The unexpected ways your skin impacts your health and longevity

Woman applying body cream to her skin

woman applying body cream

Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com

In the winter, the backs of your hands can become dry, red, and chapped. Maybe you find yourself slathering on moisturizer. If this is not done, itching and pain may become major disturbances.

You might think this is what it is: skin breakouts are annoying and uncomfortable, but not as serious as high blood pressure. But this assumption, like skin aging, may not hold water.

There is growing evidence that skin damage can have knock-on effects elsewhere in the body, leading to inflammation, muscle and bone loss, and possibly even cognitive decline. The more your skin deteriorates, the more prematurely it ages others. According to this emerging perspective, your skin not only reflects the signs of aging but is also a contributing factor. There’s even preliminary evidence that taking better care of our skin can slow down the harmful effects of aging and improve our overall health.

Our skin is one of the first parts of the body to show signs of aging. It can become wrinkled, especially in active areas like the corners of the eyes, and age spots may appear. On paper, this change may seem superficial, but we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of skin to the rest of the body. “The skin is the largest organ of the body,” says Wendy Borag at Augusta University, Georgia, USA.

It’s not just a matter of size. Skin is vital to survival. The outermost layer, the epidermis, is impermeable to water, ensuring we don’t lose life-giving fluids into the air. If someone damages a large area of ​​land…

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