Our skin is the largest organ in our body. We don’t tend to think of it as an organ, but it is. Its number one function is protection. Our skin keeps outside stuff out and inside stuff in. It functions not only as a physical barrier, but it hosts a huge array of healthy microbes that keep bad bacteria from growing on the skin. This is just like the intestines and colon, which are technically skin also. Our skin is our first line of defense in this world.
Our skin is also responsible for temperature regulation of our body. When we are too hot inside the tiny blood capillaries in our skin open up to expose the heated blood to the cooler air outside so excess heat can radiate away. If we are really hot, like when we are exercising, our skin sweats so the evaporation of the sweat cools down the skin. When it is cold the opposite happens and the blood vessels close down to keep our blood away from the cold outside. The hair follicles make our hair stand up, trapping air near the skin which acts like an insulator.
Our skin helps us retain water, which is very important since we are almost two thirds water. If we get too dehydrated we can die. When we are at rest, like in a sauna, our skin will act like an extra kidney and excrete poisons out in the sweat. This does not happen with sweating from exercise. This is one of the reasons a sauna is so good for our skin and us.
Lastly our skin creates vitamin D. It forms a pro-vitamin D from cholesterol and the effect of midday sunlight on this pro-vitamin converts it into the D3 form. It then moves to the liver and then kidney for its final transformations. Vitamin D is used by the master conductor of our immune system, the Th17 cells, to regulate our immune function. Vitamin D is also essential for us to absorb calcium from our food.
All in all skin is a good thing, most of the time. A couple months ago I reported on a study run by UCSF and doctors in Korea testing whether skin produces inflammatory cytokines as we age. The studies seem to show this is a big yes. Inflammation is the big thing we are all fighting all the time. Now it appears that the largest organ in our body is responsible for a big chunk of this inflammation just because it is aging. The study also wanted to see if using skin creams that support healthy skin barrier function could reduce the load of inflammatory cytokines in the body. After one month of using a specially formulated skin cream called Atopalm, the group of older patients in this study showed their circulating cytokine levels had dropped to that of a 30 year old. This sounds like a “must do” for all of us over 30 types. Most of the diseases of aging all come down to the impact of these cytokines mucking up the works as we get older. Anything we can do to slow down or reverse this process is a must. I see that Amazon now has this skin cream. Here It didn’t at the time I first researched this. The product was only available in Korea.
The other big issue for my patients relative to their skin is itching pain. There seems to be a lot of this going around. None of the typical medications or over the counter itch compounds seem to be helping at all. Patients that have gone to dermatologists have gotten no help either. It is just a mysterious irritation that drives you crazy.
About a month ago I decided to see what I could find to help this crazy itch pain trouble. Interestingly the information crossed over with the previous information about aging skin. It seems there are special receptors in the skin called TRVP1 receptors. They were first discovered as the part of the skin that reacts to chemically hot things like the oils in hot peppers. The also react to UV light and trigger photoaging – the skin aging caused by sunlight. These receptors are a major trigger for the release of the inflammatory cytokines we were just talking about (IL-6, TN F-alpha, IL-1-beta). The studies I was reading were using specific drugs to block these receptors in order to stop the itch/pain and to stop the aging of the skin being caused by the inflammatory cytokines. But since I knew the target receptors of these drugs, the TRVP1 receptors, I could do further research to find natural substances that also turn of these receptor sites. I reasoned this would give me a product that would not only decrease the crazy itching pain issues, but also fight aging of the skin.
Sure enough I eventually found several herbs that would do just what I wanted. One of those herb extracts was CBDs. Another potent antagonist of the TRVP1 receptors is the omega-9 fatty acid oleic acid. All total I found 10 natural compounds through various research papers that would help calm the itch, slow the aging, and decrease the inflammation. A few of them would stain the skin horribly or smell to bad, but the remaining ones I combined into a formula to experiment with.
My first experiment involved creating a light skin cream with these ingredients. I had several test subjects try out this formula. They all reported excellent results, however the manufacturing of this cream was a real pain and for wide areas of application the cream would take forever. Next I created a lotion bar with the same formula. It also produced great results, but personally I could not stand the feel of the bees wax necessary for make a solid bar on my skin. My latest experiment looks like it might be a winner. I found empty roll on deodorant bottles into which I could put a liquid form of my formula. It is currently being field tested by my study volunteers. If it works out as I expect, I will have a limited number of the bottles next week in the office. I have to order more of the deodorant bottles if the ones I bring in fly off the shelves.
I know this sounds like I am a bit crazy, and you are probably right. I like the mad scientists role. I like finding natural alternatives for health. Research is all driven by whoever is supplying the research dollars. Well, there are no research dollars coming in from natural herb growers. Research is geared to finding new patentable drugs. That is where the big money is, not natural health research. Fortunately there has been a ton of research done on herbs, because it is the herbs that provide the basic molecules that have biological functions that drugs then try to imitate. I find I can exploit that information loop to find natural alternatives to patent drugs. Sometimes it works and sometimes there are no sources of the compounds I look for other than from very expensive research labs.
It is sort of like solving a complex mystery – fun in a weird way.
Take care,
David