Daily Perricone

You are browsing the archives of health.

Think beautiful skin starts in a bottle?  Think again.  Beautiful, clear skin starts in your kitchen and has everything to do with what you put into your body. Your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening digestively; I like to tell our clients to think of their skin as their intestines turned inside out.  [...]

As is often the case, the most effective remedies involve both an oral and topical component, each working to enhance the effects of the other. Pycnogenol has proven to be no exception. When both tiers are used synergistically, studies have found the following benefits:

• A visible improvement in the appearance and size of discoloration and brown spots
• An overall brightening of the skin
• Protection against further photo damage
• Gentle exfoliation of damaged cells
• A smoothing of fine lines
• Improved elasticity

Safety and Efficacy

Thanks to extensive studies conducted by its parent company Horphag Research, Pycnogenol has been found to be a safe and effective way to achieve a fair skin free of the dark spots or patches safely and without any side-effects. More than 190 scientific articles and clinical trials have confirmed Pycnogenol’s safety, absence of toxicity and clinical efficacy over the past 35 years. In fact, Pycnogenol® is one of the most researched ingredients in the natural product marketplace. Published findings have demonstrated Pycnogenol’s beneficial effects in cardiovascular health, skincare, cognitive function, diabetes health, inflammation, sports nutrition, asthma and allergy relief and menstrual disorders, among others.

A good way to tame your sweet tooth is to eat a grapefruit early in the day. In fact, a peeled grapefruit with no sugar added is an excellent way to tell your body it’s going to be a healthy food day! You’ll be amazed at how this works as the day progresses.

Still, it’s not realistic to think that we can totally avoid the occasional mouth watering treat, but a helpful strategy is to choose healthy appetizers hors d’oeuvres first. Fortunately, many of these foods are as health and beauty-promoting as they are delicious. Here are few of my favorites:
Anchovies
Asparagus
Sardines
Smoked oysters, mussels and clams
Shrimp
Lobster
Crab Scallops
Herring, trout or mackerel filets
Calamari
Caponata (eggplant appetizer)
Caviar
Escargot Olives
Artichoke hearts
Chopped chicken livers
Chicken or beef satay or teriyaki
Crudités (fresh raw vegetables)
Marinated vegetables
Baba ganoush
Bean dips
Salsa
All varieties of nuts and seeds
Chestnuts
Proscuito with melon
Fresh fruit bowl
Hummus

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday,

Nicholas Perricone, MD

-First, remember to eat your protein first. Eat your turkey before diving into the veggies. This will help to prevent any rises in blood sugar and also help to curb your appetite.

-When it comes to purchasing a turkey, check with your natural food store or co-op or the poultry -section of your supermarket. Look for free range birds that are fed organic vegetarian diets, contain no antibiotics, growth hormones or other undesirable additives.

-Buy organic vegetables and eat the skins – the greatest concentration of nutrients and fiber are in the skin or right beneath the skin.

-Substitute baked organic whole sweet potatoes for regular potatoes. Bake and serve hot with the skin for high fiber.

-Sprinkle cinnamon on winter squash and sweet potatoes. Cinnamon helps to stabilize blood sugar and adds great flavor.

-Ditto for that holiday slice of pumpkin or apple pie – liberal use of cinnamon will help offset the high glycemic effects of these special occasion treats.

-Make your pie crust flourless – use ground nuts and real butter – stay away from shortening which contains dangerous trans fats.

-Try adding a little finely minced garlic to freshly steamed and mashed turnips and squash – adds delicious flavor and antioxidant health benefits.

-Enjoy mixed nuts in the shell as opposed to salted, canned varieties.

-When baking pies, choose raw, unfiltered dark honey in place of cane sugar.

Tomorrow, a list of some great anti-inflammatory foods loaded with antioxidants.

Tell us your favorite tactics for relieving stress and navigating the holiday table!

Introducing Stress and the Skin (An Alfred Hitchcock Production)

It is not just the telomeres that suffer when we are under stress. When we study stress and its effects on the skin, we can clearly begin to see the “psycho” part of psychoneuroimmunology.
For decades a great many common skin diseases and disorders were listed as having an unknown etiology—that is, dermatologists could not pinpoint the cause of the disease. But now there is a growing body of clinical and experimental evidence demonstrating that the brain can start, influence, and stop biologic skin events. Again, this clearly ties into my Brain-Beauty Connection, an exciting topic for future blogs. For example, there is evidence that psychological stress both constitutes an increased risk for atopic dermatitis, a pruritic (itching) skin disease, and also influences the disease’s clinical course. And who hasn’t had an acne breakout right before the prom, a big date, wedding or important job interview? Coincidence? Think again. Stress is clearly implicated in many skin diseases, acne included, another fascinating topic for future blogs. Tomorrow we will learn how neuropeptides and pheromones can help alleviate stress.

If you are like me, finding new solutions to age-old problems is a high priority. Fortunately, Dr. Perricone has come to the rescue with DailyPerricone, our new blog designed to bring you the latest and greatest beauty, health, fitness and longevity news and information.

Everyday new scientific breakthroughs occur, new studies are released and exciting new facts are revealed in the pantheon of scientific and medical journals. One of the goals of this blog is to save you the time and energy of sifting through the hundreds of journals; here in Daily Perricone you will find Dr. Perricone’s top picks that will enable you to live each day at your personal best.

We also want to hear from you and welcome your ideas, comments, suggestions and contributions.

Anne Sellaro, Executive Editor

The omega 3 essential fatty acids are particularly important and the best sources are the aforementioned cold water fish and fish oil capsules, with nuts and seeds as the second best source. However, omega-3 is not the only type of essential fatty acid necessary for good health.  Also important are the omega-6 and omega-9.  All [...]

Amino acids – The building blocks of protein. Twenty amino acids are needed to build the various proteins used in the growth, repair, and maintenance of body tissues. Eleven of these amino acids can be made by the body itself, while the other nine (called essential amino acids) must come from the diet. The classification [...]

Ultraviolet radiation (UV) Everyone recognizes that chronic overexposure to sunlight plays a role in skin aging and the development of skin cancer. UV radiation is the main environmental factor that causes skin aging and makes us need a wrinkle cure. While human skin is like other organs, it is the only one in direct contact [...]