Your daily dose of antioxidants via Omega 5 oil skin care -- is it possible?

An article by Beth Hochstein, titled the “Promise of Pomegrnates” at: http://www.healinglifestyles.com/index.php?page=nov2006-spaandbeauty-seasonal hails the Forbidden Fruit Collection currently sold under the Tzerah brand.

What is the Forbidden Fruit Collection -- This is the first and only skin care collection based on pure organic pomegranate seed oil - a powerful phytoestrogen, highly skin compatible and easily absorbed antioxidant, and rare plant based source of Omega 5 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). The Forbidden Fruit Collection includes an olive oil based cleanser, a cream, a lotion, a firming/lifting serum and an exfoliating brightening serum. They nourish and revitalize dry dehydrated skin, fighting skin damaging free-radicals and restoring natural balance, firmness and elasticity, for skin that looks and feels smoother, more luminous... younger.

In her words: Cold-pressed from an ancient Mediterranean cultivar, Pomega5 seed oil is the foundation of luxurious t’Zerah Forbidden Fruit Collection facial cleansers and rich, intensive moisturizers. Pomega5 Oil of Life features what may be the most potent part of this medicinal fruit—pomegranate seed oil, a rare plant-based source of omega-5 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

And she adds that: Today, pomegranate juice is filling the supermarket shelves in step with growing appreciation of the fruit’s high level of antioxidants—greater than that of red wine, green tea, and blueberries. Recent clinical studies have caused many skincare experts to believe that your skin should also be drinking in the benefits of pomegranate.

“Pomegranate elements are some of the newer, more interesting potentially chemopreventative and photoprotective ingredients yet discovered in nature to be used for our benefit,” says Los Angeles dermatologist Vicki Rapaport. “There have been studies in skin cancer research that show that not only does its fruit extract block tumor formation in mice but it can enhance SPF factor which, in my opinion, is always a plus.

Does pomegranate merit this surge of popularity? Rapaport seems to think so. “I am not one of those dermatologists that jumps on every bandwagon,” she says, “and I certainly don’t advocate for consumers to spend their savings on potentially unproven claims, but there is something to say about the wealth of goodies found in the seed oil and the fruit extract of the pomegranate.”

Laurel House at http://www.healinglifestyles.com/index.php?page=may2007-spaandbeauty-beautyreviews points that that Ava Shamban, M.D., board certified dermatologist, and owner of the Laser Institute for Dermatology and European Skin Care in Santa Monica, California, helps demystify the slew of sun damage–reversing products by highlighting some of the most essential ingredients: AHAs exfoliate and even out skin tone. Retinol stimulates collagen production. Antioxidants (including Omega 5 oil, topical green tea and vitamin C) prevent free radical damage.

And if your skin has endured damage from excessive sun exposure, Lauer recommends Tzerah products as a favorite topical treatment that can help relieve, heal, and protect your skin: Tzerah Serum Grenade Intensive Night Repair Serum is enriched with pomegranate and perilla oils, plant extracts, and salicylic acid to exfoliate skin and soften fine lines. http://www.tzerah.com/

I have heard so much about anti-oxidants, what are they?

An Antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals, which start chain reactions that damage cells. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing radical intermediates, and inhibit other oxidation reactions by being oxidized themselves. As a result, antioxidants are often reducing agents such as thiols or polyphenols.

Although oxidation reactions are crucial for life, they can also be damaging; hence, plants and animals maintain complex systems of multiple types of antioxidants, such as glutathione, vitamin C, and vitamin E as well as enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and various peroxidases. Low levels of antioxidants, or inhibition of the antioxidant enzymes causes oxidative stress and may damage or kill cells.

As oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases, the use of antioxidants in pharmacology is intensively studied, particularly as treatments for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. However, it is unknown whether oxidative stress is the cause or the consequence of such diseases. Antioxidants are also widely used as ingredients in dietary supplements in the hope of maintaining health and preventing diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease. Although some studies have suggested antioxidant supplements have health benefits, other large clinical trials did not detect any benefit for the formulations tested, and excess supplementation may occasionally be harmful. In addition to these uses in medicine, antioxidants have many industrial uses, such as preservatives in food and cosmetics and preventing the degradation of rubber and gasoline.

As the name implies, antioxidants are substances that are capable of counteracting the damaging, but normal, effects of the physiological process of oxidation in animal tissue. Antioxidants are nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions). They are believed to play a role in preventing the development of such chronic diseases as cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts.

Oxidative stress occurs when the production of harmful molecules called free radicals is beyond the protective capability of the antioxidant defenses. Free radicals are chemically active atoms or molecular fragments that have a charge due to an excess or deficient number of electrons. Examples of free radicals are the superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, transition metals such as iron and copper, nitric acid, and ozone. Free radicals containing oxygen, known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), are the most biologically significant free radicals. ROS include the radicals superoxide and hydroxyl radical, plus derivatives of oxygen that do not contain unpaired electrons, such as hydrogen peroxide, singlet oxygen, and hypochlorous acid.