Dr. Purvisha Patel, founder of Visha Skincare, is a board-certified dermatologist, MOHS and cosmetic surgeon, is also the owner of Advanced Dermatology and Skin Cancer Associates in Memphis, Tennessee and Olive Branch Mississippi. Dr. Patel noticed a need for simple, safe, multi-use skin care products that delivered results in preventing early signs of aging as well as the aging process itself to be made available to the general public. To the delight of her patients, friends, family and the general public, Dr. Patel combined her dermatological expertise with her love of science and created Visha Skincare, a brand of skincare lines that can be used to treat multiple skin issues and are cost-effective and suitable for both women and men of all skin types. Here, she shares her 5 Rules For Life.
- Drink 6 glasses of water a day
Our bodies are made of water, a constant flux of in and out. When we are born, our bodies are approximately 75% water and as we age, this drops to 55%. It is important to replenish this loss as we age. The skin is the largest organ of the body and water loss occurs through this organ. Hydration feeds your cells and helps our bodies rid themselves of toxins. When we are dehydrated, we not only experience sluggishness of our organs, but our skin appears more wrinkled and dry — this makes us more prone to rashes and breakouts. Benefits of getting adequate hydration include, flushing out toxins, requiring less carbohydrate intake, and younger looking skin.
- Get 8 hours of sleep.
Our bodies need this amount of rest on a cellular level. When the body is resting and asleep, the cells of all the organs are able to regenerate and heal from the insults of the day. This gives our DNA time to repair so that the next time it is replicated, there are no mistakes or mutations. Our muscles and skeletal system heals itself when we are at rest. Our brains shut down and re-boosts itself, and our skin has a chance to regenerate as well. When we are lacking in sleep, we get irritable, agitated, and increase our risks for inflammatory conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Our skin shows the signs of not enough rest, by delayed wound healing. Sleep is necessary for slowing aging caused by free radical damage. Benefits of getting enough rest include mental stability, higher pain threshold, decreased inflammation in the body and younger looking skin.
- Take a multivitamin
It would be wonderful if we were actually able to take in all the necessary minerals and vitamins that we need on a daily basis through our diets. In today’s busy world, of genetically engineered food, we find that we are still deficient in important vitamins and minerals such as Vitamin D, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper. It is hard to ensure that one’s daily food intake is adequate on what we need, and if it is in adequate amounts. One way to ensure that we still get these essential vitamins and minerals is to take a multivitamin on a daily basis. Our bodies will absorb what it needs and we excrete the rest. Benefits of taking a multivitamin include increased energy levels, growth of skin hair and nails, and younger looking skin.
- Take a probiotic
Probiotics are “normal” or “healthy” gut bacteria. The skin is the largest immune organ in the body and the gut is the second. When our bodies have an overgrowth of different bacteria in the gut, through taking antibiotics or eating poorly, there are immune pockets in the gut that react to the overgrowth — this results in a heightened immune response or increased inflammation in the body. There can also be malabsorption of food/nutrients as well that can happen when the gut is not happy. Disease processes in the body, as well as aging, have an inflammatory component. Probiotics help curb inflammation in the body and decrease most disease states overall. Benefits of taking a probiotic include regular bowel habits, decreased risk for auto-immune diseases, fewer infections in the body and younger looking skin.
- Be kind to everyone
Compassion is an innate virtue. Studies have shown that babies and infants who cannot express themselves are drawn to acts of compassion and kindness. Babies who watched a small skit using toys either helping or hurting one another, when given the option to choose one of the toys to play with, almost always choose the helpful toy in the skit. Humans are hard-wired to work as a team and help one another to increase our chances of survival and success. This virtue is in our DNA and yet so many times we unlearn it for myriad reasons. Like the above rules to live by, this is a necessity as well. Our bodies and humanity will thank us.
