Healthy skin isn’t just for the genetically blessed. Try eating some of these foods to revitalize your skin.
You’ve heard that you are what you eat, and this rings true when it comes to your skin. An important part of ensuring clearer and healthier skin is to look at what you’re eating on a daily basis. Here are some power foods that should be making their way into your diet.
Foods to Fight Sun Damage
A healthyMediterranean-based diet filled with olive oil, tomatoes, and leafy greens can help keep skin damage away. This is because such foods are packed with antioxidants to fight chemical reactions resulting in sun damage. Onestudy found that people who consumed five tablespoons of tomato paste and a tablespoon of olive oil every day for 12 weeks had over 30 percent more protection from sunburn than people who didn’t! (Of course, remember that you should still lather on a good broad-spectrum sunscreen every time you leave the house!)
Fresh Produce for Fewer Free Radicals
If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you’ve got the one-up when it comes to youthful skin! A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables brings more antioxidants to the table. These antioxidants combat free radicals that not only lead to illness but can also result in signs of aging such as pigmentation and wrinkles. Bright and colorful produce, such as blueberries, orange sweet potatoes, and rich leafy greens, are a sign of high antioxidant content, so throw these into your cart during your next grocery shopping trip.
Eat Vitamin C Fruits to Keep Skin Healthy
When eating citrus fruits, consume the peels too! Some studies have found that people who eat peels, such as from oranges or lemons, lower their risk of squamous cell carcinoma. Fortunately, you can eat peels in interesting and pretty tasty ways. Finely chop orange peel and add it to chili or use slivers of lemon peel as a refreshing touch to salads.
Citrus foods aside, you also want other vitamin C-packed foods in your diet as they refuel the skin’s natural production of this nutrient. Vitamin C is required for the body to produce collagen so that skin remains firm and youthful. Find it in broccoli, papaya, and kiwi.
Foods that Soothe
If you battle breakouts,whole grains are a good choice. By eating these foods instead of refined carbs, your skin decreases its production of hormones called androgens. These cause the skin’s sebaceous glands to release more oil, which clogs pores and leads to nasty breakouts.
You should also eat omega-3s. These clear up inflammatory conditions such as acne. You can find great omega-3 quantities in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil. The ideal regimen for pimples is to eat foods rich in omega-3s that clear your skin while also tackling stubborn acne with a gentle yet effective skin treatment.
Another vegan source of omega-3s includes walnuts. These nuts are important to skin health because theiralpha-linoleic acid content also helps ease eczema, which can disrupt skin by making it dry, scaly, and itchy.
The Right Fats for Antioxidants
You want to trade saturated fats in for the healthier kind. Thesegood fats are found in olive oil, avocado, and a variety of nuts. Why you need them, other than adding tastiness to your meals, is because they help the body absorb antioxidants which maintain your skin’s strength while giving it a youthful appearance.
Start Glowing!
If your skin is looking dull, it’s probably lacking moisture. To deal with dryness, you want to eat foods with high water content, such as cucumbers, melons, apples, and oranges. Water helps to improve your skin’s circulation, so remember to drink loads of it, too! To zap dullness and get a glow, eat zinc-rich foods such as pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds as this nutrient makes your skin brighter.
Your skin is your largest organ. Look after it by eating foods that are nourishing so that your skin can reveal its healthiest and most gorgeous appearance yet.
