Can A Pill Make Us More Beautiful? 7 Beauty-Boosting Supplements Worth Trying

Can a pill make you more beautiful? [Photo: Getty]

Would you take a supplement if it was going to make you look or feel better? Of course we know we should have a balanced diet and live healthily but it’s hard to resist the temptation of improving your skin, your hair or your energy levels with just a small tablet.

But do beauty supplements actually work? And if so, what kind of supplements should we take? Here’s our guide to why you might want to try one and our pick of the best beauty supplements available.

Should we be taking supplements?

According to Nutritional Therapist, éva Hamilton, we have two different ages. A chronological age which determines how many years we’ve been living and a biological age, which reflects the health and the true age of our cells, including the vitality of our skin.

“While it’s impossible to change our chronological age, the good news is we can combat the effects of accelerated ‘biological ageing’ through positive lifestyle changes and by boosting the level of antioxidants in our diet.”

Eating healthy can be difficult [Photo: Getty]

Although many of the nutrients and elements we need are widely available in food or created within the body, sometimes you just need to take a supplement to get our nutrient levels to where they should be. Our diets aren’t always the healthiest (to say the least!) and other aggressors like stress, illness and pollution can also affect our own vitamin and mineral stores.

Rather than trying to take everything and anything, you should try and focus on a specific concern. Are you having a constant bad skin day? Are you finding yourself feeling lethargic during the day? By focusing on one thing at a time, it will be easier notice any differences once you start taking the supplements. Don’t fall into the trap of starting lots of new supplements all at once, you’ll be less able to notice which one actually makes a difference.

Strengthen skin defences with protective antioxidants

One of the key accelerators of premature ageing is oxidative stress from free radicals. Antioxidants defend your cells against damaging pollutants and play a significant role in your health. Kim Pearson, Nutritionist and Skin Health Expert explains “When there are a lack of protective antioxidants in the body, free radicals attack our cells which damages their molecular structure. This accelerates cellular ageing and contributes to the appearance of aged skin.”

Try Revidox (￡35), a new supplement which is clinically proven to fight the signs of ageing on a cellular level. Available from pharmacies from July, Revidox contains a patented form of Resveratrol - the stuff which supposedly makes red wine better than white.

Resveratrol is actually a powerful antioxidant derived from the skin of grapes and it’s paired alongside other skin-boosting compounds like Zinc and Selenium so take this supplement and you might see an improvement in fine lines and skin texture. When tested in clinical trials, 84% of women did notice a difference in their skin.

Get your five-a-day with powder supplements.

We all know that brightly coloured fruit and vegetables are good for us. The phytonutrients in them like betacarotene (found in carrots) and lycopene (found in tomatoes) have even been shown to protect the skin from sun damage.

Despite the benefits, getting our five-a-day is still a struggle, especially when we’re expected to eat a range of fruit and veg, in a rainbow of different colours.

Making smoothies and juices is relatively simple and fun way to get our 5-a-day fix but can be time consuming (and messy) when you’ve only got 10 minutes before you need to leave the house. Why not try the Bioglan Superfood Supergreens Powder (￡19.99) which contains the vital nutrients gained from fruits and vegetables, without the hassle.

Containing broccoli powder, beetroot and kelp among 81 other ingredients, this is ideal if you’re a fussy eater who doesn’t like their greens. Powders are an easy way to get important nutrients into your daily diet, just mix into water or juice for an instant nutrient cocktail.

Get better sleep with Magnesium

Having trouble sleeping? Stress and illness all affect our body’s natural ways to wind down at night so taking a supplement might be helpful if you’ve been travelling or working late and have messed up your body clock. Magnesium and Vitamin B6 help to rebalance energy levels so that you can get better sleep at the right time.

You can normally find these in dark, leafy greens, nuts and fish but to be honest, who really wants to eat kale when you could just have a small tablet? Try We Support Fatigue Reduction (￡6.99) which contains 100% of the recommended daily allowance of Magnesium to help maintain healthy energy production processes.

Support your skin with Collagen

Collagen is a natural protein in the skin which is one of the main building blocks for cell tissue. It’s often referred to as the scaffolding within your skin. The body naturally produces collagen but this production slow as part of the natural ageing process. There are plenty of face creams with collagen in them but you can also boost collagen levels by taking a supplement internally.

If you hate taking tablets, Pure Gold Collagen (￡35.99) is a liquid beauty supplement which is designed to re-activate the formation of collagen to give you brighter, more youthful looking skin. It’s a peach and passion fruit flavoured liquid with a bit of a spicy kick and claims to be up to 20 times more powerful than a collagen pill.

Get stronger hair and nails with Biotin

Did you know hair and nails are both made out of the same thing, keratin? If you’ve been trying to grow your nails, only to have them snap or break, then a Biotin supplement might be for you.

Known as Vitamin H, Biotin is actually a type of B Vitamin which helps the body convert food into energy. The word biotin is literally derived from the Greek work for sustenance and there are claims that a higher biotin intake can regular blood sugar and promote healthy hair and nails.

Biotin is regularly available in eggs, nuts and whole grains but some cooking or food processing can actually render biotin ineffective so a supplement is sometimes advised.

Try Imedeen Hair and Nails (￡21.24) which contains Biotin, alongside Zinc to contribute to the maintenance of healthy hair and nails.

Hydrate from the inside with Hyaluronic Acid

8 glasses of water a day can be a struggle for a lot of us so if you’re experiencing dehydrated skin and dry lips, why not help your body out by taking a hyaluronic acid supplement? Hyaluronic acid is a natural component of the skin which binds and holds water – it’s said that a molecule can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water.

By surrounding your skin with these moisture molecules, your cells will be more hydrated and likely to result in a visibly plumper looking skin.

Like Collagen, Hyaluronic acid can also be applied to the face but if you’ve got sensitive skin, try a supplement like Overnight Facial by Sarah Chapman (￡39.10) which is designed to transform your skin while you snooze. Could getting good skin BE any easier?

Get your glow back with Gluthathione

Glutathione is produced naturally by the liver and is also found in fruit, vegetables and meat. The medical profession has been praising the benefits of Glutathione for a while and it’s great for building and repairing skin cells. If you’re guilty of a not-so-varied die (you know who you are), you can also get your Gluthathione intake through a supplement.

Try The Glow Molecule (￡38), a calpol-like liquid which has a highly-concentrated form of Glutathione which brings out a bright, youthful-looking glow within a week of use. The good news is that it also tastes delicious – even the Xylitol sweetener used has been reported to aid collagen production. An all-round winner in our books.

Do you think beauty supplements do anything? Do you find it difficult to maintain a healthy diet without them? Tweet us your thoughts @YahooStyleUK.

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