3+ state, also known as ferric iron, is the best iron to have in your blood because it is safe, stable and can remain in that state until the body needs to convert it to FE2+ or Ferrous iron, which is then incorporated into a heme ring, the biochemical basis of a blood cell. It is only in this electronic state that iron can bind to oxygen. If you do not have enough iron 3+ in your blood stream, you become anemic.
It is inconsistent and incorrect to think antioxidants and metal electron donors are safe together. A few years ago, a company came out with a magic formula to inhibit the flu. It consisted of zinc and vitamin C. Not only was the claim false, those two items completely neutralize each other at your body’s expense. Stop taking other people’s ideas, writing them down, and saying, “Magic! I approve of this message.” Cite a credible research article and say something rooted in your knowledge or lack thereof. “Here is an interesting article but I cannot verify the facts. Does anyone have any ideas?”
If all those materials did all the things they claimed, then I have to wonder. If they performed as effectively as touted, we would be the healthiest population in the world, but we are not. In fact we are one of the least healthy.
We are the opposite of the “French Paradox.” It is frightening, assuming you know what the French paradox is. If you don’t, that’s a story for an email on another day.
Misinformation is killing the American public. Explain how these antioxidant materials breach the skin without causing a release of water or without damaging the very skin you are trying to stop “aging.” Tell me the benefit of putting pro-oxidants on your skin or, worse, in your body. Give me a group of antioxidants that, when applied to the skin, will inhibit UVA/UVB from damaging the dermis or activating melanin so the skin will not be destroyed at levels beyond the very top layer of skin, which is dead anyway. Is that not the reason to exfoliate? You do not exfoliate LIVE SKIN do you? I do not dispute that some of the many materials cited may work internally but to think these antioxidants can cross the dermis barrier without causing damage defies logic. I question whether many of these antioxidants are even active antioxidants before they are applied to the skin. I could go on and on but sometimes I realize I have to accept that you and others regurgitate information which you clearly do not understand. I am the break wall, trying to stop a tsunami of misinformation and I am failing. Some of the things I have seen break my heart, knowing if I had only a few months to intervene, a life or quality of life would be extended or enhanced.
This was one example out of the 10 in this article. I could have listed 5 or more for every one of the top 10 Anti-aging topicals. Articles like this infuriate me because someone with no knowledge of biochemistry will buy these products. In the end, they are not worth anything near the cost and cure they claim. Does FDA regulate these materials? NO. Why? There is no proof they do anything. I wish cosmetics fell under the FDA False Claims Act. If it did, I would nail every SOB making a false claim. The only thing a cosmetic manufacturer would probably be allowed to list on their label is something like “provides a moisture barrier” or “this cosmetic has a sunscreen rating of X.” Fancy biochemical words like hyaluronate mean nothing to 99.99% of the population. When someone mentions that word, I focus like a laser and read the context of what is being said. I know HA and could write a thesis on what everyone thinks is true and the reality of this material. It works as a dermal filler if produced properly, tested properly on the patient and applied properly. Have you ever seen a beautiful woman undergo facial reconstruction because her tissue was necrotic and harder than granite? Ever wonder what those hard lumps are like 18 months after the dermal filler is used? Scary stuff….
Gabriela, you are a RN which I imagine means you are a registered nurse. By your own admission, you are a registered nurse injector. I do not know what that implies but you are not a MD dermatologist, biochemist and you are clearly not a chemical analytical specialist relating to biochemistry, hygroscopic materials (HA), dermal fillers or chemical redox reactions. Please research your claims and see if they make even bit of common sense.
Personally, I hope this reply irks, angers or pisses off everyone that continues to peddle knowledge that is inaccurate. I can honestly say I am saddened by reading this article.
No one will read my reply to this article. Almost no one will care, but I hope you do, Gabriela. It only takes one to initiate the process.
Please stop this plethora of misinformation and do that which is right instead of that which is easy. Help me educate the American public.
Kindest regards,
Rob
Gabriela replied with a kind and respectful reply, thanking me, in fact. The very opposite of what I did. For that I am sorry. No excuses. None. As a trained individual who prides proper action under any duress, I sure screwed this one. For that I apologize and I also replied in kind with valuable information for women everywhere.
Gabriela,
First, I want to apologize as I was disrespectful and that rarely happens. It is no excuse and I would never give one. It’s not my way. I was repulsed when I reread my reply to you. I was being an a$$ at the biblical level and I know it. I truly am sorry. I get so frustrated some time because people read articles like that and think they can just buy this stuff, thinking there are no consequences or side effects. The side effects are real and everlasting and can range from heart damage, liver damage, kidney damage and/or death, to minor things like skin irritation. Sometimes, the damage is neurological and that kind of damage is forever. With that said, some of these products are great but change comes from within, if you know what I mean.
I will not take into mind the cost of some of these products or the miracle cures that rarely happen. I try to tell people that if you have mistreated your body for 5 years, then it will take 5 years of treating it properly to fix everything that can be repaired. This does not apply to diets or weight loss but it does apply to the things you cannot see within the body.
And then there are the conventional issues like, say, vitamin B12. When you have your blood tested, it tests for 5 analogs of vitamin B12. Some are useless. The test itself is measured in the log phase of the curve and this can cause results to have over 100% error in them. The most mind-blowing thing is your doctor telling you to take an oral supplement if your B12 is low. Normal B12 is called cyancobalamin. If taken orally, it will not get into your bloodstream because it needs a binding factor called Intrinsic Factor (IF) to carry is across the intestinal tract. The average man rapidly stops producing IF after age 30; women even earlier. What it means: the only way to get B12 into your body is by inter-muscular injection (IM). The problem is that the form of B12 normally injected is cyanocobalamin, one of the least useful. So what should a person do? Sublingual (which means taken under the tongue, I know you know this Gabriela but most people have no clue what sublingual means). But here is the catch, the Vitamin should be an analog of B12 called hydroxocobalamin. Most manufacturers add folinate (folic acid) to the sublingual form (cyano or hydroxo) as it is needed to allow B12 to be used in the body. Most people have an excess of folic acid; because it is water soluble (as are all B vitamins), any extra is excreted in the urine. B12 is used everywhere in the body — from the immunological cascade mechanisms to inhibiting almost every known neuropathy to enhancing nerve structure. Sublingual hydroxocobalamin B12, 5000 IU’s a day of Vit D3, and a good probiotic will change your life in days. Do not take this at night; your metabolism and brain function will go off the chart and you will be up all night. Your body’s metabolism will take a few days to adjust. The other really nice side effect, especially for women and men who have been lacking, is that their libido will increase dramatically and rapidly. Trust me, I have saved more lives and made more babies with this simple cocktail than you can imagine. 🙂
With all that in the back of your mind, why are women more prone to osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimers and Parkinsons? I have my own theory; I could be wrong and it is not related to age. While women do have a tendency to live longer then men, if you average in the hazards of a man’s life style versus that of a women, those “living longer” statistics tighten up, especially as women take on increasingly dangerous jobs. So tell me, why do women get these diseases more readily than a man? Hormones? Nay. Everybody has their own theory, myself included, but the only common denominator that I can find, and I have been looking since God was a little boy, is vitamin B12 or lack thereof. And where does vitamin B12 come from? Red meat is loaded with it. Chewing red meat allows for sublingual absorption of B12. Who eats more red meat, men or women? Men. Now that is some “Food for thought.”…
With all that said, and one of those “Ah Ha” moments, what is the one vitamin* that actually can cross the blood brain barrier? Vitamin B12. Kinda gets you thinking.…
I hope this was useful information to everyone. Again, I give a heartfelt apology to Gabriela for her gracious and kind reply to my original initial excitatory reply (a polite way to say I was a Jacka$$ at almost every level). Just to be clear, I am apologizing for the way I said things to a kind and professional woman whose sole purpose was to educate. To make it worse, I used my knowledge as a weapon. I did it in a condescending manner. I am sorry that it happened. With that said, I am not sorry about the informational rebuttal I provided.
If you do not know the why, at least question it. Common sense must prevail. If it does not, our society, satiated on the quick fix, is destined for failure….
I do not know who said it. I could Google it but it does not matter. What does matter are the words the person said: “Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.” I say let us learn and not forget.
Kindest regards,
Robert A Mateer Jr
*vitamin: This information is based on repeated personal studies. Please note, I said vitamin, not protein, carbohydrate, fatty acid or electrolyte.
Thank you Gabriela Smith for your professional courtesy. Again, I apologize that I failed to do the same.
Note: Edited multiple times for clarity sake and spelling issues.
No offense meant or intended to Gabriela.
No offense meant or intended to any cosmetic manufacturer (well kinda).
For informational purposes only.