Anti-Ageing From The Inside Out

Posted: Sunday 13 March 2011 07:00am

The idea of eating your way to beauty isn’t a hard concept for consumers to swallow.

It’s certainly not a new idea – for centuries women have been consuming a wide range of food and drink, from asses milk to raspberry tea in the quest to improve their complexions.

Now “nutricosmetics”, in the form of supplements, teas and tonics,  are one of the fastest growing categories in the global beauty industry.

In Japan, 16 per cent of all supplements sold claim a beauty benefit, says Euromonitor, a leading global research agency. Germany is almost as enthusiastic, with 11 per cent. The Brits have also caught the beauty-from-within bug - more than 1.8 million consumers bought beauty benefit supplements and tonics to the value of $348 million in 2009.

In Australia, too, countless teas, supplements and tonics are launched each year promising better skin, glowing health, increased antioxidant protection and more.

Remember the furore surrounding goji juice, a life-enhancing fruit from the Himalayas? Supermodel Miranda Kerr has also weighed into the debate by claiming that noni juice, high in Vitamin C, plays a big part in maintaining her glowing complexion.

But are women willing to swig or take anything that promises to enhance their appearance, providing it contains a “secret” herb from the Amazon or rare fruit they’ve never heard of?

Many of the world’s largest beauty companies certainly think so, especially as modern diets are delivering the nutrients required to keep our bodies in optimum condition.

Even if you eat a well-balanced diet with the largest majority of your kilojoules coming from raw vegetables and then fruits, it still likely won’t be supplying you with enough vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, amino acids, enzymes and antioxidants.

This serious problem, along with toxins in the foods you do consume, and not to mention the high levels of saturated fat in any vitamin-less/fibre-less processed and junk foods you eat, will create a slow decline, perhaps into degenerative disease. Not to mention poorer quality skin.

This year Danish company Ferrosan celebrates the 20th anniversary of its “bio-marine” patiented formular supplement Imedeen, and the concept of moisturising your skin from within.

As part of the list of high-profile clients, Imedeen counts Dannii Minogue, Elle Macpherson, British bad-girl supermodel Naomi Campbell, Danish supermodel Helena Christensen and Jimmy Choo shoes CEO Tamara Mellon.

The patented Marine Complex, Vitamin C and Zinc formula of Imedeen’s Derma One (previously known as Classic formula), claims to boost the skin’s collagen and elastin levels within 60 days of taking 2 tablets per day, with peak results seen in around 12 months; improving hydration levels up to 30 per cent, a reduction in the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and dilated capillaries.

Danish dermatologist Dr Marianne Kieffer, who carried out extensive clinical study into one of the key ingredients of Imedeen’s Time Perfection (the range targeting women40+ ) says: “The concept of being able to improve the condition of the skin from within, instead of having to rely on skin creams, is both novel and logical. I like the idea that the skin cells are being nourished from the inside.”

In Europe, Nivea developed a beauty supplement to be used in conjunction with the brand’s Good-Bye Cellulite body range. L’Oreal and Nestle have produced Inneov Fermete, a supplement aimed at women over 50. Already available in several European countries and due for release in the UK this year, it contains lycopene, Vitamin C and isoflavones and claims to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It’s pricey, though, at $40 for a 10 day supply and it takes three months to see visible results.

Nestle has also launched its Glowelle Age-Defying Antioxidant Supplement in a seven day powder mix kit in the US and Europe. The multi-national is also test-marketing a range of coffees in Asia which are enriched with collagen to improve skin tone and calcium for stronger teeth and bones.

In Australia, Nestle Greenblend coffee, a blend of roasted and unroasted coffee beans, claims to “deliver” 70 per cent more skin-improving antioxidants than leading green tea blends.

In the UK, prestige department store Harvey Nichols offers Beauty Scoop, a premium priced ($238) vegetable-based powder containing peptides, vitamins and minerals, which claims to enhance skin, hair and nails.

Cult Brit brand,  Neal’s Yard Remedies,  has also introduced Beautiful Skin Tea, a blend of goji berry, rosehip, bilberry and hibiscus flower, which claims to detox and protect skin at the more democratic price of $11.50. Celebrity dermatologists such as Dr Nicolas Perricone, author of The Wrinkle Cure, and Dr Howard Murad [whose skincare brands are both available here in Mecca Cosmetica stores] are big believers in the benefit of skincare supplements.

That’s certainly the view of many Australian women who have made Blackmores Nails, Hair and Skin (RRP$19.95) and Radiance, a specially formulated anti-ageing supplement ($64.95) such big sellers for the natural supplement brand.

Traditionally, women aged 30 to 60 plus were the main consumer target group for nutricosmetics. This underlined one of the major drawbacks of the category, though,  because this age group is reluctant to wait for one to three months to see visible benefits.

However, international research has revealed that younger women in their teens and 20s are trying to eat or drink their way to beauty at an earlier age. One of their aims is to stave off the signs of ageing but because they aren’t so desperate to see immediate results this bodes well for the future growth of the trend.

by Elisabeth King

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