Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in our bodies. It holds 1,000 times its weight in water, and it’s what keeps our skin looking plump and youthful. Then the hard truth: the epidermis starts losing it by the time we hit our late 20s, and after the age of 30 depletion increases by 1 percent a year. Hormonal dips come pre-menopause, and menopause thins the skin even further.
So what to do? Well, there’s nothing we can do stop skin ageing. It’s a natural part of life. Slowing down the appearance of skin ageing is the best we can hope for, and we can do that by making sure we eat well, exercise, get a good night’s sleep, look after our skin and so on. Food supplements may also play their part.
Taking supplements is not something I thought about doing in my youth. But as I’ve got older and become more aware of my skin ageing, they are an option I’m increasingly turning to. About a month ago I was sent these Solgar Hyaluronic Acid Complex capsules to try, and I’ve been taking one a day ever since.
While I was aware of HA's role in skin health, I didn’t know it had a function to play in the joints too. HA is found in the synovial fluid in our joints, providing lubrication and acting as a shock absorber. According to Solgar, studies suggest that HA may offer pain relief to arthritic suffers.
‘Studies suggest’ is the rub with food supplements. There’s a massive market for them but it’s impossible to measure their benefits. For me I consider supplements a useful safety net, to top-up my body with vital nutrients should they be missing in the food I eat.
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| Solgar far left, larger in size than my other daily supplements |
I swallow one of these Solgar capsules with my breakfast (they should ideally be taken with food). There are 30 in a bottle and they can be taken alone or combined with other supplements such as vitamin C, collagen and chondroitin suplphate.
They’re quite big (I’ve stood them side-by-side with the other daily supplements I take to give you a sense of size), so not the easiest to swallow. Washing them down with a big gulp of water usually does the trick though.
Solgar says the capsules use the most absorbable form of HA, Biocell Collagen II. This is described as a matrix of hydrolyzed collagen type II, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin - essential for healthy joint, skin, and connective tissues.
Solgar Hyaluronic Acid Complex Supplements cost £25.39 (the cheapest I can find online) from NutriCentre here . More on Solgar here.
