Two new studies show off the powers of hyaluronic acid, an exciting new anti-aging supplement also known as HA.

HA was first discovered among the residents of a long-lived village outside Tokyo where instead of rice, they were consuming starchy tuberous vegetables similar to sweet potatoes and rich in HA precursors. The residents had great skin and vision, and rarely suffered serious debilitating illness, working healthfully into their eighties and nineties. Experts believe their diet, rich in HA, was the reason.

Over the last decade HA, a molecule known to retain 1,000 times its weight in water, has become widely used for both osteoarthritis and anti-aging skin care. That is because in both cases, the joints and skin, lubrication is critical. Lubrication helps the joints to move smoothly and for the skin to stay plump.

The first study, published in the December 2009 issue of theAmerican Journal of Orthopedics,  was in patients with early osteoarthritis and a symptomatic meniscal tear.

Geoffrey Westrich, M.D., of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City, and colleagues, randomly assigned 46 patients to either receive three sodium hyaluronate injections or no injections after arthroscopic surgery, reports an online news source.

Compared to the arthroscopy-alone group, the researchers found that the injection group had decreased pain at three months and more flexion at six months. They also found that the injection group was more likely to have no tenderness, pain on motion, or crepitus (a crackling or grating sound and feeling in the joints) at three and six months.

“The combination of arthroscopic surgery and hyaluronate product injection may have the potential to yield better outcomes than arthroscopy alone,” the authors conclude.

Laughing Matter

You may have heard of nitrous oxide (NO), also known as laughing gas. In the body, NO plays many roles, both good and bad. In the case of osteoarthritis, its effects appear to be at least partly bad, causing cellular weakening and death in the joints, or at least being a marker for this destructive process.

In the January 14, 2010, issue of Inflammation Research,   a team of researchers at the Department of Orthopedics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, in China, looked at HA’s effect on NO.

“Hyaluronic acid is widely used in the treatment of osteoarthritis and exerts significant chondroprotective effects,” they said. “Our results show that HA blocks NO-induced apoptosis and dedifferentiation of articular chondrocytes…” In other words, HA reduces NO.

Additional studies including one by K. Dean Reeves, M.D., of the Shawnee Mission Medical Center, in the Kansas City area, have shown the promise of oral supplementation in supporting knee joints.

Each application of HA is helpful: injectable, topical, oral. This molecule can be administered differently, but always with beneficial results, no matter whether it is part of your post-surgical treatment or as a healthy supplement for lifelong health. Our bodies need HA. It might not be a vitamin, but it’s awfully close in terms of necessity to healthy living.

No matter how you receive your HA, this water-loving molecule is able to help overall connective tissue health from within, and all the way into how beautiful your skin is. We should also add that HA works extremely well topically and that it is available in a variety of high-end serums.

Paying attention to one’s own HA intake is going to become an important part of health that naturopaths and progressive doctors recommend and prescribe. Even more sois the case fo HA supplements with osteoarthritis. That is because more evidence is emerging that the body’s stores of HA decrease with age; yet, HA is the body’s joint lubricant and moisturizer. Your joints become inflexible and dry up without this miracle molecule. So does your skin.

The best thing about HA is that it is helpful no matter how delivered, topically or orally—especially when delivered at the right molecular weight.

And that is the big lesson: when you choose HA products, be sure to choose bio-identical high-molecular-weight HA, shown to be most effective. Because high-molecular weight molecules are long and stretched out, they give a high viscosity (lubrication) effect and resist compression. High-molecular HA is far more effective in restoring joint lubrication due to its ability to bind to more water. Low-molecular-weight HA does not have the surface area for binding to water and thus proper lubrication is never gained.

Synthovial 7® is the best bio-identical high-molecular-weight HA oral supplement; Episilk is best for potency and purity, available in six topical facial serums.

Resources

Both Synthovial 7® and Episilk are available at health food stores. There’s a serum sample package available at www.hyalogic.com; use their store locator to find them near you.

Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.