Omega 3 fatty acids and protein are great for healthy skin. Hair, skin and nails are mostly made of protein, though the minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals we get from the best type of carbohydrates - fruit and vegetables - are also crucial if skin care is your goal.
Protein is needed to repair cells, it is important for energy levels, balancing blood sugar levels, and is involved with glutathione production. Glutathione is an important antioxidant, and antioxidants are essential components of eating your way to beauty.
So what are some good sources of protein that are somewhat under-represented in our average diet?
Fish is excellent as it supplies both protein, and the omega 3 fatty acids, which are believed to contribute to skin health. The oily fish like salmon, tuna, cod and mackerel are good natural sources of omega 3, that have the advantage of avoiding the reflux problem associated with many fish oil supplements. Being a whole food, these fish also have DMAE, which is excellent for protecting cellular membranes and improving skin tone. (Angyal) Recommended sources of DMAE from fish are anchovies, sardines, and wild salmon.
Canned salmon is a good option, generally. Although it may seem strange to encourage people to eat canned salmon over fresh salmon, it has some important advantages that are the direct result of farming practices for fresh fish. According to Erica Angyal, the author of Gorgeous Skin In 30 Days, canned salmon is typically wild salmon. Wild salmon and farmed salmon that was raised in crowded pens made of nets (think of an underwater battery cage), have some important differences in nutrient value.
The food farmed salmon are fed is very different to what wild salmon eat. Wild salmon eat other sea residents such as shrimp and krill. And it is this diet that gives them the lovely pink color we associate with salmon. On the other hand, farmed salmon are fed soybean pellets and other cereal based food, which changes their ratio of essential fatty acids. They become characterized by higher levels of saturated fats and omega 6 fatty acids (linoleic acid), which we get plenty of in our diets anyway, and their levels of the beneficial omega 3 fatty acids become lower. Given that the whole point many people eat fish for is to change this very ratio in themselves, it seems to negate the point somewhat.
On top of this, farmed salmon, like their counterparts in the poultry and beef industries, are fed antibiotics to keep them healthy and protect the farmer's investment. There is an expectation of cost effectiveness and market value that determines the type of conditions farmed salmon grow in. To compensate for the lack of pink color, colors are added that can be made both naturally and synthetically. Whether they are natural or synthetic is generally up to the farmer.
This is not to say farmed salmon is bad, or has no omega 3 fatty acids. It does, and it is better buy chlorella nothing. And fresh fish is a lovely meal. But like eating free range eggs in preference to battery cage eggs, wild salmon is an infinitely better nutritional choice.
References: E Angyal, Gorgeous Skin In 30 Days (Lothian, 2005)
Do you have acne? Learn which vitamins and minerals are best to help repair the skin and manage acne in this acne nutrition article. Or learn more about the effects of carbohydrates on acne in this diets to clear acne article.
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Health care supplements are nutritional supplements that the body requires in routine day to day life. Health care supplements are made from plant extracts, vegetables, fruits and medical herbs. Health care supplements ensure effectiveness with minimal or no side effects.
A dietary supplement (also known as food supplement) is a preparation intended to supply nutrients (such as vitamins minerals, fatty acids or amino acids) that are missing or not consumed in sufficient quantity in a person's diet.
"DSHEA" or Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is an act defining dietary or nutritional supplements as products taken by mouth, containing ingredients intended to supplement the natural diet. These ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, 'botanicals' (plant extracts), amino acids or other substances to increase the nutrition in the diet.
Health supplements are specially made pills, powders or syrups which offer extra nourishment or medicinal benefits. If taken along with a healthy diet, these supplements can go a long way producing excellent health effects
Assuring the qualities of herbs and integrating them with vitamins, minerals and special extracts has led to the birth of these health care supplements which have, in a way, a boon the medicinal industry.
Healthcare supplements are accompanied with a complete list of ingredients, applications and advantages. Minimal or no side effects have made the common person self-sufficient with regard to consuming health supplements. Apart from beauty and weight-related remedies, various healthcare supplements also offer highly effective treatment options for a large number of diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, arthritis, high cholesterol, asthma, migraines and many more.
Healthcare supplements available over the counter usually claim the presence of important nutrients that promise effectiveness of the product. Here is a guide to deciphering what they mean when they say:
1. "Amino acids" -- Building blocks of protein, the substance that makes up a large portion of the human body. They are single unit of protein
2. "Antioxidants" -- Substances that block or inhibit free radicals- molecules that speed up the aging process and contribute to illness.
3. "Minerals" -- Natural, inorganic elements like calcium, iron, selenium and zinc.
4. "Vitamins" -- Natural, organic compounds given letter designations (A, B1 to B12, C, D, E, K).
It is important to consult a health practitioner before consuming health care supplements to ensure they do not affect existing illnesses.
At RBC Life Sciences, we believe you deserve the very best in nutritional and health care products.
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