Pamper that body

Which vitamins should you be adding to your routine?

TRESS STRESSED

If excessive hair loss is your issue, then Andrea Clark, the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong’s resident trichologist, recommends a blood test to determine whether you might be having issues with nutrient absorption or iron deficiency. In general, though, she suggests “low-dose cyclical supplements, two different supplements taken once over three days, then repeated. The programme that I have used myself is called Hair Fact.” [Pictured.] Her top three recommended supplements include a probiotic for gut health and absorption; vitamin D3 with calcium, deficiencies of which have been linked to hair loss; and vitamin B-complex that “will cover biotin too, which is said to improve the infrastructure of hair”.

SKIN SAVIOURS

What you consume has a direct effect on your skin, says Dr Nigma Talib, celebrity naturopath and author of Reverse the Signs of Ageing. Hormones will also greatly affect ageing, in particular what she calls “dirty hormones”, hormonal imbalances that are exacerbated by diet and lifestyle choices. Probiotics will aid digestion, while Talib’s own Beauty in a Bottle supplement contains vitamins A, C, and E to boost collagen and metabolise iron; and B complex, zinc, selenium and copper to help elasticity. Her Immortal Skin Collagen Powder will “make your bowel movements really good” (and contains marine collagen, her preferred source for better absorption). Cruciferous veggies “help break down dirty hormones into healthy estrogen. Or you could take DIM [diindolylmethane] – basically like eating a ton of cauliflower and broccoli in a pill.”

SLIM AND TRIM

Whether your goal is fat loss or muscle growth or both, according to Jamie Owen, a Hong Kong trainer with popular global personal-training outfit Ultimate Performance, “the thing that the fitness industry doesn’t tell you about most of the supplements on the market is that they are pointless”. He suggests building whey protein into your diet, which not only helps you feel fuller to curb snacking, but contains the amino acid Leucine, which promotes muscle protein synthesis (think of it as photosynthesis for humans) so your muscles grow. Caffeine can also help promote fat oxidation and give you more energy to work out, but “try a week or two away from coffee [first], as you’ve probably built up a tolerance to it.”