Take four capsules of borage oil a day for glowing skin.
In the ‘what is happening to my aging body now?’ saga, dry skin is not nearly the worst thing. But my skin always feels desiccated and tight now, as if I accidently shrank it in the wash.
So I eat more salmon, snack on walnuts instead of Doritos and take fish oil capsules daily – all to get those precious omega 3 fatty acids. And not just for their ability to reduce inflammation and inhibit the formation of clots in the bloodstream. Omega 3s even help strengthen our skin’s barrier function and improve its texture.
But apparently we need to be thinking about omega 6 fatty acids as well. The less popular sibling to omega 3s, omega 6 fatty acids play a significant role in brain function, they stimulate hair growth and maintain bone health and one omega 6 fatty acid in particular, gamma linoleic acid (GLA), is really, really good for your skin.
It all began when I met Lorna Vanderhaeghe. It was a bleak and cold winter’s day and I stared (rather rudely, I fear) at her skin, which was glowing in a way that one does not see in Toronto in February. She may be 60, but her skin is barely into its 40s.
Vanderhaeghe, a formulator with a background in nutrition and biochemistry, is the founder of Smart Solutions supplements. She takes borage oil, which is rich in gamma linoleic acid, also known as GLA (an omega 6 fatty acid) every single day and has for years.
GLA is essential for skin. it’s used topically on infants suffering from sebbhoreic dermatitis, and can help combat eczema. “Deficencies in fatty acids can spur on wrinkles and rosacea,” says Vanderhaege. “Literally all of the high end cosmetics have GLA in them.”
There are trace amounts of GLA in leafy greens and nuts, but, unlike omega 3 fatty acids, you can’t source it from fish and flax. We get GLA from breast milk, but we know that’s a short ride. Evening primrose is 8% GLA, but has a hard shell which inhibits extraction whereas borage (which is 24% GLA) has a soft shelled seed, so the oil can be cold pressed. Unlike the omega 6s found in vegetable oils, which can be unhealthy if consumed in excess, GLA is a powerful anti inflammatory. (And these are only two of many studies.)
If your skin is really tight and mad at you for whatever reason, you can even use GLA topically, like a souped up face oil. Just pop a capsule and apply the contents directly your face at bedtime and wake up feeling much happier when you face the mirror.