You are what you eat! The top foods and tips to achieve radiant skin
You are what you eat! The top foods and tips to get radiant skin
The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ has never been more true and as boring as that is you can get incredible benefits from eating healthily and making small tweaks to your diet and lifestyle. We need key nutrients to support essential growth, and optimising your antioxidants with a varied and balanced diet is crucial to help slow down the ageing process which is inevitably sped up by sun exposure, chemicals and a poor diet.
If you want glowing, radiant and youthful looking skin you can start by following these tips!
Yes, you can have various treatments to help your skin and use creams and lotions to help improve the appearance, plus try and un do damage but before all of those luxury commodities we can simply go back to basics starting with our 5 a day.
Fruit and vegetables are packed with the powerful antioxidants we need to protect skin from harmful free radicals, and the things which cause wrinkling and age spots such as smoking, pollution and sunlight. Carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkins contain Beta-carotene and Lutein found in kale, papaya and spinach are strong antioxidants; great for a healthy skin tone and skin cell development.
Vitamins E and C
Vitamin C is needed for a healthy immune system and is found in many moisturisers perfect for radiant skin with its healing properties, helping to produce collagen and strengthening the capillaries.
Great sources of this include sweet potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, guava, kiwi fruit, papaya, oranges and broccoli.
Vitamin E protects the skin from damage and encourages skin growth, found in almonds, avocado, hazelnuts, pine nuts, sunflower and corn oils.
Selenium
Found in Brazil nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheatgerm, tomatoes and broccoli, selenium is essential to support the immune system and works in tandem with Vitamin C and E, helping to protect the skin against cancer, age spots and sun damage.
Water
Dehydrated skin can look dry, grey and tired. Drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day can do you and your skin the world of good and don’t forget a lot of foods such as fruit and veg, melon, cucumber and courgette all have a high fluid content. A few caffeine-free herbal teas thrown in for good measure and you’ve smashed your recommended daily intake!
Fats are not all bad!
The types of fats found in avocados, oily fish, nuts and seeds are what we call ‘good fats’. They provide the essential fatty acids needed as a natural moisturiser for your skin, keeping it supple and improving elasticity.
Other essential fatty acids are Omega 3 and 6 which cannot be made in the body and must be obtained through diet or supplements, such as oily fish, linseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts and rapeseed oil.
Zinc
This assists the normal function of the sebaceous glands in our skin, you will benefit from consuming fish, lean red meat, wholegrains, poultry, nuts, seeds and shellfish.
Don’t cut carbs, opt for low GI ones
Carbohydrates are ranked on the Glycaemic Index on how quickly or how slowly they are broken down into glucose in the body. Certain foods help release sugar into the blood stream slower, giving you a more steady supply of energy and leaving you feeling fuller for longer. Great low GI carb sources are beans, pulses and porridge to name a few.
Don’t fad diet
Your skin can sag, wrinkle and stretch which can leave stretch marks. Unfortunately losing and gaining weight repeatedly can have this effect, fad crash diets are also usually lacking in the vitamins and minerals our body needs.
Skin conditions
Acne, Psoriasis and Eczema unfortunately can all be closely related to our diet and a poor diet certainly doesn’t help these conditions.
Acne is caused by inflammation of the sebaceous gland and avoiding saturated fats, hydrogenated fats, processed foods and junk foods as well as high sugar snacks can help to avoid it.
While more vegetables, fruit, fish and selenium rich foods will most certainly help.
Psoriasis is caused by rapid growth of cells in the outer skin layers. Trigger foods can bring on psoriasis along with sunburn, alcohol, smoking, obesity and stress.
If you suffer from Psoriasis, foods in low saturated fats are recommended including anti-inflammatory herbs such as turmeric, red pepper, ginger, cumin, fennel, rosemary and garlic.
Lastly Eczema, a skin condition which can be triggered by food sensitivity. The most common triggers can be eggs, milk, fish, cheese, nuts and food additives.
Our skin is made up of the hypodermis, dermis and the epidermis. Each layer has its own unique function including healing, regulating body temperature and producing vitamin D so it is essential to look after it and feed it the best we can if we know our diet has a significant impact on the appearance and quality of our skin.
So here is our top 5!
- BLUEBERRIES rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties
- AVOCADOS loaded with the good fats
- OILY FISH packed with Omega 3 and 6
- TOMATOES rich in selenium and lycopene
- OLIVES great for improving blood flow and rich in good fats and antioxidants.
Add some of these wonderful foods into your daily diet, try some of our top tips and you can start to enjoy the benefits inside and out!
If you have any further skin concerns or would like advice on skincare routines and treatments, we offer a consultation in clinic to assess your bespoke needs. To book in with us simply give us a call or follow the booking procedure on our website:
Contact – Kingswood Parks Dental (kingswoodparksclinics.co.uk)
