I would like to hear about ways in which the members here keep themselves looking young. I have posted my skin care regime in the Personal Regime section.
I originally posted this in the Supplements section, but it's more appropriate here.
I've discovered something that works better than olive oil: turmeric. Before bed, I sprinkle some in one palm, wet the powder until it's a thin paste, and then apply it the problems areas. After about 5 minutes, I rinse off -- without soap -- some of the turmeric. My wife couldn't help giggling at the turmeric-yellow skin, but it's only temporary. When I shower in the morning, I soap off the remaining turmeric. Sounds goofy and a (temporarily) yellow face looks even goofier. But it completely evened my skin tone and somehow fixed the patches of dry, flaky skin. I'm still using olive oil after the shower.
Turmeric is good stuff. An Indian co-worker suggested using it on cuts. Just sprinkle the stuff on an open wound. I doubted it. Turns out she was right.
Role of curcumin, a naturally occurring phenolic compound of turmeric in accelerating the repair of excision wound, in mice whole-body exposed to various doses of gamma radiation
The healing of irradiated wounds has always been a central consideration in medical practice because radiation disrupts normal response to injury, leading to a protracted recovery period. The quest for clinically effective wound healing agents is important in the medical management of irradiated wounds. Therefore, the present study was conceptualized to investigate the effect of curcumin (natural yellow, diferuloylmethane), a major yellow pigment and an active component of turmeric on wound healing in mice exposed to whole-body γ-radiation. A full-thickness wound was created on the dorsum of mice whole-body irradiated to 2, 4, 6, or 8 Gy. The progression of wound contraction was monitored periodically by capturing video images of the wound. The collagen, hexosamine, DNA, nitric oxide, and histological profiles were evaluated at various postirradiation days in mice treated and not treated with curcumin before exposure to 0 or 6 Gy. The whole-body exposure resulted in a dose-dependent delay in wound contraction and prolongation of wound healing time. Irradiation caused a significant reduction in collagen, hexosamine, DNA, and nitric oxide synthesis. Pretreatment with curcumin significantly enhanced the rate of wound contraction, decreased mean wound healing time, increased synthesis of collagen, hexosamine, DNA, and nitric oxide and improved fibroblast and vascular densities. This study demonstrates that curcumin pretreatment has a conducive effect on the irradiated wound and could be a substantial therapeutic strategy in initiating and supporting the cascade of tissue repair processes in irradiated wounds.
Curcumin improves wound healing by modulating collagen and decreasing reactive oxygen species
Wound healing consists of an orderly progression of events that re-establish the integrity of the damaged tissue. Several natural products have been shown to accelerate the healing process. The present investigation was undertaken to determine the role of curcumin on changes in collagen characteristics and antioxidant property during cutaneous wound healing in rats. Full-thickness excision wounds were made on the back of rat and curcumin was administered topically. The wound tissues removed on 4th, 8th and 12th day (post-wound) were used to analyse biochemical and pathological changes. Curcumin increased cellular proliferation and collagen synthesis at the wound site, as evidenced by increase in DNA, total protein and type III collagen content of wound tissues. Curcumin treated wounds were found to heal much faster as indicated by improved rates of epithelialisation, wound contraction and increased tensile strength which were also confirmed by histopathological examinations. Curcumin treatment was shown to decrease the levels of lipid peroxides (LPs), while the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), activities were significantly increased exhibiting the antioxidant properties of curcumin in accelerating wound healing. Better maturation and cross linking of collagen were observed in the curcumin treated rats, by increased stability of acid-soluble collagen, aldehyde content, shrinkage temperature and tensile strength. The results clearly substantiate the beneficial effects of the topical application of curcumin in the acceleration of wound healing and its antioxidant effect.