Human pores and skin construction. Credit score: Wikipedia
When an 84-year-old man in Hong Kong went to hospital with an enlarged prostate, docs had been startled to see that his pores and skin—and even the whites of his eyes—had turned silver-gray. A deeper investigation revealed silver deposits permeating his tissues, turning him a hue extra usually reserved for science fiction.
Removed from a one-off oddity, in 2007 press experiences described Paul Karason as a “blue man” after he tried to treatment sinus and pores and skin issues by ingesting a do-it-yourself silver chloride answer—and there are a lot of different examples.
These putting circumstances reveal a profound reality: our our bodies can show the residue of what we eat. The adage “you are what you eat” often refers to general well being and diet, however that phrase could be startlingly literal when our pores and skin takes on sudden colours.
The circumstances above illustrate dramatic cases of the situation often known as argyria, during which silver particles accumulate within the physique.
Silver was as soon as a mainstay in medical remedies for its antimicrobial properties. However trendy proof reveals that consuming or absorbing an excessive amount of can rework one’s pores and skin in ways in which seldom fade. In argyria, silver ions flow into by way of the bloodstream and develop into embedded within the dermis, a layer beneath the floor the place the physique can not simply clear them. That is the layer that tattoo pigments reside in.
Daylight compounds the impact by triggering a course of known as photoreduction, which turns silver ions into metallic silver or associated compounds. Consequently, affected lighter skins undertake a bluish or grayish tinge. And in brown and black pores and skin, the discoloration might seem as a darker grey or slate-blue hue, successfully creating an inadvertent tattoo.
The same phenomenon, albeit rarer, is chrysiasis, during which gold deposits infiltrate the pores and skin. Traditionally, gold-based therapies had been often prescribed for inflammatory issues, and in some circumstances, sufferers who obtained these remedies developed a particular slate-gray or gray-purple discoloration that, very like argyria, couldn’t be simply undone.
Pigments from the plate
Orange, yellow and crimson pigments exert essentially the most affect over pores and skin, and orange appears to reign supreme. This shade, usually related to carrots, candy potatoes and pumpkins, comes from carotenoids, a category of pigments naturally present in crops.
Carotenoid pigments are fats soluble. When consumed, they’re absorbed within the small gut and transported by way of lipoproteins within the bloodstream to be saved primarily in fat-rich tissues, together with the subcutaneous layer of the pores and skin. This storage provides the pores and skin a attribute golden hue, most notably when carotenoid-rich meals are consumed in excessive portions.
Of the numerous carotenoids present in nature, beta-carotene is the star participant: a powerful orange tint and excessive “bioavailability”—the time period used to explain drug absorption—make it notably influential.
People metabolize (break down) carotenoids in a selective means. Enzymes within the intestines and liver flip beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is essential for imaginative and prescient, a wholesome immune system and wholesome pores and skin.
Nonetheless, not all ingested beta-carotene undergoes this transformation. Extra quantities stay of their pigment kind and are deposited within the pores and skin, notably in areas just like the palms of the arms and soles of the toes, the place the thicker layer of pores and skin highlights the pigment’s presence.
The explanation the pores and skin turns orange lies within the chemical construction of carotenoids. Beta-carotene’s molecular make-up absorbs gentle within the blue spectrum, reflecting orange gentle again to our eyes. Different carotenoids, akin to lutein and zeaxanthin (present in leafy inexperienced greens), which lean towards yellow, are much less conspicuous as a result of they’re both much less considerable within the weight loss program or not as prominently saved within the pores and skin.
Analysis has proven {that a} carotenoid-rich weight loss program, which might improve a wholesome golden glow, is usually perceived as extra enticing than sun-induced tanning. However moderation is vital. The 90s juice model Sunny Delight by no means actually recovered from the controversy of orange-stained Sunny D youngsters.
Naturally occurring dietary pigments akin to anthocyanins, betalains and chlorophyll supply many well being advantages, however not often go away a mark.
Anthocyanins, present in berries, crimson cabbage and purple carrots, present the deep reds, purples and blues we affiliate with these meals. Identified for his or her antioxidant properties, they’re water-soluble, that means they’re shortly metabolized and due to this fact unlikely to go away a mark on the pores and skin.
Equally, betalains, the pigments answerable for wealthy reds and yellows, supply detoxifying and anti inflammatory advantages however are excreted by the physique with out a seen impact on pores and skin tone. Extra ingestion might, nevertheless, trigger urinary and fecal coloration change.
These colourful tales carry greater than an aesthetic message. They spotlight the tremendous stability required in our relationship with the substances we ingest. From healthful pigments to unintended penalties, they function a vivid reminder that whereas meals could also be drugs and could also be transformative, we’re, fairly actually, what we eat.
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