When we feel stressed, our body increases the production of cortisol, a hormone made by the adrenal glands. Cortisol is generally a positive thing as it plays a crucial role in our body’s response system, being involved in a wide array of chemical reactions to contrast inflammations and playing a crucial role in our natural sleep-wake cycle.

In a stressful situation, our brain instinctively signals the adrenal cortex to release more cortisol, activating a physiological reaction that occurs to counteract a perceived threat, known as fight-or-flight response. In sustained-stress times, our body is always fighting wars he’s not supposed to be fighting.

When cortisol levels are too high, it can inhibit certain biological functions, among which we find production of collagen, hyaluronic acid and lipids, crucial for skin health. As such, stress is one of the main factors to impact on premature aging, as it might thin the dermal layer of the skin, causing wrinkles, crepiness and persistent dryness

As a result, in tougher times, oral intake of low molecular weight HA supplements, such as SinoHyal FG-HAC, FG-XS or FG-VL, can contribute to make up for the lack of hyaluronic acid endogenously produced, thus restoring our skin health. Still, bear in mind that physical exercise, paying attention to our diet and maintaining a regular and regenerating sleep cycle are three simple and yet effective daily habits to counteract stress.

The idea of stress as a systemic trigger for our physiological the fight-or-flight response perfectly falls within the theory of the gut-brain-skin axes, which several studies have been suggesting as a channel of communication between multiple body organs.

Stress has always been and will always be a daily element in our lives which we should learn to coexist with and manage better. In coping with it, we can also supply our body with these exact nutrients, restoring our endogenous building blocks and our skin health. Beauty may manifest on the outside, but it comes from within, and its connection to our health may be deeper than you think.