What is the root of man and the basis of health?
Back in the last century, Academician Alexandr Bogomolets said: “The connective tissue is the root of man”. Today there is no longer any doubt that the level of human health, his working capacity and real biological age depend on the state of the connective tissue. Scientific evidence suggests that the new connective tissue paradigm of human health could revolutionize standard approaches to maintaining and restoring health forever.
Connective tissue is distributed throughout the body and forms the supporting frame of all organs and tissues, as well as external integuments (skin), forms, together with blood and lymph, the internal environment of the body, through which each cell receives nutrients and gives up metabolic products.
The main components of connective tissue are collagen and elastic fibers, fibroblast cells and their varieties.
The connective tissue is a “living matrix” that provides the function of communication in the whole multicellular organism and the stability of the internal environment of the organism (homeostasis). Moreover, according to the canons of Chinese medicine, it is in the connective tissue that the energy channels pass through which the Qi energy circulates.
An unfavorable environmental situation, poor nutrition with insufficient intake of vitamins, macro- and microelements necessary for the synthesis of full-fledged connective tissue, physical inactivity, bad habits, uncontrolled intake of medications lead to structural and functional changes in connective tissue and, as a result, to premature aging and the occurrence of various diseases.
Let’s turn to a specific classic situation. At the doctor’s appointment a woman whose passport age is 30 years old. The reason for the treatment is the signs of premature aging of the facial skin. Did you know that the skin is the largest human organ in terms of area and is rich in various components of connective tissue – collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid, fibroblasts? Their violations lead to its premature aging.
At the same time, wrinkles are just the “tip of the iceberg” of problems. The connective tissue of the whole organism suffers. Similar changes are observed in the spine, joints, eyes, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, teeth and other organs with disruption of their activity and the occurrence of various symptoms. As a result, the patient “walks” to different doctors.
A cardiologist, a rheumatologist, a dentist, an ophthalmologist, a neuropathologist and even a psychiatrist – this is not a complete list of narrow specialists who can be simultaneously visited by a patient with a violation of the physiological state of the connective tissue. Each of these doctors treats “their own organ”, often not realizing that one cause of all human ills is a violation of the connective tissue matrix of the body.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE WEAKNESS AND FAILURE OF THE CONNECTING TISSUE?
Interestingly, some people already at birth have signs that signal problems with connective tissue. Where do they come from in a newborn and why do they progress in adulthood?
Firstly, the inferiority of connective tissue can be genetically determined and inherited from parent to child. For example, the well-known genetic Marfan syndromes and osteogenesis imperfecta (a disease of the “crystal man” with abnormal fragility of bones). They are called rare diseases that have clear diagnostic criteria, a progressive course and can threaten life, in particular, a rupture of the largest vessel in our body – the aorta – due to the weakness of the connective tissue of its wall.
Secondly, in most people, the weakness of the connective tissue is not due to genetic defects, but is acquired as a result of the action of various unfavorable environmental factors during the growth of the organism. This is an unbalanced diet with an insufficient amount of vitamins, macro- and microelements necessary for the synthesis of connective tissue, physical inactivity, bad habits, uncontrolled intake of medications, unfavorable ecology. The influence of these factors on the intrauterine development of the fetal connective tissue is especially dangerous.
The weakness of the connective tissue is associated with impaired collagen synthesis, defects in its other important components and a deficiency of various cofactors (vitamin C, zinc, copper, selenium), which are necessary to stabilize collagen structures.
Since connective tissue is distributed throughout the body and is its matrix, with its inferiority, various health problems arise. The first “bells” appear during the first year of life in the form of hip dysplasia and umbilical hernia. As the child grows, the number of problems does not decrease, but becomes more and more. Flat feet, joint hypermobility, scoliosis, malocclusion, multiple caries, myopia, mitral valve prolapse and much more are added. The peak comes in adulthood, and such a person by this time is already a long-term and constant patient of various doctors.
HOW TO STRENGTHEN CONNECTIVE TISSUE?
“The father of medicine”, an outstanding physician and philosopher Hippocrates, convinced: “It is necessary to treat not individual symptoms and diseases, but the whole organism”. A targeted effect on the connective tissue, maintaining it in a healthy state will help prevent and cure many different ailments.
How to strengthen your connective tissue?
First of all, our connective tissue needs adequate nutrition and regular nutraceutical support.
Enrichment of the daily diet with vitamins, macro- and microelements, antioxidants, energy complexes, glycosaminoglycans helps to strengthen the connective tissue, has an antiaging effect and prevents the development of a number of diseases.
Metabolic correction of connective tissue should be carried out in the following areas:
1. Stimulation of collagen synthesis.
2. Correction of disorders in the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans (glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid).
3. Stabilization of mineral metabolism.
4. Correction of the level of free amino acids.
5. Improving the bioenergetic state of the body.
6. Normalization of immunological disorders.
7. Antioxidant protection.
Of course, an unbalanced diet, the use of refined products, a low level of physical activity of a modern person, as well as the presence of a number of diseases lead to an insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. As a result, connective tissue suffers, and as a result, early wrinkles, premature aging of joints and many other problems are guaranteed.
Daily additional intake of nutraceuticals, including vitamins, macro- and microelements and various biocorrectors, is extremely important for maintaining healthy connective tissue.
But how to choose exactly what is most suitable for a particular person? During a visit to a pharmacy, eyes run up from the abundance of all kinds of dietary supplements available over the counter without a doctor’s prescription. And in most cases, the choice-purchase is carried out “at random”, or “a friend tried and advised,” or, more often, during a conversation with a pharmacist: “And give me something to improve the condition of the skin, so that the joints do not crunch, and akso I want to improve my vision. How to understand what the body and its matrix of connective tissue really need?
There is a myth that dietary supplements are completely harmless and can be consumed in unlimited quantities and without a doctor’s prescription. However, one should recall the words of the famous Paracelsus, who owns the phrase: “Everything is poison, everything is a medicine; both are determined by the dose. “
• Vitamin C – the elixir of connective tissue health – in large and uncontrolled doses can cause diarrhea and even kidney stones.
• Vitamin B6, when taken in large doses and for a long time, can cause damage to the nervous system.
• Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, affects blood clotting and can cause epistaxis and bruising on the skin.
• Vitamin A, if the dose is exceeded, leads to liver damage.
• Many dietary supplements, in particular vitamin K, zinc, omega-3, can interact with a number of medications (aspirin, antibiotics). That is why their simultaneous intake must be agreed with your doctor.
• The regimen of intake of nutraceuticals is of great importance. Micronutrients such as the fat-soluble vitamins – A, E, K, D – are best absorbed with food that contains fat.
• Some supplements work against each other, and taking them at the same time is completely useless.
• So, do not take together calcium and iron, zinc and copper, as their absorption is impaired.
Remember, dietary supplements are meant to complement and balance your diet, but cannot replace a healthy, nutritious meal.
Doctors with a broad understanding of medicine, competent therapists, specialists in preventive medicine understand that a person is a holistic system, and taking care of his health requires a holistic, individual and integral approach. They will help you choose an individual complex of nutraceuticals and physical rehabilitation and keep your connective tissue healthy.
Rubric partner
Edem Resort Medical & SPA
Alexey Bashkirtsev is the chief physician of the Edem Resort Medical & SPA complex, PhD in Medicine, Academician of the European Academy of Natural Sciences, member of the Supervisory Board of Singularity University (Kiev) in the field of exponential medicine, international expert on anti-aging medicine, member of the American Academy of Anti-Age Medicine.
Photos courtesy of Edem Resort Medical & SPA