Good beauty supplements can help improve skin tone, elasticity, and prevent wrinkles. They do this in a way that is much more effective than any anti-aging creams, although those do improve the appearance of skin. Learn about the best ones, with recommended dosages.

Choosing antioxidants to supplement your regular skin routine is an approach that has been validated scientifically. A study by French scientists found that people taking vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene had 23% fewer new wrinkles, and a reduction in existing wrinkles of 8%. Antioxidants stop the breakdown of collagen and elastin by free radicals.

Foods with the highest levels of antioxidants, as measured by the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), listed from the highest: prunes, raisins, blueberries, kale, cranberries, spinach, raspberries, Brussels sprouts, plums and broccoli.

Vitamin A is another important nutrient for the skin. A deficiency in vitamin A will reduce the effectiveness of skin treatments. Vitamin A is needed for the normal growth and renewal of skin cells. Our skin cells are constantly replacing each other, and new ones are pushed up to the surface as the old ones slough off. Not only is vitamin A an antioxidant, but it also nourishes the fat layer underneath the skin. Vitamin A keeps skin supple, and may prevent skin damage.

Symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include dry and rough skin, localized breakouts, fragile skin, wrinkle prone skin, poor skin texture, and splitting nails.

One thing to remember with taking vitamin A supplements is not to exceed the recommended daily dose, as it can build up in your body if taken in excess. Taking 10000 IU per day is fine.

Vitamin C is another important beauty supplement. Not only does it help in skin repair by building collagen, but lower levels of vitamin C in the skin are associated with aging and UV damage. Taking 500mg to 2000mg per day, in divided doses, is recommended.

An excellent antioxidant supplement to take is alpha lipoic acid (ALA), especially if you’re taking the other antioxidant vitamins C and E, and coenzyme Q10. Alpha lipoic acid is not only an antioxidant in its own right, but it has the capacity to recycle these other antioxidants. Alpha lipoic acid is also an anti-inflammatory agent, and improves insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is associated with obesity and heart disease. ALA increases the rate at which glucose is removed from the bloodstream, and helps the body detoxify metals that have accumulated. Alpha lipoic acid also prevents the cross-linking of fibers, which leads to aging and the development of wrinkles.

Alpha lipoic acid is produced by the body, but only in small amounts. It is used by the cells in their production of cellular energy, and we only benefit from its antioxidant effects if the amount of ALA in our bodies is greater than that which our cells need for normal functioning. And, unfortunately, the levels of ALA in our body decline as we age.

One advantage of alpha lipoic acid is that it is both fat and water-soluble. This means it can work in all parts of our body, making it very versatile. Most antioxidants are either fat or water-soluble, but not both. For example, vitamin A is fat soluble, and vitamin C is water-soluble.

Taking about 50 to 100mg of alpha lipoic acid supplements a day has been suggested, though this supplement has not been tested on pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Anti-Aging Treatment: All About Antioxidants For Your Skin Care

If you are looking for a safe, effortless way to add to your anti-aging treatment beauty regimen, taking antioxidants is perfect for you. This substance has been validated scientifically ever since it has been put to extensive study fifty years ago. A French study revealed that women taking different antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, among others, were found to develop fewer wrinkles and reduce existing ones than those women who don’t. This happens because according to study, antioxidants are the perfect agent to prevent the breakdown of the skin’s most important structural proteins, collagens and elastins.

You can find high contents of antioxidants in foods like the following:

• Raisins
• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Raspberries
• Plums
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts

Vitamin C

The vitamin C is an antioxidant used by many women not only for immunity to sickness but as a significant beauty supplement. It helps in repairing damaged skin by creating collagen. It is important to note that those with lower vitamin C levels are often more susceptible to skin damage. It is recommended that a minimum of 500 mg up to 2000 mg a day is consumed.

Vitamin A

Deficiency can result in reduced effectiveness of your skin care treatments. It can lead to different skin problems such as localized breakouts, rough or dry skin, fragile skin, poor skin texture, wrinkles, and even splitting nails. That is why it is important that your body is using as much vitamin A as needed for renewal and normal growth of your skin cells. The vitamin A serves as antioxidant and keeps your skin supple and helps prevent damage. It also acts as nourishment to the fat layers found underneath your skin.

The ALA, or Alpha Lipoic Acid

The ALA, or alphalipoic acid, is a great antioxidant supplement you can take along with other antioxidants such as the vitamins C, E, plus the coenzyme Q10. The ALA is an important component of your daily supplements as it not only serves as antioxidants in itself but forces other taken antioxidants to be recycled, thus better absorption of these substances. Other benefits of taking ALA are associated with heart disease and obesity. It is known to improve insulin resistance as well as act as an anti-inflammatory agent.

There are more benefits. ALA helps detoxify metals accumulated by the body, as well as boosts the rate of removal of the glucose from your bloodstream. And the main reason why it is an excellent anti-aging treatment for you, it helps stop the occurrence where the fibers are interlinked with each other, a known cause to lead to aging and wrinkle formation.

While the body is capable of producing ALA, it is in very small amounts that only the cells are able to use it for the cellular energy production. The ALA serves the benefits of antioxidants only if being supplied into the body with more amount than those produced by the body for the cells. Unfortunately, production of ALA also declines, just like the collagen and the elastin.

An ALA supplement is therefore important unless you are pregnant or undergoing breastfeeding. It is suggested that a minimum of 50 up to 100mg of the antioxidant is enough to meet the dosage needs. Unlike the other antioxidants, the ALA is both water and fat soluble, which means it can be absorbed by all your body parts.

Can Nutrition Help Slow Down the Aging Process?

Here are a few things that you can do to plan for better nutrition in your diet and a healthier life as you get older:

We all age. That fact is inevitable. But a lot of the negative changes that take place in our bodies are not. As we age, we become more susceptible to such things as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and arthritis. However, medical research has shown that proper nutrition can slow down and even prevent many of these ailments.

It is estimated that nearly one half of all health problems in the elderly are directly related to poor nutrition. The elderly are by and large some of the most poorly nourished people. Some reasons for this are as you age your sense of taste and smell decreases, it is harder to chew, and you just don’t feel hungry.

In some cases, financial reasons may affect the food choices made, and it may be harder to get out and shop for food due to various physical factors. On top of this, as you get older, your body may not be able to absorb some of the nutrition from food as well as it could when you were younger. In some cases, a good multi-vitamin (preferably in liquid form) could help offset this. Your doctor can help you find one that’s right for you.

Here are a few things that you can do to plan for better nutrition in your diet and a healthier life as you get older:

Plan out regular meals for each day and try to include vegetables in at least 2 of them every day. If you must snack, use fruits and vegetables rather than junk food like potato chips and candy.

If you have problems chewing meat, try going with things like fish and ground meats. Also try to eat more soups as they can have plenty of nutrition in them, and they are great choices if you are on a budget.

Make meals more interesting by inviting a friend to lunch or dinner once in a while. Sometimes it can get boring to always eat alone, and having someone over can entice you to get more creative with meals than you might when eating alone.

One thing you can do to ensure that you’ll be getting better nutrition is to make each plate colorful. Different color vegetables for example generally contain different nutrients, so the idea here is, mix it up.

Growing old may be inevitable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow old gracefully and healthier and with a steady diet of proper nutrition, you can maintain better health well into your golden years.