Naturally occuring Vitamin A, ellagic acid, polysaccharides, fatty acids, antioxidants...

Skin care research indicates that great tasting NingXia Red is a powerhouse of foods for healthy skin.

Liver and Skin
Anyone who has studied the liver realizes there is a huge connection between liver health and skin health. For example, the liver disease hepatitis often has a dramatic effect on the skin. Wolfberry’s liver protecting benefits alone provide strong evidence that NingXia Red is a wonderful way to clear skin through nutrition. But that’s just the start...

Antioxidants for Skin Care
S-ORAC ratings show that NingXia Red and Ningxia wolfberries overflow with superoxide-scavenging antioxidants. At least one study indicates that these antioxidants have huge potential to protect against UVB radiation-induced skin photoaging.

Carotenoids: Vitamins for Healthy Skin
The Ningxia wolfberry is rich in oxygenated xanthophylls (carotenoids) that can protect against basal and squamous skin cancers and reduce the risk of melanoma. One study showed that zeaxanthin and lutein act like sunblock to protect the skin from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB radiation the same way they protect the eyes. A National Cancer Institute study found that people eating diets rich in carotenoids such as alpha carotene, beta cryptoxanthin, and lutein were at a 33% lower risk of contracting malignant melanoma. Another study found that dietary lutein dramatically reduces inflammation and immunosuppression in skin expose to UVB sunlight radiation which is very harmful to cellular structure and can cause both basal cell and squamous cell cancers.

Ningxia wolfberries are higher in vitamin A than carrots. In fact, they are the highest known natural food source of vitamin A, making them a wonderful food skin rejuvanation and nutrition. A randomized, placebo-controlled study of patients with sun-damaged skin and precancerious sores known as “actinic keratoses” showed that the incidence of skin cancer dropped by 32% among those who where given a dose of vitamin A. Another study followed showing that higher dosages of vitamin A produced even greater cancer protection...65-81% had les pre-cancerous skin damage.

Ellagic Acid and Skin
NingXia Red contains raspberries, pomegranates, and Ningxia wolfberries, all of which are great sources of ellagic acid, a polyphenol that offers enormous promise as a natural phytoprotectant against many types of cancer. In fact, there have been promising studies against bladder, breast, colon, intestinal, liver, lung and skin cancers. In one study ellagic acid inhibited the incidence of skin tumors promoted by the cancer-causing chemical TPA which damages the skin much like excess sun exposure does.

Polysaccharides and Skin
The Ningxia wolfberry is plentiful in polysaccharides — so-called “miracle sugars” like glucose, galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, and mannose. A recent study indicates that the Ningxia wolfberry polysaccharides can reduce levels of collagen- and protein-destroying enzymes that also promote cancer. Another study found that polysaccharides from the wolfberry strongly protect the skin from an increase in rancid fats that dermatologists associate with a collagen-destroying enzyme that is responsible for much of the skin damaged referred to as “photoaging.”

Fatty Acids and Skin
Ningxia wolfberry seeds contain a wide range of healthy fatty acids that the skin craves. Among these is gamma linoleic acid which has anti-inflammatory properties and is also found in borage seed and evening primrose oils. Wolfberry seeds also contain large amounts of oleic acid, the chief monounsaturated fat found in olive oil.

This text excerpted from "The NingXia Red Advantage: Seven Pillars of Health", Young Living Magazine, Oct-Dec 2005. Reprinted with permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC, Lehi, UT 84043 U.S.A. No other reprinting without the express written permission of Young Living Essential Oils, LC is allowed. Young Living is not responsible for the content posted on this Web site.