How to Eat for Your Best Skin
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Regardless of age, all of us want good skin! That is why I wrote about the 10 step Korean skin care system here. Your skin care routine is only part of the battle here though. Even more importantly you need to eat properly for your best skin.
Remember, since the skin is your largest organ, it is reflective of what is going on inside your body. That means the better you eat, the better your skin will look.
For example, I have found that when I avoid certain foods and focus on eating others, I don’t have many eczema flareups, and the ones that I do have aren’t that severe.
The key underlying proper nutrition for better skin is preventing inflammation, promoting cell turnover, and protecting against sun damage.
Inflammation increases free radical activity which in turn destroy collagen. Since collagen is the building block of your skin, you don’t want it attacked.
Inflammation and the sun are the two biggest enemies to your skin.
Let’s start with the things you should avoid, none of which should be surprising: alcohol, excess sugar, and salt. All three of these things create inflammation in the body. Also, alcohol and salt dehydrate you.
And while you know you need to be drinking a ton of water, here are the specific nutrients you should get every single day to nourish your skin from the inside out:
1. Vitamin C.
Aids the creation of collagen and protects from sun damage.
2. Vitamin E.
Protects from free radicals.
Helpful tip: These two potent anti-agers are found in a lot of skin treatments and are more effective when applied together!
3. Beta-carotene.
Fun fact: the body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A. Promotes cell turnover and repairs sun damage.
4. Omega 3 fatty acids.
Fights inflammation.
5. Zinc.
Regulates inflammation and helps with skin cell turnover.
6. Protein…especially collagen.
Remember that protein is the building block for repair and growth of your muscles and skin. It’s very detrimental to be deficient in a building block . In particular, collagen is a very important protein for skin since that is what promotes healthy cell turnover. (In other words, collagen preserves your youth!)
7. Antioxidants.
These come in a wide variety found in plants – the darker/richer the fruit or vegetable, the more goodies it provides. These are important because they fight inflammation and free radicals.
So what are the actual foods you should load up on that provide you with these nutrients and some other good skin tidbits? Here are a few powerhouses and what they provide:
Salmon: omega 3’s, vitamin E, and zinc.
Watermelon and cucumbers: these are almost entirely water so are very hydrating.
Also, watermelon is loaded with lycopene which provides some protection against the sun. (You should still wear sunscreen though!)
Lemon water: you know you should be drinking a lot of water, but I swear by lemon water.
This is loaded with vitamin C and a great detoxifier. The key is to use real lemon as opposed to the stuff in the bottle you store in the fridge.
Dark chocolate. Yes, dark chocolate does, in fact, fight wrinkles. If you didn’t already know that, we just became best friends.
Sweet potatoes: tons of beta-carotene.
Avocados: omega 3’s, vitamin E, and vitamin C.
One of my favorite snacks/sides combines the last two is avocado sweet potato toast. Instead of using bread, roast rounds of sweet potatoes and top with slices of avocado, salt, and pepper, or guacamole. Or if you don’t even want to bother roasting the sweet potato, these pre-made options are ridiculously easy and delicious to work with (and you can top them with pretty much anything).
Collagen.
The easiest and most effective way to get collagen is with collagen powder. I’m sure you have been seeing it more often lately (and if not, you’ll notice it now). You just put it into water, a smoothie, even your coffee. I love this powder because it is tasteless and comes in a big bag with a reasonable price tag – click here to meet your new favorite collagen (and if not, you have 30 days to return it)!
Coconut water: vitamin C, calcium, and potassium hydrate you and protect against sun damage.
Tea. Green tea in particular improves your skin’s elasticity, but any tea has a ton of antioxidants.
If you are looking to up your tea game, ditch the bag from the grocery store and take this tea quiz from Art of Tea to find your perfect mixes. The selection of tea in terms of type and flavor is overwhelming (at least for me, who knows nothing about tea), so this quiz made me feel like not an idiot.
Also, these come in loose leaf options and sachets, so you feel like an adult lady enjoying your tea time! An added bonus is that it can take an edge off your sugar cravings - try the Matcha Cocoa for the perfect after-lunch pick-me-up!
Coffee: this is an underrated antioxidant source, so enjoy your morning cup(s)!
Smoothies.
This is always a great way to get extra fruits and vegetables into your diet, and a wider variety of them. When you can put the spectrum of colors into one glass, you are getting a larger array of antioxidants, which we know is the name of the game here.
Don’t want to perfect a smoothie recipe? They are very hit or miss, after all. You should try Evive. The company provides iced cubes of premade smoothies in a bunch of yummy flavors. You don’t even need a blender – you just put the cubs into a glass of water or milk and shake. It’s as easy as that. Right now your first box is 30% off – click here to see the delicious menu of skin savers!
Grape juice.
You could also go with red wine, but try to keep it to one glass because alcohol also dehydrates you! The secret ingredient that is good for your entire body here is resveratrol, which destroys free radicals.
I hope you found some surprises in there – who would have thought dark chocolate and coffee could help your complexion? – but eating for your best skin is easier than you think! And it WORKS.
RELATED POSTS:
The 10 Step Korean Skin Care Program
How to Kick the Sugar Habit for Good
You Need THESE Healthy Habits When You Turn 40
