Radiant Skin from the Inside Out

Ancient Greek physicians believed that beauty came from within, prescribing special diets and herbal tonics for radiant skin.¹

Modern skincare has largely abandoned this philosophy, focusing instead on topical treatments that have only minor, temporary effects.

We’ve since learned that our dermal structures start to weaken much earlier than most people think.²

To counteract these degenerative changes, placebo-controlled clinical studies have been showing that plant-based oral extracts can help:

• Restore natural barrier function,
• Reduce wrinkle depth,
• Retain moisture,
• Improve texture, and
• Defend against environmental damage.

Most of you take steps now, such as ensuring enough vitamin C intake to maintain healthy collagen.

Ceramides and other plant extracts provide further support for more youthful skin structure and function.

Skin’s Natural Defense System

Skin contains natural moisturizing compounds called ceramides that play a major role in skin barrier function.³

Like cellular mortar, ceramides hold skin cells together while creating a water-impermeable barrier that locks in moisture and keeps irritants out.^3,4

Loss of our moisturizing lipid compounds leads to:⁴

• A weakened moisture barrier, allowing increased water loss,⁴
• Persistent dryness leading to itching and discomfort,^4,5
• Thinner skin that’s more vulnerable to damage, wrinkles, and delayed wound healing,^5,6
• More penetration of irritants, leading to inflammation, skin diseases,⁶ and
• Visible skin aging, including wrinkles.⁷

Environmental factors, particularly ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight, further accelerate skin aging by degrading structural proteins and promoting inflammation,⁸ also contributing to wrinkles and uneven pigmentation.⁹

Ceramide loss weakens the skin barrier and reduces moisture. Topical ceramides have become common skincare ingredients to help restore this loss. They don’t dissolve and penetrate deeply into the skin and thus limit their effectiveness to temporary hydration.¹⁰

Daily oral rice-derived ceramides have been shown in clinical trials to strengthen the skin barrier and improve hydration, lowering water loss through the skin after about 8–12 weeks of use.^11-13

Oral Ceramides Transform Skin

Human and animal studies have shown that plant-derived ceramides–or phytoceramides–can be taken orally and absorbed through the digestive system.^14,15

The most promising results have come from gluten-free, allergen-free ceramides extracted from non-genetically modified rice.¹⁶

Unlike topical applications, oral ceramides have been shown to boost the body’s natural ceramide production in skin cells.

This approach restores the skin’s moisture-retaining capabilities from within.

In a clinical study, 123 volunteers with dry skin consumed an oral rice extract rich in ceramides or a placebo daily for 12 weeks. Researchers measured how much water escaped through the skin barrier at multiple body sites, since less water loss indicates a stronger, healthier barrier.¹⁶

Compared to the placebo, those taking rice bran ceramides showed significant reductions in water loss in several areas of the body, including the face, arms, legs, and torso.

Improvements began in as little as four weeks and continued throughout the 12-week study period.¹⁶

Another clinical study examined patients with mild atopic dermatitis, or eczema. In this skin disease, the skin barrier is severely compromised and ceramide-deficient, resulting in patches of itchy, dry skin.¹⁷

After four weeks of taking a daily rice extract containing ceramides:

• Water loss decreased more than 30%,
• Skin redness and flaking were reduced,
• Skin texture became smoother, and
• Itching and discomfort declined.

At the same time, the eczema symptoms of those in the placebo group worsened.

What You Need To Know

The Secret to Smooth, Youthful Skin

• Ceramides are essential lipids that maintain the skin’s moisture barrier. Age-related decline leads to dryness, wrinkles, and accelerated skin aging.
• Rice-derived oral ceramides restore skin hydration from within by boosting natural ceramide production, which topical applications cannot do.
• Environmental pollution and UV radiation further accelerate skin aging and break down collagen and elastin.
• A blend of rosemary, olive leaf, lemon verbena, and Japanese pagoda tree extracts helps block pollution-induced damage, reduces wrinkles, and improves the skin’s moisture and smoothness.
• Vitamin C facilitates collagen synthesis, neutralizes harmful free radicals, and helps decrease dark spots.
• Together, these oral ingredients help hydrate, protect, and restore youthful-looking skin from the inside out.

Four Protective Herbs

Environmental pollutants and UV radiation damage our skin, degrading collagen and elastin (the skin’s main structural proteins) while generating harmful free radicals.^8,18

These environmental factors trigger a protein called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr), which sets off genes involved in immunosuppression, inflammation, oxidative stress, and more, all of which accelerate skin aging.¹⁸

Researchers identified four herbal extracts that, taken orally, protect against environmental skin damage:¹⁹

• Rosemary contains rosmarinic acid and other polyphenols that neutralize free radicals.
• Olive leaf provides oleuropein, a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties.
• Lemon verbena leaf offers antioxidant protection and supports natural defense systems.
• Japanese pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) leaf contains compounds that preserve collagen and elastin.

A preclinical study showed that a combination of these extracts inhibits pollution-induced AhR activation, interrupting the process that initiates skin-damaging inflammation.²⁰

Herbal Extracts Reduce Wrinkles

In a clinical study, 100 women aged 35 to 65 took either 250 mg of this four-extract blend or a placebo daily for 12 weeks.¹⁹

In just 15 days, the herbal blend smoothed and softened skin, reduced wrinkle depth, and improved skin elasticity and firmness.

After 12 weeks, compared to a placebo, those taking the plant extract blend had a:

• 10-fold greater reduction in wrinkle depth,
• 3-fold increase in skin moisture,
• 5-fold improvement in radiance (skin brightness), and
• 18-fold improvement in smoothness.

By the end of the study, over 90% of women showed significant improvement in all measures.

Vitamin C Supports Skin Health

Oral vitamin C provides additional support for skin structure and repair.²¹

Vitamin C supports enzymes that aid in collagen synthesis, helping maintain skin firmness.

Experimental and preclinical data have demonstrated that vitamin C:²²

• boosts type I collagen, and
• lowers oxidative stress.

Vitamin C also inhibits tyrosinase, the enzyme responsible for melanin production. This helps fade existing dark spots and prevent new ones.^23,24

Vitamin C is an antioxidant naturally present in the skin. In a study of 33 volunteers, taking oral vitamin C for four weeks significantly increased the skin’s ability to neutralize free radicals. A daily dose of 100 mg raised antioxidant activity by 22%, while 180 mg increased it by 37%, with no changes observed in the placebo group. Some participants achieved maximum improvement in just two weeks.

These results show that oral vitamin C quickly enhances the skin’s antioxidant defense, with greater effects at higher doses.

A combination of oral ceramides, herbal extracts, and vitamin C may help maintain the skin’s strength and radiance far better than topical treatments.

Summary

Skin aging results from declining ceramide and collagen production, pollution, and UV radiation. This combination weakens the moisture barrier and accelerates structural breakdown.

Rice-derived oral ceramides improve the skin’s barrier function and boost hydration.

A blend of four herbal extracts protects against environmental damage while reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.

Vitamin C provides support for collagen production and protective antioxidant activity. These oral compounds can help hydrate, protect, and rejuvenate skin.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

References

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