The Holiday Season and its Effect on Rosacea Symptoms and Triggers

Welcome to the holiday season — that whirlwind of gift-giving holidays, marketing blitzes, holiday parties and activities galore that begins right after Halloween, builds to Thanksgiving, and continues gaining momentum through the end of the year.  This is a great time to enjoy your family, friends, relatives, loved ones and make new acquaintances.

While this season is meant to bring feelings of love and cheer, it’s also the harbinger of holiday stress for many. In fact, studies indicate that over 80% of all people find the holiday season to be stressful – in good and bad ways.  For most rosacea sufferers holiday stress can be overwhelming and lead to increased flushing,  facial redness, breakouts and flares… all of which  add to the stress load.  Stress of any kind is the number one trigger for rosacea sufferers and can turn a joyous holiday season into a nightmare.

Understanding Stress

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences. When people feel stressed by something going on around them, their bodies react by releasing chemicals and neurotransmitters into the blood. These chemicals give people more energy, strength and blood flow, which can be a good thing if their stress is caused by physical danger.  But this can also be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to something emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and blood flow.  No matter what type of stress rosacea sufferers’ encounter, the body increases blood flow to the facial skin through “dilator stress hormones” and “dilator stress nerves”… triggering facial flushing and rosacea flares.

Rosadyn can help reduce holiday related stress flares

During Stress Five Key Pathways are responsible for causing Facial Flushing and Rosacea Flares

(1)  Cortisol Levels Increase. This dilator stress hormone is produced by the adrenal glands during stress.  This is the most potent dilator hormone produced  by the body.

(2)  Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH) Levels Increase. This dilator stress hormone is produced by the brain during stress.  Not only does this directly dilate facial blood vessels, but it triggers the release of four complimentary hormones that reinforce the flushing response.

(3) Dilator Nerve Activity to Facial Skin Increases. Major dilator nerves that innervate facial skin cells and blood vessels are activated during stress.  These nerves trigger a dilator and inflammatory response that can proceed unchecked hours after the initial stress stimulus.

(4) Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Levels in the Brain Decrease. GABA, the main “calming” neurotransmitter in the brain decreases substantially during periods of stress which allows flushing to go unabated.

(5) Serotonin Levels in the Brain Decrease. Serotonin, a key neurotransmitter in the brain that keeps nerves and hormones in check, decreases substantially during periods of stress which allows flushing to go unchecked.

How does Rosadyn help to reduce stress-induced redness, flares and triggers

(1) PharmaGABA.  PharmaGABA is naturally manufactured from Lactobacilous hilbardii, the bacteria frequently used to ferment vegetables during food preparation.   Clinical studies on rosacea sufferers have found that many suffer from an over-active hypothalamus due to low levels of GABA.  PharmaGaba acts on GABA-receptors throughout the hypothalamus and induce a strong calming effect without causing drowsiness.  PharmaGABA easily crosses the blood-brain barrier to produce relaxation and studies have demonstrated that it also increases brain alpha waves (calming waves) and decreases beta waves (stess-related brain activity)

which is a classic sign of relaxation.  This calming action inhibits rosacea flushing during stressful periods and subsequent flares.  PharmaGABA has shown impressive clinical results in combating stress,  anxiety, fatigue, overexertion, and has been shown clinically to lower cortisol and ACTH levels (the major stress hormones) by up to 70%.  So PharmGABA reduces Cortisol levels, ACTH levels and Dilator Nerve Activity from the Hypothalamus by supplying the brain with GABA during stressful periods.  Buyer Beware – Do not purchase synthetic GABA because the molecules are too large to pass the blood brain barrier.  Although there are dozens of synthetic brands of GABA on the market they have no effect on stress levels or rosacea flares because they are inactive molecules.

(2) L-Theanine. Theanine is the only patented pharmaceutical grade extract from the green tea leaf. L-Theanine plays an important role in the formation of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Scientific and clinical studies on L-Theanine demonstrate that its GABA stimulatory effect lowers stress and anxiety responses in the brain (typically key triggers for rosacea sufferers).  Clinical studies on rosacea sufferers have found that many suffer from an over-active hypothalamus with extremely low levels of GABA.  L-Theanine acts on GABA-receptors throughout the hypothalamus inducing a naturally calming effect that reduces rosacea flushing and flares.   L-Theanine also stimulates the production of GABA which reduces Cortisol and ACTH levels.   You will find many inexpensive L-Theanine brands on the Internet, but please be forewarned — most are ineffective due to the painstaking procedures that must be used to safely remove the fragile active ingredients from green tea leaf.  That is why we only use L-Theanine manufactured by an FDA compliant pharmaceutical company.  When combined with PharmaGABA, L-theanine has positive synergistic actions on reducing skin stress reactions.

(3) Rosadyn Phospholipids. The blood vessels in the brain are built to protect harmful substances from getting through the vessel wall and damaging brain cells.  This means that many supplements and medications do not pass through the vessel wall and reach brain cells.  PharmaGABA and L-Theanine have been clinically shown to pass through the blood vessels and deliver GABA, stimulate GABA receptors, and calm overactive dilator nerves; however, with Rosadyn’s proprietary Phospholipid Complex that binds onto these active ingredients, it increases the passage of PharmGABA and L-Theanine through the blood vessel lipid membrane, by up to 40% to ensure full delivery of active ingredients to the proper areas of the brain.  These proprietary phospholipids make Rosadyn  unique in comparison with other nutraceuticals and greatly increase its overall effectiveness.

 

(4) Sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is an organo-sulfur compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous

Sulforaphane helps reduce facial redness and flushing in rosacea rosadyn+

Sulforaphane helps reduce facial redness and flushing

Vegetables that has been shown to stimulate the production of Serotonin in the brain and sensitize serotonin receptors to make this neurotransmitter more effective.  Most rosacea sufferers have low brain serotonin levels, especially during periods of stress and anxiety.  Researchers have been studying the effect of stress and anxiety on Serotonin levels using electroencephalography (EEG) and other monitoring devices. To measure Serotonin levels noninvasively during stress responses, scientists use a novel form of magnetic resonance spectroscopy which uses magnetic resonance imaging to measure Serotonin levels during stressful and non-stressful events.  During stressful situations Serotonin can decrease by 60% to 80% within minutes of stressful stimuli.  Thus, high levels of Serotonin are needed to reduce flushing responses originating from various regions of the brain during stress, anxiety and fatigue.  So, by increasing Serotonin levels and activating their receptors, Sulforaphane is an important ingredient in battling rosacea flushing and flares during the Holidays.

(Learn more about how Rosadyn rosacea treatment helps all rosacea symptoms here)

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