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Hyaluronic Acid: Why it is Most Effective When You Consume it
Hyaluronic acid products like creams and serums have gained popularity in the health and beauty industry in recent years. And if you know anything about the benefits of hyaluronic acid, this should come as no surprise. This wonder ingredient reduces wrinkles, allowing your skin to maintain its youthful appearance.
But did you know that hyaluronic acid can also be taken orally? In this form, it improves the function of your joints and offers a wide range of health benefits.
Keep reading to learn more about why hyaluronic acid is most effective when you consume it.
What is Hyaluronic Acid?
Another word for hyaluronic acid is hyaluronan. Medically speaking, it's a glycosaminoglycan, a form of complex carbohydrate. It's a clear, soft, sticky substance naturally made in your body and commonly found in connective tissue, eyes, and skin. One of its jobs is to keep your skin moist, which helps to give you a youthful glow.
Your skin is your largest organ, and about half of the hyaluronic acid produced by your body lives there. But as we age, this amount begins to decline, affecting your skin, eyes, and joints. Using supplements to make up for this loss helps improve your skin and prevent other health problems related to aging.
The Benefits of Hyaluronic Acid
As mentioned, hyaluronic acid for the skin helps to reduce wrinkles, keeping your skin appear hydrated and youthful. But its benefits don't stop there. Hyaluronic acid also treats:
- Osteoarthritis
- Insomnia
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Osteoporosis
- Chronic pain
- Fatigue
- Wound healing
- Acid reflux
- Dry eyes
- Bone strength
Hyaluronic Acid for Skin
Many beauty creams out there contain hyaluronic acid, allowing you to apply it directly to your skin. It helps your skin lock in moisture and plumpness. Helping your skin to stay moist enables it to focus on other essential tasks, like cell production. Not only does it help with reducing wrinkles, but it also eases irritated skin, dermatitis, and redness.
Common Ways to Use Hyaluronic Acid
There are three common ways to use hyaluronic acid:
- Apply serums and creams topically
- Injection of hyaluronic acid in the form of fillers or directly to the joints
- Consume hyaluronic acid in capsule, powder, or liquid form
Healthcare professionals administer hyaluronic acid injections, and they require a prescription. Topical and oral hyaluronic acid, on the other hand, are available for purchase without a prescription.
Topical Application
Applying hyaluronic acid directly to the skin helps pull moisture from the dermis, which lies right below the upper layer of the skin, and brings it to the skin's surface, helping to keep your skin moisturized.
Hyaluronic Acid Injections
Hyaluronic acid injections directly into the joints help treat osteoarthritis by lubricating the joints and acting as a shock absorber.
Hyaluronic acid injections directly into the skin, also known as fillers, help plump the skin and smooth out wrinkles.
Consuming Hyaluronic Acid
Research shows that consuming hyaluronic acid helps your body produce more of it naturally and aids in replicating new skin cells. It relieves dry skin since ingesting it improves the moisture of your skin from the inside out.
Not only does consuming oral hyaluronic acid do wonders for the skin, but it's also shown success in treating osteoarthritis.
How Hyaluronic Acid Works by Consumption
Unlike the topical application that helps treat local areas, oral ingestion of hyaluronic acid allows it to move to where you need it most, working from your inside out.
When you ingest hyaluronic acid, it makes its way into your digestive tract for digestion. From there, it moves to the connective tissues that need it, whether it's your eyes, skin, or joints.
How to Choose a Hyaluronic Acid Supplement
Hyaluronic acid for consumption comes in pill, liquid, and powder forms, making it easy for you to supplement. Adding liquid or powder into your coffee or protein smoothie makes taking your supplement easy and convenient. Another option is supplementing will pills or capsules.
Hyaluronic acid benefits your health, so it's crucial to ensure your supplement doesn't contain unnecessary, toxic fillers such as Magnesium Silicate, hydrogenated oils, lead, mercury, or artificial colors. Otherwise, the effort to improve your health could cause damaging health effects.
When choosing a hyaluronic acid supplement, one more thing to consider is the outcome you're hoping to achieve. It's probably safe to say you're striving for optimal health and wishing to improve the appearance of your skin. In this case, the ingredients in your supplement matter since your health and glowing skin start in your gut.
