Healthy skin

Omega-3s help maintain healthy skin. Their benefits affect both dry skin and skin characterized by premature aging. In addition, these fatty acids improve the condition of brittle or parched hair.

And even in the case of conditions such as dermatitis and psoriasis, where the composition of the sebum is altered, a proper intake of Omega-3 helps to restore the correct proportions between the different fatty acids, which ensure the integrity and functionality of the epithelium.

 

 

 

 

Assumptions coming from the North

The discovery of these properties began in parallel with the discovery of the cardiovascular health benefits of Omega-3s among Eskimos, heavy consumers of fish containing high amounts of these fatty acids.

In fact, when these populations began to migrate to industrialized countries, where they abandoned their healthy eating habits, not only did their cardiovascular risk increase, but so did the incidence of some very rare skin diseases in Eskimos, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

These observations agree with the fact that Omega-3s are fundamental components of biological membranes and epithelial tissue. Also in the these essential fatty acids also participate in the formation of the hydrolipid film produced at the skin and scalp level by the sebaceous and sweat glands.

Finally, deficiency of unsaturated fatty acids can increase water loss through the epidermis and promote dry skin, acne and eczema, dandruff and brittle nails. Low fatty acids also make hair brittle and dull, and suboptimal levels of these molecules generally predispose to the development of allergies.

 

 

 

 

Psoriasis, a well-known case

A much-studied case is that of psoriasis. As early as 1998, researchers at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, demonstrated the efficacy of Omega-3 administration in the treatment of a chronic form of this disease, characterized by the presence of plaques.

More recently, an analysis published in the British Journal of Dermatology revealed that a diet rich in Omega-3s from fish oil changes the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids and affects their concentrations. The result of these changes is the suppression of inflammatory processes associated with psoriasis.