Healthy Skin From Within

We all want the best, blemish-free, skin tone possible. Even the very best, most expensive, skincare products won’t make a difference to your skin if you don’t take care of your diet first. Getting the diet right may even avoid the need for those expensive products. Supplying the skin with the necessary vitamins and minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and essential fatty acids is vital in achieving a fresh, natural dewy look for the skin.

Skin is our bodies largest organ its obvious function is to protect our delicate insides. The responsibility of the skin runs deeper than this however. It will, like the colon, lungs and kidneys rid the body of toxins.

Our skin also regulates our body temperature, producing sweat when we’re hot and providing goose bumps when we’re chilly. It quickly and clearly shows our current health status as the lower layers are made of living cells. Changes in nutrition will alter these cells in texture and appearance.

Eating high proportions of refined and processed food, lots of caffeine and artificial ingredients can leave skin looking dull, feeling uncomfortable and even induce premature aging. Smoking, a lack of sleep and free radicals are also responsible for increased damage to the skin.

So What Can Be Done?

Drink plenty of water and or fruit juice.

Avoid caffeinated drinks as much as possible, try herbal teas; sweetened with honey if desired, these count towards your fluid intake.

Cut down your dehydrating alcohol consumption.

Try to rid your diet of artificial, refined or processed food. A small quantity of sugar is highly preferable to large amounts of sweeteners. Get rid of those “no added sugar” labels.

An important player in the maintenance of gorgeous, healthy skin is collagen. This is the foundation; it keeps us and our skin together. Collagen also controls the activities of the sebaceous glands, preventing the skin from drying out therefore crucial for the prevention of sagging and wrinkling.

It is essential that collagen-containing protein foods are supplied to the skin through diet on a daily basis to prevent the skin becoming slack. Examples of foods that contain this are; whole-grain cereals, nuts, seeds and avocados.

Zinc is found in, eggs, lean red meat, legumes, whole grains, spinach, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. It has an anti-inflammatory effect, helping calm conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. Zinc is also great for collagen production.

Vitamin C is an important participant in the production and maintenance of collagen. It’s also a good healer of the skin. Plenty of varied fresh fruit and vegetables are required often as the body cannot store vitamin C.

Vitamin A is wonderful for the skin. The supplements have had a bad press recently but there is no reason not to increase your intake of beta-carotene (the body converts this to vitamin A) the natural way. Try foods such as, carrots, apricots, mangoes and watercress.

Omega 3 fatty acid will help lubricate the skin making it especially good for treating conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Find this nutrient in oily fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel plus nuts and seeds.

Keeping the blood healthy will aid glowing skin. Healthy blood encourages an increase of moisture to the skin to prevent dry or rough conditions. Vitamin B1 or thiamine aids circulation, as does the mineral, iron. A great place to obtain both is in fortified breakfast cereals. Although it may be tempting first thing in the morning to accompany cereal with a cup of tea or coffee, try to avoid this as they can both inhibit the absorption of thiamine and tea inhibits iron absorption. Fruit juice is best, the vitamin C encouraging iron absorption.

Taking cardiovascular exercise like running or cycling can also offer the skin a terrific boost.

Also sleep well!

Always check with doctor before taking supplements, changing your diet or embarking on a new exercise program.