What can I do to prevent stretch marks?

Example of post-pregnancy stretch marks

"I have 6 weeks left of my pregnancy and have found two tiny little pink stretch marks on my lower stomach. They are only like 1 cm long each but I don't want them to get any worse. I've been taking zinc for the last 6 months and that has helped heaps! I hadn't had any stretch marks (apart from the white ones I already had on my body before I was pregnant) up until now. What do the pink/purple stretch marks indicate I could be deficient in?"

"S"

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Gary:

Skin can be one of the first areas to show a zinc deficiency.  Zinc deficiency has been found in various diseases that involve the skin, such as lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, eczema and psoriasis.

Stretch marks are a good indicator of zinc deficiency.  Since the skin depends upon zinc for its normal integrity, a deficiency allows the skin to tear just below the surface, producing scarring that appears as stretch marks.  Unfortunately these are permanent, so prevention is critical.  

This kind of damage is most common in women and happens during the hormone surge of puberty and during pregnancy, both also made more likely because of rapid growth.  Stretch marks are common in bodybuilders who have high demands for zinc while often being on low zinc diets (chicken and rice).  Zinc and most other minerals are low in the modern diet.

It is important, when trying to prevent stretch marks to realise that zinc and copper are the catalysts for the production of estrogen and progesterone respectively.  If there is a surge of estrogen during puberty, or an excess due to a previous severe viral infection such as Glandular Fever, there will be a surge of copper in the body and this will create conditions of a relative zinc deficiency.  An estrogen or copper IUD contraceptive will cause a zinc deficiency.  We can pick this up with the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA).

The colour of stretch marks is a good indicator of whether there is an absolute imbalance or an imbalance relative to copper (zinc and copper must be in balance with each other for there to be healthy skin).  If there is an excess of copper relative to zinc, the stretch marks will be silver.  If there is an absolute zinc deficiency, the stretch marks will be purple.  Fortunately, the less unsightly silver stretch marks are more common.  However, all stretch marks are unsightly and best prevented in the first place.  Nobody wants these.

Nails are a good indicator of zinc deficiency as well.  Zinc is required for growth and healing.  If there is insufficient zinc for growth of the nail there will be white deformities in the nail which often coincide with periods of physical stress, such as an infection, an injury, or excessive exercise causing muscle damage.  White spots on nails are from zinc deficiency - not calcium.

Prevention:

In all cases, for prevention and for ensuring the problem does not get worse, I urge you to get a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis done.  Here is the link for the HTMA test.  And here is the link for the consultation to review the report and to work out what to do.

Silver stretch marks

This is due to an imbalance of zinc relative to copper.  Depending on your health history, we may need to take measure to reduce copper in the body.  If you have had a severe viral infection or on medication such as a contraceptive, or anti-depressant it is best you do the works - the HTMA test and consultation with me.  If there are no complicating factors the best action is to increase your intake of zinc.  It is important to take extra vitamin C and B vitamins with the zinc.  Naturopaths Own Daily C is close to the perfect zinc and vitamin C concoction for stretch marks.

Purple stretch marks

Purple means very low levels zinc, usually associated with high levels of copper.  The HTMA and consultation are also recommended.  In the meantime, take a zinc supplement along with the B vitamins.  Vitamin C may be needed but it is best to wait for the test results before taking large doses of vitamin C because vitamin C helps flush copper out of the body and we don't want to do that if copper levels are already low.  However, one teaspoon a day of   Naturopaths Own Daily C is a safe start and then modify things once the test results are in.

For preventing both silver and purple stretch marks

Take silica

Silica is a proven skin beauty product that does not get much in the way of publicity.  I think the only reason why is because the source is really cheap herbs that the mega beauty product corporations can't monopolise and sell at exorbitant prices.  I have been using silica for skin conditions for years and have clients who swear by it and who refuse to stop taking it (its safe to take by the way).  The best product I have containing silica is this one here: Silaplex.  You'll note the attractive price!

Avoid obesity

Avoid getting overweight, especially with rapid gains because this stretches and stresses the skin.  

If there is a zinc problem then bear in mind that skin loses its elasticity, so large weight losses may result in permanently loose, flabby skin.  

The same process happens during pregnancy; but I am not advising avoiding pregnancy!

Sorry - this must be depressing to read!

Keep strong

Strong muscles that keep the belly and thighs trim and tight are one of the most important things you can do to prevent stretch marks, but bear in mind exercise alone is not the full solution.  

Exercise during pregnancy is important and safe to do, so long as you follow some simple advice.  My daughter, Mary-Ann, recently had a healthy baby and has absolutely no stretch marks.  In fact you would never tell from her tummy that she was ever pregnant!  Here is her blog with several articles about pregnancy exercises and diet: http://mazzamoller.blogspot.co.nz/ 

Take extra collagen

Forget about the over-priced pills that you really would need to take heaps of daily for any benefit: Make yourself chicken soup and have a cup or two each day.  Go to your local butcher or supermarket and ask for a couple of chicken frames which you will get for a few dollars each. Boil these up in a big pot, following your favourite chicken soup recipe.  This collagen - rich soup is just what the doctor ordered for your skin, hair and nail - and digestive tract.

Once you have stretch marks

Sadly, there is not much you can do other than to prevent further damage by following the advice earlier in this article about zinc, silica and chicken soup.

It makes good sense to look after your skin with moisturisers.  You can't go wrong with using pure virgin coconut oil as your moisturiser.  Apply it to the skin, let it soak in for a short while then gently dab the excess off.

If you are feeling a little depressed about stretch marks after reading this article, then there is one further piece of advice I can give you; whether you already have stretch marks or not and this is:

ACTION!  

The best response is to act now before it happens, or before things get worse!

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

Kiwi women are dying of broken hearts

"Healthy women in their 20s were vulnerable to arterial tearing, a rare condition understood to be genetic, but doctors were still unsure of its cause, Grines said. "There's a genetic predisposition for tearing of major arteries, but there's much less known about smaller arteries. We're trying to collect information and we're doing blood tests to see if it's genetic."

Full article here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/7116578/Kiwi-women-are-dying-of-broken-hearts

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High zinc on the HTMA represent zinc loss
from the body, as well as estrogen dominance.

Gary:

I guess the idea of Kiwi women dying of broken hearts is a romantic and catchy idea that makes for good press copy, but I think they are way off the mark.  Boo, hoo, hoo!  

More research is proposed. Gosh! I find these articles frustrating to read.

The author's reference to arterial tearing in the article grabbed my attention.  Its a condition that I have come across several times in high performance female athletes and, more rarely, in male athletes.  The treatment for this condition is a mix if retirement from competition and/or grafting pig or bovine arterial tissue over the lesion.  This surgery is very high-risk, costs at least $30,000 and, in my experience, does not work - the condition comes back, if it ever went away!  The athlete retires.  This is because the real underlying causes have not been dealt with.

What happens is the artery is becoming scarred and inflexible to the point of tearing (cracking).  It is usually seen in female endurance athletes at a point such as the groin or the back of the knee.  It is at such points in the body that extreme repetitive flexing and extending of the arteries happens, such as when running and cycling.  

Think of the artery as being like a plastic garden hose that has been left out in the sun for too long and perished.  If it is is flexed repeatedly, it will crack and eventually leak.  This is what is happening to the arteries of these young women.  But why?

Why is arterial scarring and tearing more common in young women?

First, its not a genetic problem, unless you think that being female is a problem.  I believe the cause is very simple: Zinc deficiency combined with excessive flexing of the arteries during to extreme exercise, such as happens in professional cycling or competing in Iron Man.

Zinc is essential for healthy connective tissue.  

When zinc is deficient connective tissue becomes thin and weak. Instead of being like bouncy, stretchy lycra fabric, the tissue becomes more like a rotten sail cloth. Instead of flexing like a trampoline bed, it tears apart. The best example of this is the sub-dermal tearing of the skin in a zinc deficient person, causing permanent stretch marks.

Incidentally, if the deficiency is due to a relative excess of copper relative to zinc in the body, then the stretch marks will be silver.  If there is an absolute deficiency of zinc in the body, then the stretch marks will be purple.

Exercise depletes zinc

Zinc is used by the body for a number of purposes, including tissue repair and healing.  An athlete is constantly causing tissue damage and therefore requires much, much more than the average person.  More than can be supplied even with the best of diets.  Every athlete I have tested, including myself, is low in zinc.

Our foods are deficient in zinc.

New Zealand soils have little or no zinc.  Therefore, unless zinc has been added to the soil our crops and animals are poor sources of zinc.  The best sources of zinc come from the offal parts of animals (assuming the animal is not zinc deficient).  Few people eat these parts nowadays.

Young women need much more zinc than men.

The female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, require zinc and copper for their manufacture.  Copper and zinc must also be in careful balance for there to be balance between estrogen and progesterone.  High copper, such as occurs when on many contraceptives, the most obvious being a copper IUD, tricks the body into thinking it is pregnant.  The consequence is an imbalance between copper and zinc - a relative deficiency of zinc to copper.  Women need more zinc as compared to men for this reason.  

This imbalance between copper and zinc will predispose the woman to collagen tearing.  This will be seen as young women being more susceptible to unsightly stretch marks, ligament and tendon tears, stress fractures, scoliosis and non-traumatic disc prolapse.

Female contraceptives have a lot to answer for.

Read here for more about this.

Supplementing with zinc.

Is easier said than done.  Zinc is a funny element: The less you give, the more you absorb.  The more you give, the less you absorb.  So, the key to supplementation is to take small amounts of zinc throughout the day every day.  I have found that the best way to do this is through the Super Smoothie with extra added zinc, which you drink a glass of several times a day.

Is there going to be a gene therapy solution?

Come on! - Name me one gene therapy cure that has come from the countless millions that has been spent to date on searching for the genes that cause disease?  I can't think of one - can you?  I am becoming a real cynic of these gene research programmes.  I feel they are distracting all of us from what we already know, including the practical solutions.  At the same time millions of precious health funds, much of it donated, is being diverted into endless and extremely costly research which may never produce a practical, affordable health benefit.

When these genetic studies are reported, there is always the recommendation that there needs to be even more research into the genetic causes.  Its an endless gravy train for these researchers and the institutions they represent.  Of course there should be research into these matters but this should not be at the cost of millions of dollars being diverted from practical, grass-roots health interventions.

Yes, women, by virtue of their hormones, and therefore, their genes, need more zinc.  Instead of wasting our time trying to find the genes that predispose a woman to arterial tearing, let's get on with correcting the root causes - Contraceptive use, zinc deficient diets and poor training programmes and competitions that thrash these young women into a state of chronic exhaustion.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Why do your hands go purple when they are cold?

Have a look at my hands in this video which was made in 2007.  I was seriously zinc deficient and it sure did show. Despite being indoors with heating on, my hands have a distinctly purple look about them.  Coincidentally, the skin on the back of my hands was fragile and easily skinned and very, very slow to heal.

Now, have a look at the same hairy hand, today four years later and four years older, outside in freezing weather while the rest of me is bundled up in a fat down ski jacket.  If ever my hands should go purple it is in these conditions.  While there is still some discoloration it is nothing like before.  I have also noted far less tendency to damage the skin and it heals much faster.

I put this improvement down to getting the balance between zinc and copper about right but this has taken several years of trying and still a work in progress.  Zinc and copper are critical for the regulation of many important functions in the body, including fluid flow and collagen synthesis.  If there is a zinc deficiency, tissues will tear, rather than stretch.  This is why zinc deficiency is the cause of stretch marks, slow growth, poor healing and ulcerations.  One characteristic of zinc deficiency is the purple appearance that develops and is most apparent under the eyes and in the skin of the hands and feet.  This purple appearance will show as purple scars and purple stretch marks where there is an absolute deficiency of zinc.

People, such as athletes, who do hard physical exercise need bucket loads of zinc.  Years of "excessive-compulsive" exercise explains my zinc deficiency.  Zinc is in high demand whenever there is tissue damage, be it from injury or just hard exercise.  Zinc deficiency causes a loss of smell and taste and explains the often marked loss of appetite in patients following a severe physical injury or major surgery when zinc reserves are severely stressed.

Merely replacing zinc by way of a supplement may yield less than pleasing results.  This is because there are many other factors at play.  For example, there may be a lack of pyridoxine and/or molybdenum which will prevent the proper utilisation of zinc.  Even the tiniest amounts of lead and mercury interfere with zinc metabolism and excess copper will drive zinc out of the cells.  The best way to determine your nutrient requirements, including zinc is to get a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis completed and use it to guide your diet and supplementation.  Here is a good place to start to get an idea of the power of the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis.

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.  Please give me your support by subscribing to my free email updates. Please shop at my Online Store. Please encourage your family and friends to do the same. While we may not always be able to compete with the big operators on price, we aim to more than compensate through personal service!

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Do you have a question?  Email Gary: gary@myotec.co.nz. Include any relevant background information to your question.  Please be patient and be aware that I may not be able to answer every inquiry in detail, depending on workloads (My paying clients take precedence!). I will either reply by email or, most likely, by way of an article (Personal identifying details will be removed before publication).