My Secret Weapon provides vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients to help maintain healthy hair and nails.
Healthy skin, hair, and nails result from various biological factors, including balanced nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Collagen, the body’s main structural protein, makes up 70% of the skin and is vital in helping to maintain the skin’s firmness, suppleness, and elasticity, as well as the constant renewal of skin cells. Research has shown collagen production begins to decrease around the age of 18 and continues to decline at a rate of about 1% per year after age 40. After menopause, skin thickness may decrease at a rate of about 1-2% annually.
Betaine HCl
Betaine is a natural substance found in foods such as beets, spinach and grains. Hydrochloric acid combined with betaine (betaine HCl) has been used for years to support digestion and absorption due to its ability to prime the acidity of the stomach and enhance digestion. Maintaining optimal acidity in the digestive tract is essential for the complete breakdown of proteins into amino acids which is a crucial step in the building of skin and hair proteins, such as collagen. Research also suggests that betaine supports cellular health. Betaine acts as a methyl donor, which supports healthy methionine, homocysteine and hepatic fat metabolism. Betaine also functions as an osmolyte, supporting cellular integrity and protein balance during fluctuations in hydration and temperature.
Saw Palmetto
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens or Sabal serrulata) has been used historically to support hormone health, as it provides essential fatty acids and phytosterols. Studies have shown saw palmetto promotes hormonal balance via several mechanisms. Saw palmetto also helps maintain hormonal balance by inhibiting the binding of androgens to receptors and promotes inflammatory balance by antagonizing the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase inflammatory pathways in vitro. Both of these factors are crucial for maintaining healthy skin.
MSM
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a sulfur-containing compound that occurs naturally in many foods. Sulfur, the main component in MSM, is the third most abundant element by weight in the body and is important for maintaining joint and soft tissue health. Sulfur is important for the generation of connective tissues, including hair, cartilage and collagen. Sulfur is crucial for the production of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. MSM is an important sulfur donor for several sulfur containing compounds, especially cysteine, which is crucial for the synthesis of glutathione, an important antioxidant in the body. Adequate intracellular glutathione concentrations have been shown to mitigate damage caused by excessive free radical formation. Free radicals are molecules thought to be the major cause of cellular aging. In vitro studies have demonstrated that MSM is a potent antioxidant and helps modulate cytokine production to support a healthy cycle of inflammation.
