Nutraceuticals: Are They For Real?
I happen to believe in supplements. While there has been controversial evidence as to their effectiveness, I have felt better when I take supplements, especially when I’m too busy to focus on eating healthy, or when I crave that piece of cake. Given the importance of nutrition in our body, and in our case the skin, I found the topic interesting. After all, “there are several legs in a stool” and many wellness and skincare weapons in our arsenal.
After doing some research, I particularly enjoyed reading Dr. Steve Chaneys’ conclusions from a couple of his studies. The first concerns personalized nutrition and the second, is the role of vitamins in the aging process. In his words, I have included them below:
“1) A recent study showed that personalized nutrition recommendations based on a simple online survey were much more effective than standardized dietary advice at getting people to improve health-related eating habits.
2) Adding information on blood biomarkers and genetic tests did not enhance the effectiveness of the personalized nutrition recommendations in changing health behaviors. This may change in the future as we improve our understanding of genetic influences on disease risks.”
“1) Telomeres are the tips at the end of our chromosomes that protect the chromosomes from unraveling.
2) Our telomeres get progressively shorter as we get older.
3) Recent studies have shown that our lifestyle can influence the rate of telomere shortening.
4) Recent studies have also shown that optimal intake of certain nutrients, such as high-quality dietary fiber can influence the rate of telomere shortening.
5) There is a lot that we do not know about telomere length.
6) In either case, anything we can do to reduce the rate of telomere shortening is probably a good thing.”
I hope you find the information helpful. It is not intended as advice but may help you as you make your own decisions. As always, you can reach us at 305-356-7402.