Food supplements for cosmetic purposes - Efficiency and risks for consumers

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" .

In a Western context where the cult of the body and self-image are now a social fact, it's easy to imagine a shift from the notion of health (in the sense of absence of disease) to that of well-being.

Indeed, after the era of so-called "functional" and "health" foods in the early 1980s, the last fifteen years have seen the development of sub-categories such as "nutraceuticals", "cosmetofoods" or "nutricosmetics", which claim to act on the skin, hair, nails and even teeth.

While research has attempted to establish a solid scientific basis for demonstrating the functional effects of foods and/or their constituents in humans , there is still a lack of data to support the sometimes fanciful cosmetic claims used to enhance the value of certain foods.

What's more, these foods, for which cosmetic effects are claimed, are in the vast majority of cases food supplements, incorporating cocktails of nutrients and various substances whose interactions are still poorly understood. In addition to the need for truthfulness in the messages conveyed, we must also consider the long-term safety of these products.

This article is taken from the journal "Annales des falsifications, de l'expertise chimique et toxicologique" (No. 977) published by the SECF (Société des experts chimistes de France).