Oral Supplements for Skin Health: Ingredients and Benefits

Oral supplements can enhance skin health, but results take time and require careful consideration of ingredients.

### Enhancing Skin Health: The Role of Oral Supplements
* 💊 While topical products are commonly thought of for skin improvement, **oral supplements can also play an effective role in enhancing skin appearance**.
* 💰 The cosmetics and nutraceuticals industry is vast, generating **hundreds of billions annually**, but consumers must navigate a market filled with products that **may not deliver on their promises**.
* The skin faces three main challenges: **DNA damage**, **oxidative stress**, and **inflammation**, which contribute to **aging and loss of skin quality**.
* 🍫 Flavonoids from cacao have been shown to **reduce wrinkles** and offer some protection against **UV radiation**, with clinical trials indicating that **320 mg can prevent new wrinkle formation over six months**.
* 💧 Hydrolyzed collagen peptides can improve skin hydration and elasticity, but it's crucial to **consume them correctly**, as excessive intake can lead to health risks like **kidney stones**.
* 🌱 Nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, is effective for acne treatment and has shown **significant skin improvement** in a study involving 198 patients when combined with other nutrients.
* 💦 Hyaluronic acid acts as a **powerful hydrator**, holding **up to 1000 times its weight in water**, and has been linked to **improved skin elasticity** and **reduced wrinkles** in studies.
* 🦐 Astaxanthin, a carotenoid derived from algae, provides **antioxidant benefits** and **mild photoprotection**, with dosages ranging from **4 to 8 mg daily** being commonly recommended for skin health.

When you think about improving the appearance of your skin, this comes to mind, right? A topical product. But what if I told you that an oral supplement can also be effective? Physical attractiveness is something that matters to most of us. This pain point generates hundreds of billions in profit each year, but we must be careful, or at least cautious. The cosmetics and nutraceuticals industry is like the Wild West; hundreds of companies are trying to position themselves with products that often do not deliver on their promises. 

Consider this: skincare has always been very important, and the oral route is a powerful way to modify the characteristics of your skin. However, I must tell you a disclaimer: the oral nutraceuticals mentioned in today's video have, at best, limited clinical evidence. It would be dishonest to say otherwise. Most significant clinical trials are conducted on drugs that can monetize the costs of these expensive studies, and many interesting molecules remain in the shadows. 

I also need to mention that today we will analyze ingredients, not products, and how they can help your skin with oral supplements. Look at the skin; it has three main enemies: DNA damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation. This triad progressively causes a loss of hydration, elasticity, and thickness, which is closely related to aging and the passage of time. Of course, avoiding genotoxic agents like the sun or tobacco and optimizing your repair machinery is important to prevent DNA damage and other issues.

Los compuestos bioactivos que vamos a ver tienen un papel antioxidante y antiinflamatorio. Combinar esas opciones, por lo tanto, será lo óptimo, y tomar los compuestos que te voy a mencionar en las dosis adecuadas mejorará la salud de tu piel, lo que hará que se vea mejor. ¿Te gusta el chocolate? Pues empecemos por los flavonoides del cacao. El cacao, y más concretamente sus flavonoides, tienen el potencial de reducir tus arrugas y protegerte levemente de la radiación ultravioleta, es decir, del fotoenvejecimiento. Ensayos clínicos de hasta seis meses de duración han corroborado que 320 mg de flavonoides del cacao reducen el número de arrugas existentes y previenen la formación de nuevas. Dosis algo más altas, hasta 600 mg, pueden mejorar la elasticidad de la piel. Algo importante es que los efectos no eran visibles hasta tres meses después de comenzar a tomar el suplemento oral. Esto es importante porque siempre que tomamos algo nuevo queremos ver los resultados al instante, y esto es así con un preentreno, por ejemplo, pero nunca con un nutracéutico dirigido al cuidado de la piel. 

Tres precauciones a tener en cuenta: en ningún caso se debe utilizar como sustituto del fotoprotector de amplio espectro, pues no tiene una potencia mínimamente equiparable. En segundo lugar, en pacientes con acné,

equivalente amount of flavonoids. This is the option I personally use, adding it to my pre-workout smoothie, but you also have dark chocolate. This should be from a concentration of 70 to 75%. About 25 to 50 grams a day, although this will add some extra calories that you will need to take into account. And remember that it also contains caffeine. Dark chocolate, collagen peptides. Hydrolyzed collagen peptides are not miraculous, but they have useful applications for the skin and joints, provided they are used correctly and in the right context. Continuous consumption of collagen peptides can reduce the depth and number of wrinkles, increase elasticity, collagen density in the dermis, and skin hydration. Specifically, the most effective dipeptide is the combination of proline and hydroxyproline, as it seems to stimulate the production of hyaluronic acid by the fibroblasts in the dermis. This doesn’t matter to you personally because what you ingest are different unselected collagen peptides, meaning pieces of the longer collagen chain. One precaution is that doses above 10 grams daily can increase oxalate levels in urine. Why? Because hydroxyproline, which is one of the amino acids in collagen, is metabolized into oxalate. In susceptible individuals, this can increase the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones. So, if you frequently have renal colic, the most...

Es prudente evitar suplementos de colágeno. ¿Cómo tomarlo? Se recomienda tomar al menos 10 gramos al día de péptidos de colágeno durante un mínimo de 8 semanas, siendo constante en su ingesta. Como te he contado en alguna ocasión, este es el que tomo habitualmente con fines tanto deportivos como estéticos.

La nicotinamida, o niacinamida, es una variante de la vitamina B3, o niacina. Se utiliza principalmente para mejorar el acné, tanto de forma tópica como por vía oral. Su deficiencia es muy infrecuente, pero es grave, ya que causa pelagra, una enfermedad que se manifiesta con las tres D: diarrea, demencia y dermatitis. Es importante porque se necesita para la síntesis de NAD, restaurando el pool celular de NAD y mejorando la bioenergética mitocondrial.

Fíjate en este estudio de cohortes prospectivo llamado NCOS. En él se combinó 750 mg de nicotinamida, 25 mg de zinc, 1 mg y 5 de cobre, y 500 microgramos de ácido fólico en 198 pacientes con acné y rosácea. A las cuatro semanas de uso, se encontró una mejoría cutánea evidente en casi el 80% de la muestra. Sin embargo, hay un inconveniente importante que veo en este estudio: no evalúa la nicotinam

It deserves a separate video due to its anti-aging potential. We will leave it here for today. Hyaluronic acid, or hyaluronan, is present in all connective tissues of the skin, organs, and joints. How could hyaluronic acid improve your skin? Basically, its molecular structure allows it to act like a sponge that absorbs water, being able to hold up to 1000 times its weight in water. This brings hydration to your skin, making it look firmer. Although its effect disappears relatively quickly, the mechanism is not entirely clear; it seems that it may stimulate collagen production in the dermis, which would be an interesting secondary benefit, and there is evidence to support this. There are small studies like the following: in this trial, 120 mg of oral hyaluronic acid was given for 12 weeks to 40 healthy Asians aged between 35 and 64 years. After three months, there was an objective improvement in the number of wrinkles, transepidermal water loss from the stratum corneum—a parameter that measures the skin's barrier function—and skin elasticity compared to the placebo group. We conclude with a well-known component from the channel, astaxanthin. This elegant molecule provides a reddish color to the feathers of birds like flamingos or to this delicious beer. It is a carotenoid derived from algae that has gained significant relevance in the health and aesthetics niche. It acts as an antioxidant pigment that, when used orally or topically,

Improving skin hydration and elasticity, and how flavonoids provide mild photoprotection. This is one of the few studies that evaluates their potential benefits on the skin, whether through topical application, oral intake, or a combination of both. Interestingly, if you are a smoker, the bioavailability of T-santina is 40% lower for you, giving you another reason to quit smoking. The most common dosage ranges from 4 to 8 mg daily, although higher doses have been studied without side effects. To date, there is no consensus on what the optimal dose is for dermatological purposes. But I ask you, have you personally used T-santina? Have you noticed any visible effects? We are interested, so please share your experience in the comments below. That’s it for today’s video. If this supplement guide has been helpful to you, I have another one ready for your nails or hair. Let me know in the comments if you're interested, and we'll get to work. Thank you for your attention and for staying until the end. A big hug, and let’s keep empowering ourselves.

PIEL ESPECTACULAR con estos SUPLEMENTOS ORALES: ¿Realidad o Ficción?

Dr. Borja Bandera

The Impact of Oral Supplements on Skin Health

Oral supplements can be effective in improving skin appearance, alongside topical products.

The cosmetics and nutraceuticals industry is saturated with companies making unverified claims.

Key skin enemies include DNA damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation, and bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can help improve skin health.

Flavonoids from cacao have been shown to reduce wrinkles and improve skin elasticity, with visible effects occurring three months after starting the supplement.

Benefits and Precautions of Dark Chocolate and Collagen Peptides

Dark chocolate (70-75% concentration) can provide a good amount of flavonoids, with a recommended intake of 25-50 grams a day.

Collagen peptides have useful applications for skin and joints, potentially reducing wrinkles and increasing skin hydration.

However, doses above 10 grams daily can increase oxalate levels in urine, raising the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones in susceptible individuals.

Se recomienda tomar al menos 10 gramos al día de péptidos de colágeno durante un mínimo de 8 semanas.

La nicotinamida, una variante de la vitamina B3, se utiliza para mejorar el acné y su deficiencia puede causar pelagra.

Un estudio con 198 pacientes mostró una mejoría cutánea en casi el 80% de la muestra tras cuatro semanas de uso, pero no evaluó la nicotinamida.

Hyaluronic acid is present in all connective tissues and can hold up to 1000 times its weight in water, providing hydration and firmness to the skin.

Its use may also stimulate collagen production in the dermis, offering a secondary benefit.

Small studies have shown that oral hyaluronic acid can improve wrinkles, skin barrier function, and elasticity over 12 weeks.

The Benefits of T-santina for Skin Health

T-santina may improve skin hydration and elasticity, and provide mild photoprotection through topical application, oral intake, or both.

Smokers experience 40% lower bioavailability of T-santina, highlighting the importance of quitting smoking.

The common dosage ranges from 4 to 8 mg daily, with no consensus on the optimal dose for dermatological purposes.