Hair Skin

overall masculinity associated with a full head of flowing hair is understandably something that many men would do anything to hold on to . . . and the inse­curity associated with losing your hair is the reason so many hair loss prod­ucts have been so successful.

But in reality, we’re all losing our hair—all the time. On average, you lose 50 to 150 hairs a day. The difference between Fabio and your bald Uncle Frank is that people with full heads of hair are constantly regrowing new ones to fill in the empty spaces. With hereditary baldness, known medically as androgenetic alopecia, though, about one-third of men will someday notice that new hair is not growing back, sometimes as early as their teens. And they have nobody to blame but their family—specifically their mother’s side of the family.

When it comes down to it, baldness is just something most men have to learn to live with. A couple of drugs, Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (fin­asteride), can help some men regrow hair or prevent the loss of what they have. But the results are mixed, and the effects of the drugs stop as soon as people stop taking them.

And unfortunately for men, the fountain of youth cannot be found through nutrition. (Sorry, guys. Except in cases of extreme malnutrition, no amount of vitamins or minerals will regrow hair.) But for some women who have experienced hair loss related to physical trauma, crash dieting, or heavy menstrual flow, certain nutrients can help.

deficient in this nutrient.

You can get your Daily Value of zinc (15 milligrams) by filling your plate with shellfish and other seafood as well as with whole grains and lean meats. In fact, just one steamed oyster contains a whopping 12.7 milligrams of zinc.

Zinc Food Source

Note: Frequent inexplicable bruising, although rare, may be a sign of a clotting disorder or an immune problem, or a side effect of some medication. If you find yourself bruising easily and frequently, see your doctor.

Vitamin C Food Source

connective tissues that give shape and elasticity to skin and blood vessels. As the body ages and those connective tissues lose strength, skin becomes thinner and blood ves­sels are more fragile. Sun exposure accelerates the breakdown of connective tissues, making older people who’ve spent years in the sun more susceptible to bleeding and bruising. The sun’s rays also deplete stores of vitamin C, the very vitamin that the body needs to protect cells and tissue from free radical damage.

Eating lots of fruits and veggies high in vitamin C, like citrus fruits, tomatoes, and broccoli, will provide a sufficient amount of vitamin C, but everyone (and their skin) will benefit by taking 60 milligrams of vitamin C every day.

Research has shown that topical products with vitamin C can prevent the damage caused by years of sun exposure and heal bruising in older skin. And when vitamin C is combined with vitamin E, the effects are even more powerful. Vitamin E and vitamin C work synergistically to repair tissues, so that same vitamin cocktail should help prevent bruising.

In a Duke University Medical Center study, two different formulas were applied to the back skin of nine volunteers who were then exposed to simulated sunlight. Those who received an antioxidant serum containing vitamins C and E had a 96 percent reduc­tion of sunburn cells and up to eight times the antioxidant protection of those who received the control formula.

One such formula, C E Ferulic, helps boost the antioxidant reservoirs the body dips into to help heal itself from bruises. However, since sunscreens and antioxidant formulas work in different parts of the skin and through different mechanisms, the formula must be applied to the skin first to neutralize oxida­tive stress. Once it’s absorbed, then the sunscreen can be applied.

Vitamin K Food Source

cases of aspirin poisoning or blood-thinner overdose. It’s also a favorite among plastic sur­geons, who use large doses on their patients to prevent post surgery bruising.

Now these benefits are accessible to the general public as well. Research shows that applying vitamin K topically can prevent and heal bruising from laser surgery and fade away bruises, even those occurring from purpura senilis.

In a study of 12 people with significant bruising, a longtime vitamin K investigator, applied vitamin K cream to one arm of each patient and an identical cream without vitamin K to the other. After 1 month, the arms treated with vitamin K had significantly fewer bruises than those treated with plain ointment.

Vitamin K

Even nutritionist also had use vitamin K cream on one side of a bruise but not on the other and found that the side treated with vitamin K healed in 5 to 7 days, while the untreated side took 11 to 13 days to heal.

Even though getting plenty of vitamin K—the Daily Value is 80 micro­grams—may be helpful, when you have a bruise or an area prone to bruising, you want large doses of vitamin K right where you need them, and the best way to get them there is topically.

Clearly, the quality of mattresses has improved since the rule of King Tut. Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, have less to do with beds and lots to do with nutrition, say the experts. And that, sadly, is something that can still be pretty poor even in this day and age, especially among the elderly.

The bottom line is that a malnourished person is predisposed to developing a pressure ulcer. Researchers has researched and written extensively on the nutrition-pressure ulcer connection. In fact, the more malnourished a person is, the more severe the ulcer. They believe that malnutrition may be the most significant component in the development of the type of pressure ulcer commonly seen in Americans today.