24 Studies Later: 4 Anti-Aging Skin Supplements that Work

I analyzed 24 studies across several supplements for skin and discovered varying levels of evidence for slowing and in some cases reversing skin aging I'd like to walk you through which three supplements are considered effective along with the certainty of evidence and I'll include a fourth habit of mine that I consider critical to this process as well if you've been following my work for sometime you know that I've warmed up to collagen peptides initially the evidence was well lukewarm and I still wouldn't say that the evidence is overwhelming but it has me inclined to lean in

the direction of their benefit again if you've been following my work you know that the common criticism levied against Cen peptides is the fact that they amino acid profile those are the constituent molecules making up a protein is well trash compared to a more complete protein source that is true but the Assumption of Effectiveness is based on only single amino acids entering your bloodstream when consuming collagen peptides which as we know from studies like this one that is not the case when we consume proteins the peptidases and other cleavage enzymes do break the protein down

into smaller components for intestinal absorption by the epithelial cells that line the intestine however that study shows in humans that we can absorb not only single amino acids but D and tripeptides which is where collagen peptides shine again because we aren't as interested in the single amino acids which pale in comparison to other protein sources we can Niche down onto the D and tripeptides in studies looking at varying types of peptides on cells called fibroblasts which are responsible for the generation of collagen and hyaluronic acid both of which are components of our skin researchers identified

that treatment with peptides led to an increase in hyaluronic acid production by these cells as seen here the larger the bar the more hyaluronic acid the left bar is the control so no peptides added the middle is the addition of the peptides and the right is an additional condition for comparisons where the cells were exposed to fiberblast growth factor which is basically a stimulator of fiberblast as you can see the peptides led to an increase in hyaluronic acid so why well again it's not because of the actual amino acids most likely but rather the peptides

themselves May bind to a receptor or series of receptors like those mentioned in this review to be clear these receptors already bind to collagen fibers in our skin and cause a series of intracellular changes within the skin cells think of the fiberblast that then stimulate the production of more full collagen fibers however the researchers mention most multiple receptors that also bind to the same amino acid linkages seen when consuming collagen peptides so there is the possibility that the peptides themselves could enact this role but if we return to this study the researchers briefly mentioned that

there is some evidence for peptide Transporters similar to those found in the intestines are also found in fibroblasts allowing the peptide to enter the cell and directly influence the cell signaling to the pro collagen proh hyaluronic acid producing anyway those are some of the mechanisms but obviously we can't rely mechanisms as a conclusive Force so when we open human trials there is a good amount of agreement on their effectiveness for example this metaanalysis of 19 studies these researchers indicate that beneficial impact of collagen supplementation as seen here we're looking at skin elasticity with all the

studies on the left side and all the stud results pictorially depicted on the right side if the little line moves to the right of the middle line that's zero that means that the individual study indicates a benefit of collagen supplementation now you can see that some studies show an effect and others show well the opposite in totality which we can see represented by the Black Diamond at the bottom there is overall more evidence in favor of an effect than against now for those statistics inclined you'll notice that the high degree of interstudy heterogeneity confirmed by

the statistics as well there are a plethora of reasons for that which I can't get into otherwise I'll lose the people who just don't care about this stuff I likely already have but if you look at some of the other measures the results are consistent including subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses that all said I still think that we need more studies especially independently funded studies but so far I feel comfortable indicating that collagen peptides are effective for improving skin elasticity skin hydration and reducing wrinkling as well as some reversing of that wrinkling so collagen peptides

are a yes and they're my second favorite skin aging technique I'll discuss my number one in a while first remember that when we discussed the fiber blasts they were likely producing more hyaluronic acid acid from being exposed to the collagen peptides well since collagen isn't the only component of skin why wouldn't we just supplement with hyaluronic acid well I Crown you a science smarty pants because that's the second ingredient that I analyzed hydronic acid hydronic acid is absorbed in the intestines according to these researchers however the exact mechanism is unknown and yet there's a key

detail on the absorption that probably makes a big impact on hyaluronic acid's Effectiveness we'll get into that in just a bit we know it's absorbed and we also know that hyaluronic acid has many complex effects across the body but its incorporation into our skin is probably not Direct in essence we absorb hyaluronic acid it gets cleaved by enzymes called hyaluronidases which break up the molecule into small fragments or even into its constituent parts known as oligosaccharides complex sugars and then it gets rebuilt by an enzyme called hyaluronic acid synthes and released into the skin structure

why would the body break something down just to rebuild it again well like I said hyaluronic acid metabolism is complex and it's tightly regulated because disregulation can lead to some major problems two of which being uh pro-inflammation and even cancer risk so the body controls the levels by balancing what we consume and what we produce I can go into those mechanisms some other time but for those clutching their pearls don't worry hyaluronic acid supplementation isn't going to suddenly give you cancer there's more to it than that but again I just can't discuss it in detail

because well we're talking about skin aging anyway hyaluronic acid has an extreme passionate at least I imagine at least uh it's not like we ever had heart to heart but love for water so once it's released by The fiberblast and other cells it can plump up the skin reducing wrinkles increasing elasticity and moisture of the skin but again like collagen is there any human evidence of that so I analyzed 11 studies to find the answer to that and I have to say some of the studies are absolute dog poop horribly done horribly biased that said

there is still a smattering of passible studies that are Placebo controlled in one study for example the researchers compared hyaluronic supplementation to Placebo and found a noticeable effect of hyaluronic acid supplementation on reducing skin wrinkling we can actually see some of that data here the darker bar is the placebo and the lighter gray bar is the hyaluronic acid condition the lower it goes the greater reduction in wrinkle depth dep and volume so that's a good thing I suppose I don't need to spell it out for you smarty pants another study also confirm these results I

would list more of these studies but uh many of them fall under the uh dog poop category additionally I think that all studies are industry funded if that's a deal breaker for you I certainly sympathize it isn't for me but it does lower my confidence in the repeatability of these results but I promise you that we'd return to this digestion and absorption bit because it does matter which hyaluronic acid you consume it's believed Again by the scientific review that consuming High molecular weight meaning a very large version of hyaluronic acid molecule is contraindicated because it

is less likely to be absorbed you should be aiming for a low molecular weight hyaluronic acid if possible for the greatest bang for your buck okay so the evidence is certainly weaker for hyaluronic acid but it does lean in the direction of being a skin benefit I'd like to point out that I use these molecules and supplements in a particular way myself so if you're interested in hearing which supplements I use and how I use them I have a video discussing all the details in the physionic Insiders I'll link that in the description I'd love

to have you join but let's go into the third supplement actually you know what let's actually keep that one for last it's a unique one and I haven't heard many people discuss it let me first mention what I think is critical for fighting skin aging this is my number one tip when it comes to skin aging there's two groupings of factors that cause skin aging one is called intrinsic aging and the other is extrinsic intrinsic aging comes from all different molecules and Imperfections that our cells produce over a life lifetime like the production of free

radicals which are damaging molecules that tear away at the Integrity of our cell components extrinsic aging comes from molecules that we consume that are damaging could be something as serious as I don't know cyanide to something more mild like alcohol or it could be from radiation which causes DNA damage anything outside the body essentially so now what is something that we are all all exposed to on a daily basis that without which we would cease to exist is that enough of a hint or do you want another okay uh we we revolve around it and

plants feed off of it got it that's right the sun you have to protect your skin from the Sun now I know there are some people that believe that getting sun exposure is important and is for other things but that doesn't mean that it's good for your skin it isn't it's awful for your skin often you'll hear arguments about getting Vitamin D from the Sun and the Sun is good because it's natural and yada yada yada it's all nonsense yes vitamin D is important for your health but considering that we can have the best of

both worlds we should probably just take advantage it's perfectly reasonable to supplement with v vitamin D while protecting your skin as a matter of fact in this study researchers showed that people who wore sunscreen more regularly over 4.5 years of the study experienced and let me emphasize here no progression of skin aging none Quantified it was 24% less skin aging compared to those who only occasionally wore sunscreen so imagine if they wore sunscreen all the time and compared against a group that never wore it the effects would be even greater other studies of varying quality

confirm these results as well of course this doesn't even mention the skin cancer protection effects I can't stress enough how important sunscreen is forget the two supplements that I mentioned earlier and the one coming up the number one priority should be preventative sunblock anything broadspectrum and anything SPF 15 and upward and you'll be looking sickly pale like me in no time okay I'll get off my suncreen slathered higher horse and discuss this next unique molecule we've already covered collagen peptides and hyaluronic acid so what's another molecule that could be a benefit for your skin I'll

give you a hint it starts with an a a s not a donkey but aanin close aanin is a potent antioxidant molecule because of its unique shape notice the two ionone rings on either end they are capable of quenching damaging free radicals that we discussed earlier with about 40 times stronger antioxidant activity as beta carotene which is often touted as a beneficial skin supplement I cracked open this metaanalysis that pulled 11 studies on to find out aaz anthon's role in skin aging and here is where things diverge a bit from the previous results because while

the other two supplements were beneficial for elasticity of the skin along with dewrinkling of the skin aanin failed to show a benefit against wrinkles we see here again the studies are on the left in the green squares with the lines coming out of them are the study results I won't walk you through how to read this Beyond just mentioning that if the studies move to the left of the middle line that's zero they favor AOS Anthem now at first glance it seems like most of them do so why no effect well we can't let our

eyes and bias deceive us even if we focus on the Black Diamond it clearly seems to move to the left but the analysis indicates that the certainty of an effect with a P value of 0.11 which is above the 0.05 cuto now is it it possible that the effect is simply mild and we don't have enough studies to make a judgment yeah it's possible along with other possibilities but as it currently stands Asos anthan does not reduce wrinkles well then why do I add it to this list well mainly because in measures of skin elasticity

and moisture content aanin does show a benefit for example looking at elasticity this time if the studies move to the right of the middle line there is a benefit of as anthon and not just visually but statistically confirmed the results indicate an effect now I should caution that this analysis did indicate a moderate to high risk of bias meaning that some studies were not designed ideally so it would be prudent to have more and more rigorous studies confirming these effects still as it stands aaz anthon shows a specific benefit to skin that may not affect

wrinkles themselves but look my guess is that you're interested in anti-aging and this video right here offers some more information on exactly that I'll speak with you over there bye