Beauty & brains: why beauty businesses are targeting brain health

ARTICLE

Beauty & brains: why beauty businesses are targeting brain health

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Nutrition & Supplements

These supplements contain natural and herbal components which boost brain function. Some have anti-inflammatory effects that may protect the brain against damage and aging², while others improve alertness³, mood⁴ and memory⁵.

Founder and CEO of luxury nutricosmetic brand, My Beauty Luv, Toni Carroll points out that, although consumers rarely associate beauty with health – let alone brain health – there is no denying that the mind, body, and spirit are connected. “It is the same with all aspects of health; they’re intrinsically linked.”

REDEFINING BEAUTY

“Beauty goes beyond just the way you look,” she said. “By re-defining what beauty is and aligning it with health, it goes without saying that whatever you are using or purchasing in the beauty market must fall into the healthy category too.” Carroll explained that given that several companies still including harmful chemicals in their products, it’s important to ensure consumers understand the impacts of what they put in and on their bodies. “In this regard, ingestible beauty products, which keep us beautiful from the inside out, should also have key ingredients that benefit our cognitive performance and function.”

Carroll noted that with diet being a key element of both health and beauty, this of course extends to brain health because, on average, the brain consumes 20% of a person’s daily caloric intake, equating to approximately 400 calories per day.⁶ “’However, nutritional deficiencies due to poor diet – especially the consumption of high sugar and processed foods – have been linked to issues such as depression and dementia, low mood, fatigue, and cognitive decline.⁷ This is where supplements that give your body good, undiluted quality nutrients can bridge the gap. As the saying goes ‘what you put in is what you get out”, so the quality and potency of the supplements you ingest will be evident in the results you experience.

BOLSTERING BRAIN HEALTH

She shared a few suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of brain health supplements below:

Get enough sleep. Don’t underestimate the importance of good, restful sleep. Research has shown that the brain’s ability to remember information is linked to the quality of sleep.⁸ Too little sleep will lead to the brain being unable to process new information from the day, which means trouble remembering information in the future.
LOL! Researchers from Finland and the United Kingdom discovered that laughter triggers the release of endorphins, often referred to as “feel good hormones”⁹, while another study found that well-being increased following daily humour activities (known as laughter interventions) such as spending time with funny people, watching a comedy, or writing down three funny things that happened in a day¹⁰. Carroll said that humour is God’s medication. “The sheer joy of having a good laugh is so incredibly powerful for our brain chemistry that we should have comedy coffee cafes set up on every street corner.”
Exercise. All forms of exercise increase happy hormones, however there are certain kinds of exercise that go beyond the endorphin rush and can truly enhance the mind. Carroll’s go-tos for mental power and stress relief include rebounding, yoga, and heavy weight training.

Finally, Carroll said, “The health of our brains underlies our ability to communicate, make decisions, solve problems, and live extraordinary lives. Arguably, the brain is the single most valuable organ in the human body which is why beauty businesses and consumers are increasingly recognising the importance of supplements for ensuring its optimal health.”