The Heart-Health/Skin-Health Connection

There I stood, flipping through magazine pages during a recent airport layover, when I caught sight of a celebrity endorsement for a book I had “forgotten” was due out this fall. The summer had gone by so quickly that I was amazed to see so soon the engaging cover art that grabbed my attention.

“I know that guy!” And his book has splashed down already!

You may recognize Dr. Perricone’s handsome face from PBS, Oprah, or any number of other national televised broadcasts.

Yes, our good friend Dr. Nick Perricone—well-known dermatologist, developer of his own line of dermatology grade skin products, and  best-selling author of multiple books—has just released his latest literary work entitled Forever Young: The Science of Nutrigenomics for Glowing, Wrinkle-Free Skin and Radiant Health at Every Age with Atria Books. This book highlights his most recent anti-aging research findings: findings that led him down a path and into the exciting frontier of nutrigenomics.

Dr. Sinatra has known Dr. Perricone for over 15 years now, and they have always shared a parallel belief that better health—whether it’s a stronger, livelier heart health or more radiant, firm skin—can only happen from the INSIDE out.

And while they both share the same core philosophy of eating a healthy, non-inflammatory diet and a targeted nutritional supplement program, even Dr. Sinatra learned a thing or two from Dr. Perricone when it comes to anti-aging medicine through nutrigenomics.

Dr. Perricone defines this catchy new term as the study of the effects that the foods and food constituents we consume have on gene expression: that is, the expression of our OWN genes! In Forever Young, you too can expand your own knowledge about how antioxidants can and do “do double duty” down at the molecular level.

You see, we usually think of antioxidants in simple, neat terms as foods or ingredients that protect our bodies against the ravaging damages of free-radical stress. That’s a great property, because free radical stress is the basis of chronic inflammation at the cellular level: the core of many common diseases and accelerated aging alike.

But now it also appears that many antioxidants, in foods very familiar to you like blueberries and curcumin, actually have “dual personalities.” They also act as pro-oxidants and turn off inflammation from a totally surprising angle.

I’m especially excited that one chapter in Forever Young (which always gets the song of the same title playing in my head…) is totally dedicated to us post-menopausal women, and what we should know to better take care of our skin, our hearts, and our bodies in midlife.

Recently, Dr. Sinatra interviewed Dr. Perricone about nutrigenomics and his research. You can find that interview in the upcoming November issue of Dr. Sinatra’s newsletter Heart, Health and Nutrition, as well as a list of “double-barreled antioxidant and pro-oxidant super foods” that you should know about for healthier skin—and a healthy heart!

For more information about nutrition, especially cardiovascular nutrition, visit Dr. Sinatra’s Web site.