No one wants to get wrinkles. They’re a sign of getting older. But they may be a sign of something else…
Something you’d never suspect. Something even your doctor would never suspect…
They may be a warning sign of bone disease in menopausal women, according to a recent study. In fact, researchers found that the deeper your wrinkles during the first years of menopause, the lower your bone density will be — and the greater your risk of osteoporosis.1
So what’s the connection between deep wrinkles and low bone density?
It’s oxygen.
You know that after you work out, your skin is flushed. That’s a healthy sign that means s red blood cells are flooding life-giving oxygen into the outermost regions of your body — your skin. And at the same time, all that oxygen is also strengthening your bones.
Mainstream medicine is still playing catch-up on the healing power of oxygen — despite mountains of scientific evidence that document its rejuvenating effect on your organs, tissues, blood vessels, and nerves. It also refreshes your mind, repairs your aging brain, purifies your blood, powers up your heart, and replenishes old, dying cells.
At the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine, I’ve used oxygen as a weapon against cancer, diabetes, migraines, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, depression – and osteoporosis.
I also use it to fight damaged skin cells, age spots, wrinkles, and sagging skin. Stay tuned for more on my latest oxygen-boosting, skin-saving therapy in a future letter.
Today, I want to share the strange connection between skin and bones.
You see, the same protein family that’s essential for keeping your skin supple also makes up the building blocks of your bone structure.
I’m talking about collagen, the tough, fibrous protein found in the bones, muscles, skin, and tendons.
Skin and bone both use collagen as building blocks.
Collagen molecules pack together to form matrix-like scaffolding that provides your skin and bones with strength and structure. Most of my patients are surprised to learn that collagen makes up most of the structure of your bones.2 Studies show that the spongy mesh made by collagen fibers allows your bones to absorb a greater compression force than reinforced concrete, allowing it to resist fractures.3
And it’s the same molecule that keeps your skin wrinkle-free.
But a reduction in your body’s collagen production also contributes to a deterioration of your bones.
In a recent animal study, researchers directly linked collagen deficiency to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.4
Each collagen protein chain contains around 1,000 amino acids. But for collagen to be synthesized, it needs one other essential ingredient: oxygen. Researchers in England proved that collagen synthesis is dependent on healthy levels of oxygen.
And they revealed that when oxygen levels are low, not only is less collagen produced, but it’s an inferior type of collagen.
The problem is that as you age, you produce less collagen — and absorb less oxygen. This leads to a downward spiral of weakening bones.
The good news is that you can stop this vicious cycle in its tracks…
Oxygen Facilitates Both Bone Healing And Regeneration
For strong bones, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT, is hands down the fastest and most effective way to boost your body’s oxygen supply.
HBOT works because it allows you to breathe pure oxygen at 1.5 times normal atmospheric pressure. Your lungs take in more oxygen than would be possible if you were breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. The combination of pressure and oxygen physically dissolves more oxygen into your bloodstream, which carries it throughout your body – including your bones.
It helps protect your bones in three ways.
First, HBOT improves the healing process by facilitating the creation of collagen between the bones. It also increases the growth of capillaries in affected areas, which helps bring nutrients to the bones.
Second, HBOT boosts the activity of two bone-making cells called osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts break down the old bone, and osteoblasts deposit new bone into your skeletal structure.
Third, HBOT stops bone-damaging inflammation in its tracks. Inflammation increases bone resorption (the destruction of bone tissue that promotes bone loss) and decreases bone formation or ossification. Studies from the University of Pittsburgh found that those with the highest levels of inflammatory markers are 3 times more likely to experience a fracture.5,6,7
And fourth, HBOT can increase the production of circulating stem cells already inside your body by up to 800%.8 Several new studies show that increasing stem cell proliferation improves bone health.9,10
I’ve successfully used HBOT therapy at the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine for years. If you’re ready to protect your bones with HBOT, please contact my staff at 561-784-7852. They are happy to set you up with an appointment.
Supplement To Boost Bone-Protecting Oxygen
Most doctors have no idea that you can boost your body’s oxygen supply by taking nutrients. Here are two to try:
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- Infuse your bones with this NO booster. The first step to more oxygen is to boost your body’s nitric oxide levels — and that means getting more of a simple amino acid called l-arginine. Your body uses it to create nitric oxide, a key “signaling” chemical. Nitric oxide sends blood flow signals that tell your blood vessels to relax and expand. When your blood vessels are relaxed and flexible, more oxygen-rich red blood cells flow into your bones. I recommend taking a 500 mg capsule each day for prevention.
- Use this medicinal mushroom. Research shows this medicinal mushroom has the power to “turn on” genes that increase oxygen delivery to cells. In one study, researchers found that cordyceps boosted cellular oxygen absorption, reduced bone loss, and improved bone formation.11 Look for a supplement that promises pure cordyceps sinensis. I recommend up to 1 gram twice a day by capsule.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
References:
1. “Severity of facial wrinkles may predict bone density in early menopause, study suggests.” The Endocrine Society. June 6, 2011
2. Buehler MJ. “Molecular nanomechanics of nascent bone: fibrillar toughening by mineralization.” Nanotechnology. 2007;18(29).
3. Gupta HS, Seto J, et al. “Cooperative deformation of mineral and collagen in bone at the nanoscale.” Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2006 Nov 21;103(47):17741-6.
4. KD Allen, et al. “Kinematic and dynamic gait compensations resulting from knee instability in a rat model of osteoarthritis.” Arthritis Res Ther. 2012; 14(2):R78.
5. Cauley JA, et al. Inflammatory markers and incident fracture risk in older men and women: the Health Aging and Body Composition Study. J Bone Miner Res. 2007;22(7):1088-1095.
6. Barbour KE, et al. Inflammatory markers and the risk of hip fracture: the Women’s Health Initiative. J Bone Miner Res. 2012;27(5):1167-1176.
7. Barbour KE, Lui LY, Ensrud KE, et al. Inflammatory markers and risk of hip fracture in older white women: the study of osteoporotic fractures. J Bone Miner Res. 2014;29(9):2057-2064
8. Thom SR, et al. “Stem cell mobilization by hyperbaric oxygen.” AJP Hear Circ Physiol. 2005;290: H1378–H1386.
9. Iaquinta M, et al. “Adult stem cells for bone regeneration and repair.” Front Cell Dev Biol. 2019 Nov 12;7:268.
10. Kangari P, et al. “Mesenchymal stem cells: amazing remedies for bone and cartilage defects.” Stem Cell Res Ther. 2020 Nov 23;11(1):492.
11. Jędrejko K, et al. “Effect of cordyceps spp. and cordycepin on functions of bones and teeth and related processes: A Review.” Molecules. 2022;27(23):8170.