Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid

[Guest guest]

I thought some Supertrainers might find the following article interesting :

Hydrolized Sternum Collagen Type-II

Restoring Youth

with Hyaluronic Acid

by Bill Sardi

SO MANY CLAIMS OF YOUTH-EXTENDING REMEDIES have been made throughout human

history that any new antiaging agent likely to be viewed with skepticism.

Yet medical researchers across many disciplines believe a revolution is

underway in the understanding of how humans age and what can be done to

preserve or restore youthful appearance and function. Components naturally

found in type II collagen, now available in a unique food supplement, may

reverse or prevent overt signs of aging.

Overt signs of aging

Despite the fact that most tissues in the human body regenerate at varying

rates, over time there are observable signs of aging. The skin begins to

wrinkle, the joints stiffen, the eyes become weak and require the aid of

spectacles to focus and the voice begins to become raspy and guttural. There

are internal changes with aging as well, as blood vessels begin to weaken

and lose flexibility, the brain shrinks in the cranium, the eyes sink in

their sockets, and the entire body loses about an inch or more in height

with advancing age. Scientists believe there is a common denominator

involved in aging—the loss of connective tissue, the space filler that

supports living cells. Scientific attention is focused upon hyaluronic acid,

a unique molecule in the human body.

Isolated from the human eye and discovered in 1934 by Karl Meyer, hyaluronic

acid (HA) is a water-filled gel. HA belongs to a family of molecules called

glycosaminoglycans but differs from them as HA is not linked with sulfur

orother proteins. Other glycosaminoglycans include chondroitin sulfate,

keratin sulfate, heparin and heparin sulfate.

HA is the body's mortar

HA occupies the extracellular matrix, that is, the space between living

cells. HA has adhesive properties and is akin to mortar that holds bricks

together. HA is interwoven with type II collagen, proteins and proteoglycans

in the extracellular space which gives form and structure to tissues. About

3000 milligrams of HA is produced daily in the human body by specialized

cells called fibroblasts. More HA is produced during wound healing. The rate

of HA production enzyme hyaluronan synthase as well as by growth factors,

hormones and nutrients. For example, estrogen encourages high levels of HA

in the skin. Some HA is lost in the urine daily, so new HA fills in to

support living tissues and to retain water. About 3-10 percent of HA is

turned over (replaced) daily in human tissues, so constant replacement is

required.

HA has the capacity to hold water better than any other natural or synthetic

substance. It is the shock absorber or spongy collagen at the end of bones.

HA is also concentrated in the synovial lubricating fluid in the joints.

Without adequate HA the skin dries, bone rubs on bone, the voice changes,

blood vessels weaken, healing is poor and tissues lose elasticity.

While HA is found throughout the body, there are particularly high HA levels

in the skin, eyes and joints, the very structures that exhibit external

signs of aging. The concentration of HA in living human tissues declines

over time. In youth the skin has high levels of HA which produces scarless

wound healing. The scrapes, cuts and abrasions of childhood are not

permanent because of HA.

Progeria: children who experience accelerated aging

Researchers obtain insight into what causes overt signs of aging when they

examine HA levels among children with progeria. This is a disorder where

young children appear to be old before their time. They are bald, have

cataracts, wrinkles and usually do not live beyond the age of 13 years or

so. Children with progeria excrete up to 17 times more HA in their urine

compared to healthy children. So overt signs of aging may have little to do

with time and more to do with the progressive loss of HA.

A Japanese village astonishes TV audiences

Think of the monumental impact of this discovery. If humans could find ways

to maintain their HA levels, they may not exhibit overt signs of aging.

World health authorities believe they have found just such a human

population (in the village of Yuzurihara, Japan) that defies the common

signs of aging by maintaining high HA levels. Late last year reporter Connie

Chung of ABC News visited Yuzurihara, known as the " village of long life, "

and displayed what amazed television audiences worldwide. Here were people

living to advanced ages without wrinkles, without the typical age-related

diseases and maintaining active lifestyles. Some adults, even life-long

smokers who had worked in the outdoors exposed to sunlight all their lives,

had virtually no wrinkles. There has never been a recorded case of skin

cancer in Yuzurihara. Health authorities attribute this youthfulness to the

unique diet in Yuzurihara that encourages the maintenance of HA.

It so happens that Yuzurihara is located on a slope and rice cannot be

grown. So the traditional diet of this village is comprised of root

vegetables like tamaji, a kind of sweet potato. The diet is low in iron and

some fish is consumed because ofYuzurihara's proximity to the sea. In

regards to longevity, there are 10 times more people living beyond the age

of 80 in Yuzurihara than any town in the USA. According to the World Health

Organization, the longest-lived people in the world live in Japan and

Yuzurihara is heads above 990 Japanese villages and towns surveyed in

longevity.

Before you go running to the local Japanese food market to find tamaji and

other root vegetables, understand the people in Yuzurihara have consumed

these vegetables all their lives. Most American adults over age 40 have

already lost a great deal of HA and may derive little benefit from any

dietary HA enhancers and probably require actual HA supplementation.

Conventional medicine embraces HA

Conventional medicine has not overlooked hyaluronic acid. HA has been used

as a lubricant in eye surgery for over a decade. Dermatologists now inject

high-molecular weight HA into the skin to reduce wrinkles. Orthopedists

inject high-molecular weight HA into knee, shoulder, sacroiliac,

intervertebral discs and the temporomandibular joint to reduce symptoms of

osteoarthritis. The success rate of injectable HA in relieving joint

problems is about 80 percent. HA is now being used in prescription eye

drops, in skin preparations and to prevent adhesions following surgery. So

the HA revolution is underway.

Comments?

Shanahan

Melbourne

Australia.

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