Do Anti-aging Supplements Really Work?
Writer: Wan SofaSyifa
Reviewed by: Fenny Lim, BSc. (Hons) Nutrition, UKM
What is an Anti-aging Supplement?
Anti-aging supplement, by definition, is any supplement that markets itself as part of a solution to aging symptoms or conditions. Symptoms or conditions targeted can be focused on both beauty and health. While various anti-aging treatments and procedures can be done to manage most aging symptoms, these are often intrusive and may have several health risks.
It is why most people go for skincare or dietary supplements, with dietary supplements gaining more traction in recent years.
How It Works
Like other dietary supplements in the market, anti-aging supplements work by supplementing you with nutrients believed to help manage any aging symptoms you might be experiencing. The nature of a dietary supplement in the first place is that when you consume them in whatever form (powdered, capsules, gummies), your body absorbs most of the ingredients in the supplement. How many nutrients can be absorbed per supplement depends on the extraction ratio of the supplement and your body itself – it can differ from one person to another.
Each ingredient provides vitamins or minerals that may help manage different aging symptoms, and you might need help to see the results directly or in the short term. Your body may make it harder to absorb relevant nutrients to help with aging. That’s why it’s essential to know how to get the most out of your anti-aging supplements so you get your money’s worth.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Anti-aging Supplements
Due to their capability to delay and prevent cell damage, antioxidants are a prominent component in most beauty products. Carotenoids such as zinc help form new cells, selenium prevents wrinkles, and vitamin E may reduce the risk of skin cancer. Antioxidants, in general, are also good for preventing UV damage – one of the main accelerators of skin aging. Antioxidants’ anti-inflammatory properties may also treat skin inflammation, such as acne [4].
For beauty purposes, antioxidants can be both ingested and applied topically. Skincare packed with antioxidants is the more cost-effective choice of its various ingredients and proven effectiveness. Dietary supplements geared towards beauty with high antioxidants may also provide health benefits.
Understanding How Aging Works
What is aging? Aging is a natural process that happens when you reach a certain age. During this process, your cells, tissues, and organs change on a cellular level. The fastest indication of aging is your skin. This typically starts to happen when you reach your 30s because your body naturally slows down.
When you reach your 30s, your body will decrease its hormone production; some nutrients are harder to absorb, and, depending on your lifestyle, some of your cells may also be damaged. Ingredients in your anti-aging supplement should have the right
Choosing Anti-aging Supplements with the Right Formulation
As mentioned above, symptoms such as sagging skin and wrinkles happen when you don’t have enough collagen – which can be internally produced, but its production slowly decreases over time. To counter this symptom, you will need an anti-aging supplement with collagen as one of its main ingredients [1], which means choosing an anti-aging supplement with the right formulation.
Additionally, if you have more than one aging symptom, you should choose a formulation that contains ingredients known to be able to counter those symptoms. For example, if your symptoms are wrinkles, hair loss, muscle aches, and reduced eyesight, you should look for a formulation that contains;
- Avocado Oil – is high in oleic acid, lutein, and essential fatty acids. Some fatty acids can help with muscle aches, and lutein may help improve your eyesight
- Marine Collagen – marine-sourced collagen can help with hair loss and wrinkles by providing you with enough collagen even when your body produces less of them as you age
- Sheep Placenta – the nutrients in the sheep placenta helps stimulate our fibroblasts, responsible for producing collagen, hyaluronic acid, and mucopolysaccharides – potent elements that give our skin its youthful look
A good formulation for natural anti-aging will generally feature many different ingredients to counteract aging symptoms. Each ingredient will contain different vitamins and minerals needed to manage your aging symptoms. Common vitamins and minerals that are proven to help with anti-aging are [2];
- Selenium – a mineral that may preserve tissue elasticity and reduces aging due to hardened tissues
- Vitamin E – a vitamin that can help reduce wrinkles and smoothen the skin texture
- Vitamin C – a vitamin that helps repair and protects the cells from damages caused by free radicals and is one of the few nutrients that our body cannot produce naturally
- Amino Acid – an organic compound that acts as the main building block for cells and can repair as well as regenerate damaged cells
A supplement with too many ingredients is also not ideal – you might be getting a less effective amount of certain nutrients in a capsule. But here is where the second and third aspects of how a supplement works come in; dosage and daily intake.
Compliance with Dosage and Daily Intake
Depending on the formulation, most anti-aging supplements will feature different dosages and daily intake directions. These dosages can range from one (1) to three (3) capsules within one sitting or spread out throughout the day. These dosages and daily intakes are one of the few things highly regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for dietary supplements [3].
Hence, anti-aging dietary supplements often have limited formulations with rigid dosages and daily intakes. Any anti-aging supplements that promote lower or higher dosages may harm you instead of giving you the desired benefits.
CellLabs® Anti-aging Solutions
As part of our anti-aging solutions lineup, our sheep and deer placenta line features a formulation focusing on beauty and health-based aging symptoms. Our premium CellLabs® CLASSaaNTA is a seven-in-one (7-in-1) formulation featuring our signature sheep placenta. Its ingredients include; silk amino acid, lycopene, astaxanthin, and aloe vera powder. These ingredients are known sources of antioxidants and natural skin moisturizers.
Featuring our signature deer placenta is our CellLabs® POSH D-Centa. To make up for the lower amount of permitted deer placenta in our product, we developed a 12-in-1 formulation featuring complimentary ingredients such as; Japanese knotweed, hyaluronic acid, grape seed oil, and more. Like CellLabs® CLASSaaNTA, incorporating certain ingredients can enhance the effectiveness of sheep and deer placenta, which may help alleviate signs of aging. There are solutions to help us feel our best as we age.
To understand more about how our anti-aging dietary supplements work, browse our product catalog. Feel free to subscribe to our newsletter for more informational tidbits.
