Ceramides play a central role in conserving supple, healthy-looking skin. A family of waxy molecules, they are a crucial lipid element of the skin’s membrane.
Composed of sphingosine and a fatty acid, ceramides maintain the balance of the skin by defending the surface from the elements and locking in moisture.
As we age, our production of ceramides declines. It isn’t great news, as ceramides make up 35-40% of the binding matrix that maintains healthy skin.
The helpful properties of ceramides aren’t simply restricted to skin cells. They are found throughout the body wherever they support healthy cell production, performance and development.
Low levels of ceramides in the body can be a cause of dry, flaky skin. Recent studies have gone further, linking reduced amounts of ceramides to abnormalities of the skin’s barrier function – typically found in sufferers of atopic dermatitis.
The good news?
Ceramides naturally produced by our skin are very similar to those found in wheat.
But don’t rush out to the shops just yet though; skin care products containing topically applied wheat germ oil have limited efficiency in increasing ceramide levels.
Furthermore, our consumption of bread, pasta and other wheat-based products doesn’t have sufficient concentration to make an impact through diet alone.
So how do we combat low levels of ceramides?
Recent research has indicated how we can help to increase ceramide levels in our bodies.
By ingesting ceramides via a lipowheat skin care supplement, sufferers of very dry, flaking skin have seen dramatic improvements in appearance and feel, with a significant reduction of itchiness.
Ninety days of trialling saw these positive results reflected internally too; electrochemical analysis showed that 95% of trial participants found that the wheat-based supplements had improved skin hydration.
Skin restoring ceramides have been accessible in Japan for a few years now.
With their recent introduction to our health supplements market, it will be interesting to see the results that they produce in the UK.
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