April 29, 2021
When you look good, you feel better—and vice versa. And while we may not be getting dolled up to hit the town very often these days, COVID hasn’t disrupted the nutri-beauty market (a.k.a. beauty from within, a.k.a. nutricosmetics, a.k.a. cosmeceuticals—those ingestible products taken for beauty purposes).
That free radical generation can be caused by a number of things. Steve Holtby, President & CEO, Soft Gel Technologies, Inc. (SGTI), lists several: “Free radicals may be introduced into the body as a result of environmental toxins, stress, a sugar- and trans fat-laden diet, and exposure to ultraviolet light, to name a few. Cosmeceuticals with antioxidant properties are able to combat oxidative damage at a cellular level.”
Vitamin E is another antioxidant, and Holtby says it shares an important property with a few of the other antioxidants listed here. “Most antioxidants lose their protective power once they have quenched a single free radical. Five antioxidants—alpha lipoic acid, the complete vitamin E complex, vitamin C, glutathione, and coenzyme Q10—are unique in their synergistic ability to recycle one another into their active antioxidant forms. Specifically, vitamin E works synergistically with other antioxidants, such as vitamin C. In order to inactivate free radicals, the vitamin E molecule must accept the extra electron from the free radical. In doing so, the vitamin E molecule becomes inactivated. Vitamin C takes the extra electron from the vitamin E molecule, recycling vitamin E and restoring the antioxidant power to vitamin E. Alpha lipoic acid, like vitamin C, can also recycle vitamin E. The cooperation between these antioxidants keeps the first line of defense strong.”
“Unfortunately, HA synthesis declines as we age,” explains Holtby. “We lose water, when we actually want it to stick around and help us maintain that youthful appearance and stay agile. As people age, the body synthesizes less hyaluronic acid, and because of its short half-life, HA is depleted quickly in the epidermis. Depletion of HA in the extracellular matrix of the skin causes elastin to dry up and become brittle, which leads to fine lines and rough, dry, brittle skin.” SGTI offers Injuv, which has a low molecular weight for improved absorption. “After taking Injuv for 30 days,” Holtby says, “52 subjects in the test group showed significant improvement in skin moisture without any adverse effects.”
