French women are famous around the world for their effortless style, slender physiques and flawless skin. In fact, there’s an expression about their chic elegance called “the art of being French.”
So imagine their embarrassment when their famous beauty experts completely overlooked a famous French delicacy… Escargot — a dish of cooked snails — found in expensive French restaurants is actually one of the world’s best skin-saving secrets. It was right under their noses all along!
For hundreds of years, the people of France have been considered the culinary experts on snails. And while they are the original experts on eating snails, they missed out on the nutrient-rich secretion snails produce. The slimy snail goo that completely reverses the appearance of aging.
That secret was discovered almost 7,500 miles away — on a small family farm in Chile.
This South American secret was first discovered when snail farmers who were harvesting live snails for the French escargot market noticed that the rough skin on their hands was suddenly smoother and free of blemishes.
It turns out that snails produce an enzyme that seals in moisture and supports young, beautiful skin. This compound contains a combination of antioxidants, proteins, carbohydrates and copper peptides that removes dead skin cells, reduces inflammation and locks in moisture.
But snail serum has an even more important skin secret…
One study published in the journal Skin Pharmacology and Physiology shows that snail enzymes have regenerative properties for human skin.1 Specifically, the study shows that it:
- Eliminates sunspots and improves signs of photoaging
- Has antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging capability
- Promotes skin cell creation and survival — essential for beautiful, healthy skin
Snail extract is a rich source of hyaluronic acid (HA), which promotes the ability of collagen and elastin to retain moisture in your skin. It acts almost like a sponge soaking up water. In fact, HA absorbs up to 1,000 times its weight in water.
This gives your skin firmness, elasticity, and flexibility to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
When you’re young and healthy, you have large amounts of HA in various tissues in your body like your skin, joints and even your eyes. It provides hydration, cushioning and support. But as you age, your HA levels start to decline. This leads to the dry, sagging skin that makes you look older than your years.
When you use HA topically, you’ll notice it working almost immediately. That’s because your skin absorbs it at a cellular level. Unlike some other moisturizers that simply sit on the top of your skin, HA sinks into the deeper levels of your skin tissue.
In another study, participants with skin damage reported that it improved eye wrinkles and skin texture after just 12 weeks.2
I was introduced to snail serum while visiting friends in South America. After hearing them rave about it, I brought some samples home with me to Florida. Those samples flew out of my office almost as soon as they arrived.
Everyone went crazy for it…
I admit I even used it myself on an old scar. Within two weeks, it was greatly diminished.
Boost HA from the Inside Out
While snail serum is one of the fastest and most effective ways of getting the benefits of HA to your skin, it’s not the only way. I also recommend increasing hyaluronic acid from the inside out. Here’s what I tell my patients:
- Drink bone broth. This Hollywood secret is one of your best sources for hyaluronic acid. Make your own using meaty bones from grass-fed beef, a whole pastured chicken (skin included) and chicken feet. As the bones simmer in water for 8 or more hours, nutrients — including hyaluronic acid — trickle out.
I always throw in cooked organ meats after the cooking process. Lamb, poultry and beef liver are rich in hyaluronic acid. - Eat root vegetables. The Japanese root vegetable konnyaku and the potato root emoji are good natural sources of HA. These vegetables also have the nutrients your body uses to make HA, which are protein, omega-3s, and vitamins A and C. And they’re especially high in magnesium, which allows your body to synthesize an even greater amount of HA.
- Take a supplement. The supplement glucosamine also increases your body’s natural production of HA.3 You can take up to 500 mg of glucosamine twice a day with food.
HA is also available as a supplement, but it’s not particularly well absorbed when you take it orally. It’s better to build up your natural HA or get it from a serum.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Brieva A, et al. “Molecular basis for the regenerative properties of a secretion of the mollusk Cryptomphalus aspersa.” Skin Pharmacol Physiol.2008;21(1):15-22.
2. Fabi SG, et al.” The effects of filtrate of the secretion of the Cryptomphalus aspersa on photoaged skin.” J Drugs Dermatol.2013;12(4):453-457.
3. Uitterlinden E, et al. “Glucosamine increases hyaluronic acid production in human osteoarthritic synovium explants.”BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2008;9:120.