Oxygen is essential for life. But it’s high maintenance. It comes at a cost. When we use oxygen during normal cellular functions to keep us alive and kicking, dangerous reactive oxygen species (ROS) also get produced. These cause aging and cancer.

This mechanism happens right inside your skin. As you go outside to hike, bike, golf, or paddle board, your skin is exposed to the sun. There is a good news and bad news part of this story.

The good news is that your skin then initiates the rather multi-stepped process of production of vitamin D. This helps you absorb nutrients, fight cancer, block unhealthy inflammation and keep your wits about you.

But we live in a dualistic world so there’s always a “shadow” side.

The bad news is that ultra-violet radiation also boosts the production of ROS in your skin.

Chronological aging (intrinsic aging as you move across time and put more years under your belt) and photo-aging (extrinsic aging from being outside in the elements) occur via the impact of ROS production in your skin.

• Your anti-aging goal is to neutralize ROS insults.
• You want to be outside and live long on this planet, but not get celluarly burnt.

Botanicals are one of the largest groups of active ingredients under investigation for use in dermatology and skin care products. Why? They squelch ROS.

What does it best? The Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology and The Neuroscience Center at Brigham Young University in Utah, says it’s SOY. Soy for my skin you ask with an unbelieving high lilt in your voice? Read on.

Actually, it’s a by-product of soy isolflavones called EQUOL. This is a polyphenolic/isoflavonoid molecule that is what drives much of the bone, heart, cancer and brain protective actions of soy.

Equol is found in highest amounts in fermented soy and egg yolks.

Equol is produced from the precursor molecules genistein or diadzein. Equol exists as two forms (isomers) called S-equol and R-equol. These are both powerful antioxidants. They both fight off ROS. But they also have diverse protective actions. For example, the R form gives equol it’s powerful anti-cancer protective benefits especially at the gut wall, breast and prostate.

Not everyone’s EQUOL is equal. How much you make depends on how much your gut produces. This capacity depends on your genes and microbiome.

It makes anti-aging sense to consume non-GMO organic soy, especially fermented like fermented tofu and soy noodles, not only to prevent hormonally dependent cancers (which this link is well proven in the literature), but to also slow down skin aging and cancers. And to protect your youthful appearance.

3-steps to protect your skin from cancer and old age appearance:
1. Consume fermented soy products several times a week
2. Consume healthy organic eggs several times a week (as long as you are not reactive to them)
3. Care take your microbiome and digestion to ensure better equol production.

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