Beauty Boosts

If you want smoother skin, thicker hair, and stronger nails, you can boost your balanced diet with beauty-enhancing supplements, including proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. Here are a few of the best.

Collagen, the face-plumping protein, starts to diminish after age 30, which causes the skin to decrease in thickness by about seven percent every 10 years. Collagen also strengthens hair and nails, and is essential for strong, healthy bones and joints. Although collagen provides the framework, elastin gives skin its stretch, and keratin is the protein that makes up 97 percent of your hair and strengthens nails.

Other crucial nutrients for skin health are EPA and DHA, the omega-3 essential fatty acids in fish oil, as well as GLA, the essential fatty acid in borage and evening primrose oils. Essential fatty acids reside in the membranes that surround skin cells, where they transport nutrients into the cell and waste out of the cell. They also regulate inflammation, retain moisture, promote cell turnover, distribute melanin, and prevent free radical and oxidative damage that causes skin aging.

Studies show that supplementing with EPA and DHA from fish oil inhibits the UV-related damage that causes premature aging and wrinkles. Research also shows that GLA from borage or evening primrose oils reduces skin water loss and improves skin function.

The mineral silicon is necessary for the formation of collagen and bone. Supplementing with orthosilicic acid, the dietary form of silicon, or the herb horsetail, which is rich in silica, can help smooth lines and wrinkles and also help strengthen brittle hair and nails.

Biotin is believed to help hair grow healthier, thicker, and longer. It may also fortify brittle nails, preventing them from splitting and breaking. Your nutritional supplements should also include vitamins A, C, and E, which help healthy skin, hair, and nails grow from the inside out.

View our Orange-Cranberry Collagen Gelatin Squares Recipe

Skin Salvation

Boost skin moisture and elasticity with NeocellGlow Matrix Advanced Skin Hydrator capsules. Rapid-action ceramides from wheat germ oil fortify the skin’s outermost layer, lock in moisture, and prevent collagen breakdown. Antioxidant vitamins, powdered coconut water, hyaluronic acid, borage oil, pine bark extract, astaxanthin, and lutein hydrate while combating free radicals for healthy, smooth skin.

try it! NeoCell is giving away 10 bottles of Glow Matrix to Better Nutrition readers! Email contest@neocell.com with your name and address, and put “BNJune” in the subject line for your chance to win.

The Silicon Secret

Get thicker hair, smoother skin, and stronger nails with Natural FactorsBioSil Hair • Skin • Nailscapsules. Specially formulated silicon and the vitamin B choline activate your skin’s collagen generators to reduce lines and wrinkles and grow thicker hair. They also stimulate the production of keratin for healthier, stronger hair and nails.

Trés Chic

Fight the aging process with Reserveage NutritionTrès Beauty 3 capsules that combine three essential beauty proteins. Collagen is vital for smooth and healthy skin, keratin is the essence of strong hair and nails, and elastin helps preserve the elasticity and firmness of skin. Plus, biotin and hyaluronic acid help support skin hydration and hair and nail growth.

The Fish Oil Glow

Give a healthy boost to your skin, mood, joints, and immune system with Nordic NaturalsComplete Omega XTRA Soft Gels. This essential acid “multi” combines high-potency omega-3s EPA and DHA from fish oil with GLA from borage oil, and omega-9. The lemon flavor means there’s nothing fishy about the taste.

Mineral Magic

Eliminate premature age-causing free radicals at their source with Coral LLCCoral CellEnergy H2.These capsules combine molecular hydrogen small enough to penetrate cells with 74 minerals harvested from above-sea coral, including boron, calcium, chromium, copper, selenium, silicon, and zinc. Improved physical performance and recovery time and reduced inflammation have also been reported.