Can you get it from food?
Your body makes hyaluronic acid; it isn't a nutrient you're meant to eat. Dietary sources are limited to animal connective tissue, skin and cartilage — chicken skin, bone broth, certain organ meats — in amounts that are small, poorly characterised and highly variable between samples. Nobody has established a per-serve figure worth quoting, and we're not going to invent one. If 120 mg is the target, a supplement is the only way there.
| Food | To match the dose | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken skin and cartilage | Not quantifiable from available data | Contains HA; amounts poorly characterised |
| Bone broth | Small and highly variable | Depends on preparation |
| Organ meats | Small | Not a practical route to 120 mg |
Dietary sources are animal-derived, though most supplemental hyaluronic acid is produced by bacterial fermentation and is suitable for vegetarians — worth checking the label.
What the research actually shows
Unusually tidy alignment between the research and the product. Multiple randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have used 120 mg per day for 12 weeks. One in 40 healthy adults reported improvements in wrinkle assessment, stratum corneum water content, transepidermal water loss and skin elasticity versus placebo. Another in 50 Japanese men and women reported reduced wrinkle volume ratio from eight weeks. A more recent trial randomised 150 participants across 60 mg/day, 120 mg/day and placebo for 12 weeks — a dose-comparison design that's more informative than a single-dose trial.
On certainty: Two caveats worth keeping in view. These are modest sample sizes, and skin-appearance endpoints are harder to measure objectively than something like sleep latency. Encouragingly, the trials use instrument-based measures (corneometry, transepidermal water loss) rather than relying on self-report alone.
The studies referenced
-
Oral sodium hyaluronate improves skin hydration, barrier function and signs of aging: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 150 healthy adults
Compared two doses against placebo over 12 weeks on hydration, barrier function and ageing signs. -
Oral hyaluronan relieves wrinkles and improves dry skin: a 12-week double-blinded, placebo-controlled study
120 mg/day for 12 weeks improved wrinkle assessment, stratum corneum water content, transepidermal water loss and elasticity versus placebo. -
Oral hyaluronic acid in osteoarthritis and low back pain: a systematic review
Linked for completeness. Its outcomes are restricted representations under Australian advertising rules, so we don't summarise them here.