6 Health Benefits Of Hyaluronic Acid And Where To Find It

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a substance that’s found naturally in your body and serves multiple functions, from helping keep your skin supple and plump to ensuring your joints function as they should. Unfortunately for you, the supply of this polysaccharide diminishes with age, but its therapeutic use both externally as a topical cream or internally through supplements or diet can counter this problem. Here’s a closer look at what you stand to gain if you choose to leverage this remedy.

1. Offers Relief From Osteoarthritis

Hyaluronic acid is a natural lubricant and is also present in your joints. It essentially acts as a shock absorber, allowing normal joint function. If you’re struggling with joint pains, especially linked to arthritis, your doctor may well recommend taking hyaluronic acid injections that will supplement what your body is already producing. This is called viscosupplementation, with the additional fluid helping people who suffer from osteoarthritis.¹

Intra-articular injections have been found to help ease pain and improve functional outcomes in osteoarthritic patients. However, researchers caution that wider studies may be needed before this can become a widely recommended treatment for the ailment.²

2. Keeps Skin Supple And Fights Dryness

Hyaluronic acid is typically found between elastin and collagen fibers in your skin. Because it has a tendency to attract water, its presence keeps your elastin and collagen flexible and supple.³

As you grow older, hyaluronic acid levels dip and having as little as 120 mg/day can help. Research has shown that consuming foods that contain hyaluronic acid can help keep skin tissue moist, improve skin texture, and ease dryness in those struggling with the problem of overly dry skin.⁴

3. Fights Inflammation

Hyaluronic acid is said to help suppress inflammation by fighting pro-inflammatory mediators.⁵ Animal studies show that hyaluronic acid can inhibit both acute as well chronic inflammation. Its modulatory role in the body’s inflammatory process could be responsible for this protective effect.⁶

4. Eases Dry Eye Symptoms

If you suffer from irritation, discomfort and visual disturbances from dry eye, you may find welcome respite in treatment with eye drops that contain hyaluronic acid. In one study, a 0.4 percent hyaluronic acid hypotonic solution of “artificial tears” helped ease subjects’ symptoms. These eye drops helped improve the vitality of epithelial cells of the eye and the tear film itself.⁷

5. Helps Repair Wounds

Hyaluronic acid is needed by your body to modulate a range of cellular functions.⁸ It basically forms part of the extracellular matrix molecules in your body and helps activate cellular responses which aid wound healing.^{9 10}

6. Wards Off Wrinkles

Hyaluronic acid based formulations when applied topically could also help you battle unwanted wrinkles. In one test, women aged 30 to 60 years tried out 0.1% hyaluronan formulations to treat wrinkles around their eyes. They found a significant improvement in the hydration of the skin as well as in the elasticity of the skin. Wrinkle depth reduced significantly.¹¹

There’s no doubt that hyaluronic acid supports many vital body functions. But getting enough of it through injections and supplements may not be for everyone. If you want to tank up on hyaluronic-acid-rich foods that give you these benefits naturally, here are the best options:

Get Your Hyaluronic Acid Through Bone Broth

As in humans, animal connective tissue contains hyaluronic acid. By extension, consuming foods that contain cartilage, ligaments, bones, and skin – all parts with most of the hyaluronic acid in the meat – could help you get hyaluronic acid through your diet.

A tasty bone broth or organ-meat-based main meal is a simple way to introduce hyaluronic acid into your diet. The key is to simmer the parts, slow cooking them to release the nutrients. Of course, these meats and cuts also contain plenty of magnesium, calcium, and potassium which are great to keep you youthful and healthy.

Tank Up On Magnesium- And Zinc-Rich Foods

To make enough hyaluronic acid, your body requires adequate levels of zinc and magnesium.¹² Why not give your system a little help by eating a diet that contains these nutrients? You will find magnesium in plenty in legumes, tofu, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, as well as in nuts like almonds, cashews, pine nuts, brazil nuts, and in squash and pumpkin seeds.¹³

For zinc, up your intake of animal proteins like lamb, beef, or pork. Poultry is another good source, though red meat is what you should focus on for more zinc. If you’re vegetarian, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and yeast provide alternative sources of the nutrient.¹⁴

Eat Root Vegetables For Boosting Hyaluronic Acid

If you enjoy your root vegetables, you’ll love what’s coming next! There’s reason to believe that societies that consume a diet rich in traditional root vegetables tend to age well. These vegetables are said to help with hyaluronic acid production too. Which is why researchers are now exploring whether they could be the key to keeping up hyaluronic acid levels as you grow older. Wondering how root veggies translate to increased hyaluronic acid? One theory is that the high magnesium levels in these particular vegetables make them a formidable ally in boosting hyaluronic acid levels.¹⁵

Just remember not to overdo one kind of tuber like the potato. The key is to mix things up and reach for sweet potatoes and lotus roots as well. Japanese starchy root satsumaimo is also said to have high levels of hyaluronic acid.