Antioxidants and Aging

In the cosmetic world, anti-aging creams are popping up with increasing frequency. They claim to make you look decades younger by removing wrinkles, spots, and giving you a youthful glow. Seems like a miracle to me. Such miracles don't come cheap either, with prices in the hundreds being average. Is a jar of this anti-aging cream worth it, or is it just empty promises in a nice little package? We'll take a closer look at one of the major contributors of aging, and how cosmetic companies combat it.

Oxidative stress is one of the leading causes of aging signs, so it makes sense that many cosmetic companies try to target this when developing anti-aging products. This post will give more insight into what oxidative stress is, and the method by which these companies try and reduce it.

Here is a helpful introductory video:

The human body needs a balance in redox reactions. "Redox" is a scientific term used to describe chemical reactions that involve the addition or reduction of electrons to molecules, thus altering oxidation numbers or "oxidation states". Reduction is adding electrons to an atom, and oxidation is removing electrons from an atom. The result of this change can be destructive (think rusting iron, a commonplace example of oxidation). Therefore, oxidative stress is basically an imbalance between the production of free radicals, the oxidizing agent, and antioxidants, which are reducing agents. When there are too many free radicals to be reduced by the antioxidants, this creates oxidative stress within the body.
Free radicals are electronically unstable atoms or molecules capable of stripping electrons from any other molecules that they meet in an effort to achieve stability. In their wake, they create even more unstable molecules that attack their neighbors in a domino-like chain reactions. This causes extensive damage to the cells.
Disturbances in this normal redox state in the body can cause toxic effects due to the production of free radicals that will inflict molecular damage to the proteins, DNA, lipids, and other biomolecules in your body, in a process called "oxidative stress". Oxidative stress basically is an imbalance between the production of free radicals, reactive oxygen species,  and antioxidants defense species. This way, the free radicals, the oxidation part, end up overwhelming the antioxidants, which are reducing agents, and so we see oxidation of important molecules such as proteins, lipids, etc.
This oxidative stress can lead to premature signs of aging, one of the biggest fears most women have.

Premature aging: a woman's biggest fear

It seems intuitive, therefore, that one of the best ways to fight these free radicals is to up the amount of antioxidants. These antioxidants are able to neutralize the free radicals, and prevent them from damaging the cells in your body. While many creams include antioxidants in their extensive list of ingredients, is topical application really the best way to go? A 2011 study investigated this very question. The study looked at antioxidant levels in the skin after using them both topically and systemically. 129 healthy women, aged between 21 and 72 years, were divided into seven groups and given topical creams, oral supplements, both, or a placebo. Ultimately, the oral supplement group had the best results, sometimes even beating out the group that had both topical and oral. The human skin is a difficult barrier to penetrate, in order to keep out all the germs that cause diseases, and sometimes this can work negatively when it comes to things like antioxidants. Therefore, the best way to go about getting your daily dose of antioxidants is orally, through food.

Foods rich in antioxidants

Sources: 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923181110000782
http://www.ccjm.org/content/73/12/1049.full.pdf
http://www.wiley.com/college/boyer/0470003790/reviews/redox/redox.htm
http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.htm

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