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Revive With Vitamins
Beauty From the Inside Out
By Teri Brown
Levine says that biotin (vitamin B) and calcium can help with brittle and cracked nails, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C and beta carotene, usually in topical form, can be helpful with enhancing hair luster and skin clarity. These antioxidants can also serve as a risk-reduction factor for skin cancer.
In addition, the good, old-fashioned ways to improve skin and nails are high on Levine's list. Things like not smoking, adequate moisture and drinking lots of water can assist in improving yourself from the inside out.
Dr. Levine cautions against mixing and matching vitamin supplements. "Vitamins and minerals have a recommended daily amount, and if you take a wide variety of different supplements, you are in danger of getting too much, and this could actually be harmful to your health," she says.
Also, since nutritional supplements are not strictly regulated by the FDA, some supplement marketers make claims that are not backed up by solid science. Consumers should be wary of this and choose supplements that are from trusted brands.
The lure of supplements designed to make our skin soft or our hair silky is hard to resist. The only dilemma is that there are so many vitamin-enriched products to choose from that it's difficult to decide which one to try first!
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