Katherine Elyse Blake, Founder of the nutritional skincare brand “Beautifully Nourished”, shares how the brand is all about nourishing our body from inside out. Launched in 2019, the organic, natural and advanced nutraceuticals have been designed to boost and support both mental and physical wellbeing and sustainable health.
What inspired you to create Beautifully Nourished and how did you develop the range?
I have always absolutely loved nutrition and working with the natural beauty of nature. After completing my degree in Nutrition in 2012, I travelled to America to work within a Nutrigenomic laboratory, it was there that I saw just how powerful affect nutrition and nutrients can have at the body at a cellular level.
It was here that I began to mentally formulate the range. After years working as a Food Product Development Consultant for brands, retailers and manufactures around the world, I honed my craft on how to create the product range that I had dreamed.
There are a few different supplements within the range – can you tell us more about them?
Absolutely! Beautifully Nourished has many functional products, which fall into 5 product areas: General Wellbeing, Gut Health, Mind-Mood & Nootropics, Nutricosmetics & Skincare and Immunity.
What we mean by functional is that each product will do something for the body, such as provide a health benefit that extends beyond its nutritional value. Each of our food supplement products has a targeted mission in mind, from mind health support to a digestive aid to maintaining the normal function of Skin, Hair and Nails. The ingredients that we use, nourish the body’s cells, deeply and provide targeted, simple, yet specific blends for outstanding results.
Beautifully Nourished is a “Nutricosmetic” brand. What does this mean?
Ah, the 3 N’s! nutraceutical, nutricosmetic, nootropic!
A neutraceutical is a fancy word for a functional ingredient (an ingredient that provides a health benefit that extends beyond its nutritional value). A nutricosmetic means a nutritional supplement that will contribute to noticeable effects on outward appearance. They refer to the function of the product related to cosmetic and aesthetic results – typically affecting the Hair, Nails and Function of Skin, such as within Beautifully Nourished’s HSN Complex with Marine Collagen and Silica.
When you hear the word nootropic, this refers to an ingredient that will directly affect the mind, brain health and functions related to the brain, such as focus, memory and cognitive function.
What is 5-HTP and what is it used for?
5HTP is just wonderful, often referred to as a natural anti-depressant, 5-HTP is a precursor to the happy hormone, Serotonin. 5-HTP is a naturally occurring amino acid, which we extract from the seeds of an African plant known as Griffonia Simplicifolia. Depending on the dosage that you choose to take, 5-HTP can support anxiety, depression, sleep, and wake cycles, PMS & PMDD.
Beautifully Nourished’s Repunzel formula contains Silica. What does a good intake of silica do to our body?
Silica is interestingly the second most abundant element on earth. Second only to oxygen! You will often hear it referred to as silicon dioxide and it is absolutely not to be confused with silicone.
Silica is used by every single cell and every internal gland within our bodies and is found naturally in many plants, such as leafy greens and whole grains. Within Beautifully Nourished's Rapunzel formula, Silica works alongside synergist ingredient, Vitamin C, MSM and Marine Collagen to improve collagen production.
As well as its function in collagen synthesis, it also activates hydroxylating enzymes, improving skin strength and elasticity. Studies to date support that women who take as little as 10 mg of silica on a daily basis, improve their skin’s texture.
The presence of soft and brittle nails can indicate silicon deficiency and supplementing with silica can strengthen both the nails and hair and prevent hair thinning.
What would you recommend to improve and restore your gut health?
Probiotics, Fibre and removing products from your lifestyle that do not serve, trigger your gut and cause inflammation. A healthy and diverse gut flora is key! When we eat, we are not just feeding ourselves and our human cells, but the trillion of bacteria that live within our gut! We have 100 trillion microbes, 1,500 times the number of human beings on the planet – living within our gut! Looking after them is key.
Our Fibre Pro supplement features two types of fibre: Pysllium husk powder and Inulin powder, alongside probiotic Lactobacillus Acidophilus, which helps to support a healthy and balanced gut bacterium.
Alongside supplementation, gut health can be nurtured through the combination of a healthful, balanced and varied diet, rich in fibre and foods for the soul and low in sugar, sweeteners and stress. Our daily and nightly routines should include adequate sleep and hydration levels and the inclusion of fermented foods, pre and probiotics.
We also know nourishment to come in many forms, from food to thoughts, emotions to relationships and the environment that surrounds us. Stress and cortisol can put high levels of strain on our gastrointestinal tracts, which is just one of the reasons why it is so important to take time out, simply just to be.
What is your favourite Beautifully Nourished product and why?
Asking a gemini what her favourite is, is such a hard question! I don’t have many favourite things, other than colour – which is pink! You will see my love of this colour throughout the entirety of the Beautifully Nourished story.
Pink makes me feel calm, serene and at ease. The exact feelings that I wish to evoke in all those supplementing with daily acts of self-care through Beautifully Nourished.
When it comes to supplements, I rotate, in three-month cycles and I encourage all to do the same. You may take up to 3 Beautifully Nourished bottles in conjunction with one another at any one time. Through winter, my favourite products are Beautifully Nourished Vitamin D3 and Beautifully Nourished Fibre Pro. I am also currently taking Beautifully Nourished's Rapunzel to support hair growth.
I like to sync my supplements with the seasons and my body’s natural cycles. Getting to know your body’s cycles, albeit emotional, hormonal, productive, rest and sleep cycles can provide some fascinating insights about the interconnectedness of the human body. Working with herbs, the elements, love for self and nutrients can heal, replenish, and restore so much, allowing us to return to our natural, centred states of calm, beauty, wellness and balance.