Recently, Nu Skin Enterprises’ pharmaceutical affiliate, Pharmanex, announced the arrival of a new technology designed to measure one of the more important building blocks of overall health. The BioPhotonic Scanner is an innovative machine designed to measure the Skin Carotenoid Score (SCS) in an individual’s body. The SCS is a measurement of the presence of carotenoid antioxidants in a person’s skin.
As we all (should) know, antioxidants are the body’s first line of defense against free radicals – pollutants, environmental agents, and possible carcinogens that attack our cells and damage tissue in the skin, brain, and blood vessels. Carotenoids are powerful antioxidants that neutralize these free radicals and are absorbed in human plasma and tissue.
Pharmanex’s patented BioPhotonic Scanner uses laser technology to ascertain the stable level of carotenoid antioxidants in your skin – a "reliable biomarker" on which your overall antioxidant defense level can be based. The machine, intimidating as it sounds, is actually very easy to use. You put your hand in front of the portable machine where a low-energy blue light laser is being emitted. You keep your hand for a few nerve-wracking seconds and the scanner gives a count quantified by four different zones.
A low carotenoid antioxidant count (10,000-19,000) puts you in the red zone. The yellow zone measures a moderate presence of skin carotenoids (20,000-29,000). A moderate to high presence of skin carotenoids (30,000-39,000) earns you the green zone, while the desirable blue zone requires a high skin carotenoid count of 40,000 above.
I may have been less than eager to test for my SCS on the BioPhotonic Scanner, but I was pretty sure that I was going to end up in the yellow zone at the very least. I was slim, a non-smoker, was pretty active, and, at that time, was a pesco-vegetarian. When my carotenoid count showed up in the red zone (a mere 18,000), I was stunned. Shocked. To my side, Pharmanex president Dr. Joseph Chang Drolly says, "Oh, she’s dead."
Like a lover who just had her heart broken, I went from being shocked ("Excuse me?!?") to being dismayed ("Oh no, I’m dead."). Then I began to deny my situation ("This can’t be. I’ve got so much energy!"), after which I experienced the briefest spurt of anger ("What’s the use of not eating chemically-repleted meat?") before I finally accepted my red zone showing ("I’m a thousand and one short of entering the yellow zone. What do I do?"). When Dr. Chang began to elaborate on the possible factors that influence one’s Skin Carotenoid Score, I took down notes.
Diet is the most important influence on carotenoid count. People who eat a good amount of vegetables and fruits rich in carotenoid antioxidants tend to score higher. My avoidance of meat didn’t necessarily mean that I ate enough of the green, leafy stuff. Body fat percentage also affects one’s SCS. Overweight or people with a high amount of body fat are more prone to failing the test. A stressful lifestyle or lifestyle with excessive exposure to free radical sources such as tobacco smoke, sunlight, and environmental pollution decreases your score. Genes can also determine a favorable score. If your DNA is antioxidant-friendly, allowing your body to absorb carotenoids well, then you’ll fare better with the BioPhotonic Scanner.
Another important factor that can influence your SCS score involves your vitamin supplement intake. A daily ingestion of supplements rich in carotenoid antioxidants ensures a higher score. Pharmanex’s LifePak, is "a comprehensive multi-vitamin/ mineral dietary supplementation" that increases antioxidant levels in the body and addresses nutrient deficiencies. Four capsules compose each pack which are fortified with a balanced B-vitamin formula, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and other minerals not synthesized by the body. LifePak also contains anti-aging nutrients that promote cellular protection and regeneration, stabilize bone metabolism, and aid in immunity. According to Pharmanex, consuming six or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily and LifePak gives a higher SCS rating (they encourage taking LifePak for 60 days before coming back for a second scanning) and, along with good nutrition and sufficient exercise, will aid in the achievement of overall health.
I left the press conference that day with a Bioscan certificate in one hand and a box of LifePak supplements in another, a little more humbleness in my step, and an overabundance of determination in mind. I told myself I was going to be healthy in the real sense of the word. I was going to get my antioxidant levels up and my toxin levels at a low. And I wouldn’t need to rely on a tan the next time I try to convince people that I was healthy.