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For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified medical professional before taking any supplement, herb, vitamin, mineral, or bioactive, especially if you use medications or have a medical condition. Read the full disclaimer.
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EmergingBasic Entry

Hair, Skin & Nails

Ceramides

Structural proteins, water-binding compounds, and plant oils used in skin barrier, hair, and nail support contexts.

Page last reviewed: 2026-07-23 - next review due: 2027-01-23

Source Coverage

Included: US reference
Review gap: Canadian reference
Add or verify Health Canada context where an official Canadian reference exists.
Review gap: EU reference
Add or verify EFSA or EU health-claim context where an official EU reference exists.
Review gap: Clinical / safety source
Add a clinical review, safety monograph, systematic review, or other deeper safety reference before strengthening claims.

Function

Lipids that help maintain the skin barrier and reduce water loss from the outer skin layer.

Natural Sources

Wheat germ, brown rice, sweet potatoes, soybeans, eggs, dairy.

Food vs Supplement Context

Natural sources describe where this item appears in foods, culinary ingredients, or traditional preparations. Concentrated supplements can differ by dose, extract type, preparation, standardization, and medication context, so they should be evaluated separately.

Testing & Monitoring Context

  • No routine lab test establishes a required daily need for most foods and bioactives; monitoring is usually based on the intended outcome, dose, medical history, and adverse effects.

Suggested Guidelines When Purchasing

What to look for: Prefer a product identity that matches the studied ingredient or ordinary food source described on this page.

Use caution or avoid: Avoid products that hide dose, source, standardization, allergens, or safety-relevant ingredients.

  • Prefer ordinary food sources first when they provide the intended compound in a practical way.
  • For supplements, require clear labeling of active ingredient, dose per serving, serving size, and other ingredients.
  • Prefer products with third-party testing or transparent contaminant testing, especially for concentrated extracts, algae, mushrooms, minerals, and sports products.
  • Do not let marketing claims override the evidence, safety flags, source coverage, or dose context on this page.

Intake Guidance

No official DRI

No official RDA, AI, or RDI has been established for this bioactive as a required daily intake.

Evidence Summary

Claim-level study review has not been added yet for this item. Treat this as a basic catalog entry until evidence claims are reviewed.

Evidence Legend

Established use: Supported by official guidance, regulatory claim context, strong consensus, or repeated human evidence for a specific use.
Promising: Human studies or reviews suggest benefit for specific outcomes, but evidence is not broad enough to treat as settled general guidance.
Emerging: Early human, mechanistic, or mixed evidence; worth tracking, but not strong enough for confident user-facing claims.
Traditional use: Historically or traditionally used, but modern clinical evidence may be limited, mixed, or product-specific.
Category example: Included to describe a supplement or food category, not because a strong health claim is attached yet.

Sources

FoodData Central

U.S. Department of Agriculture - acquired 2026-07-23 - Food Database