Essential Nutrients

The term essential in medical science refers to those items that the body requires for life, which cannot be produced by the body itself. In other words, essential nutrients must be obtained from our diet. Critically important among essential nutrients are the essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids were discovered in the 1920's and first classified as Vitamin F.

What is CLA?

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is an essential fatty acid that the body requires for numerous and fundamental physiological functions. CLA was discovered in the late 1970's, at the University of Wisconsin's Food Research Institute by Michael Pariza while researching anti-cancer effects in various foods. The active material was identified as CLA, and subsequent work by Pariza and his associates and others began to reveal its astonishing range of biological effects. Since that time numerous studies have pointed out the anti-cancer and metabolic enhancing attributes of CLA. Dozens of clinical and in vitro experiments have demonstrated CLA's ability to protect healthy tissue from cancerous growth. These include breast, colon and in particular skin cancer.

Beginning in the 1990's, CLA became and continues to be one of the most popular nutritional supplements in the Natural food industry.  Read More

CLA and the Skin

Numerous studies underscore the positive health effects that oral consumption of CLA has on skin and muscle. These include reduction in fat, increased insulin sensitivity (critical for improved diabetes control) and prevention of tumor growth. An important limitation for oral consumed CLA is the difficulty in achieving very high tissue levels. By the time the CLA is digested, absorbed into the blood, circulated throughout the entire body and delivered to the skin cells, the concentration is signficantly weakened.

CLA Skin Products

Clearly, by applying CLA directly to the skin, one can achieve as high a level of CLA as desired. The advantages are many:

• no need for clearance through digestion
• no adverse symmetric effects
• ideal levels that protect and nurture the skin are attained without ingesting massive doses

SkinApparel has formulated the world's first CLA Skin Care Products:

1. Shaping™ Body Gel with CLA for after workouts, after sunning or after bathing. The gel, which combines CLA with soothing Aloe, enriches, protects and metabolically enhances the skin directly.

2. Sunning™ Sun Block, which combines an SPF 30 lotion with CLA for protection against UVA/UVB photo damage.