Old Skin from Running?
There is nothing better after a hectic day than running off all the stress in the fresh air. And my day is set up when, early in the morning while the dew is still on the grass I have been for an equally satisfying “meditative” run . At least that was, before my pleasure was broken by the statement given by one Dennis Grossman, an American Plastic Surgeon and writer of “Your Future Face’. He noticed that his patients who jogged had older skin than the patients who didn’t jog:
Jogging can be bad for your skin! It can be particularly hard on the skin of both mens’ and womens’ faces. For your skin’s sake, give up jogging and get a bike! It’s because the weight of your body is multiplied by a factor of five or six every time a foot strikes the ground. Jogging downhill is especially hard on the body and the underlying collagen as well as tissues of the face, breast, thighs and buttocks.
Sagging bossoms and an old face??!?!
Roughly translated you not only get an older face, but you also get saggy bossoms, thighs and bum from running. After this rather shocking news, I myself think that the premature ageing of skin in regular runners probably not only exists due to the collagen stretching, but also through the increased exposure to the sun (no.1 skin ager). And luckily here we can do something! Further delving has also taught me that the increase in cortisol produced during running (adrenal hormone that is created through stress) can also contribute to accelerated ageing of the skin. I read that this increased production of cortisol, through frequent running by women, can even cause an increase in stomach fat… Now I know why I can’t lose that spare tyre!
For a good cause…
After these findings I have even more sympathy for my BFF’s. These women will be running the New York marathon in 7 weeks time! Their aim is to raise money for the charity CLAPAM. This charity helps children in Malaysia and Borneo who are born with a hair lip or a cleft palete and whose parents cannot afford to pay for the operation to correct this. I don’t usually use my blog to promote these sorts of things, but having worked with Plastic Surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam, I have experienced, first hand, how important it is that children with these birth defects can be (promptly) operated on. So I am going to sponsor them
anyway (and in case Dennis Gross is right, I’ll stick a few skincare products in their suitcases). It will be super if you want to do that too or even let your friends know about it. Every little bit will help! You’ll find more information on http://www.yoga2run.com/home.
With regards to my own sporting activities; as long as there is no double blind placebo study which exists where a relationship between running and skin ageing has been established, then I’ll pretend I haven’t read the statement from Gross. The endorphins released during running will keep me spiritually young anyway.
Regards Jetske.
(Dr. Jetske Ultee-Research Physician Cosmetic Dermatology)
You can read more about what Jetske is focusing on in the blogs:
‘bubbling cauldrons and clouds of smoke above the Uncover factory‘,
‘rubbish on the cosmetics market‘,
‘New Orleans‘,
‘an alternative for a facelift ( or not…)‘,
‘from Masters to Doctorate.‘ and ‘on the red carpet’.