Eating to Satisfy Your Skin’s Wants

The food that you eat can have a major impact on your skin. A balanced, healthy diet is essential for maintaining your skin’s health. It’s important to remember that the foods you put into your body are what give your skin its color and texture. Make sure that you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially those high in antioxidants like blueberries and spinach. If you need more ideas on how to incorporate healthy, skin-friendly food into your diet, check out these food tips to satisfy your skin’s wants.

Skin-smart foodWhat are some foods that can increase your skin’s health?

Fruits and vegetables are important to your diet. They provide you with a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, such as vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E, zeaxanthin, and lutein. These nutrients are essential for healthy skin because they reduce inflammation and protect from environmental damage.

Some other foods that can help improve skin health are omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and improve the elasticity of the skin; conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been shown to combat acne and protect against cancer and is found in beef, mutton, eggs, mushrooms, and vegetable oils; and resveratrol, which may prevent sun damage by slowing down aging and is found in red and white wine, grapes, blueberries, cranberries, pistachios, peanuts, cocoa, and dark chocolate.

In order to get these nutrients, you need to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and avoid processed foods or those with high fructose corn syrup. For example, instead of a bagel with cream cheese, you could have an apple with peanut butter.

Foods to eat in order to nourish your skin

A balanced, healthy diet is essential for maintaining your skin’s health. It’s important to remember that the foods you put into your body are what give your skin its color and texture. Make sure that you are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, especially those high in antioxidants like blueberries and spinach.

The following foods can make a huge difference when it comes to nourishing your skin:

  • Avocados- They’re rich in vitamins A and E which help protect against free radicals that can lead to premature aging.
  • Eggs- With their high levels of vitamin B12, eggs are also an excellent source of protein, iron, copper, folate, zinc and selenium.
  • Salmon- Rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which help maintain the elasticity of skin cells and provide protection from sun damage.
  • Spinach- The nutrients present in spinach, including vitamins A, C, and K, iron, folate, and potassium, have been scientifically proven to slow down the aging process by promoting cell renewal as well as reducing inflammation.

Foods to avoid if you have oily skin

Your skin can be oily, dry, or combination. Your diet has a major impact on the way your skin looks and feels. If you have oily skin, you should try to avoid foods that will clog your pores and cause breakouts.

If you have oily skin, avoid:

  • pretzels
  • cold cereal
  • dried fruit
  • white bread
  • white pasta

The best option for oily skin all over the body is to eat foods high in water content like cucumbers, broccoli, and bananas. These foods will hydrate and cleanse your skin without causing any problems. To combat dryness or flakiness on your face, you should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables with high water content like oranges and grapefruit. For more ideas on what to eat if you want healthier-looking skin, check out this list of healthy food options for every skin type.

Foods with Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are the most important nutrients for your skin. They provide the building blocks that help maintain a healthy complexion by fighting off fine lines and wrinkles, slowing signs of aging, and regulating oil production.

Fish is a great source of omega-3s, but if you don’t like fish or don’t eat it often, there are plenty of other high-quality plant sources you can use. These include walnuts, chia seeds, navy beans, brussels sprouts, flaxseeds, avocado, pumpkin seeds, tofu, and hemp seeds.

Foods with Vitamin C and E

It’s a known fact that eating fresh produce and staying away from processed food is crucial to maintaining a healthy diet.

The top fruits and vegetables with vitamin C and E are great sources of antioxidants you need to eat in your diet.

Here’s a list of fruits with vitamin C:

  • apples
  • bananas
  • blackberries
  • blueberries
  • cantaloupe
  • citrus fruits (orange and grapefruit)
  • kiwi
  • mangoes
  • papayas

And here are vegetables with vitamin C:

  • bell peppers
  • broccoli
  • cabbage
  • cauliflower
  • kale, collard & turnip greens & other leafy greens
  • eggplant
  • brussels sprouts
  • celery root
  • lettuce (all varieties)

Things that may decrease the health of your complexion

The following foods may be less than ideal for your skin.

  1. Fats: High-fat foods are linked to an increased risk of skin cancer, wrinkles, and aging.
  2. Sugar: The more sugar you eat, the more advanced glycation end products (AGEs) your body makes. The more AGEs that accumulate, the more damage they do to your skin.
  3. Canned or processed foods: Foods that have been preserved through canning or processing have increased levels of sodium and preservatives which can be damaging to your skin. This refers to commercial canning and processing. If you can your own foods, you can control the sodium and preservative content you use.
  4. Alcohol: Even though alcohol is an antioxidant, it also dehydrates your skin and has a negative impact on collagen production.
  5. Coffee: While coffee is a natural source of caffeine, it can also dehydrate your skin and cause premature aging.

Things that may increase the health of your complexion.

A balanced diet is essential for maintaining the health of your skin. Eating foods high in antioxidants like blueberries and spinach can help you improve the health of your complexion.

Here are some other ways to improve your complexion:

  1. Drink lots of water: This will help cleanse and detoxify your body.
  2. Eat carrots daily: Their vitamin A helps brighten your complexion.
  3. Eat zinc-rich foods: Zinc is often an ingredient in topical sunscreens, so eating foods rich in the mineral can offer protection against sun damage. Add sesame seeds, oysters, lamb, and green peas to your diet for added zinc.
  4. Add some probiotics: Yogurt and kefir are both excellent sources of probiotics, as are other fermented foods such as sauerkraut. Probiotics are great at fighting inflammation in the skin caused by rashes, rosacea, trauma, or allergic reactions. You can add a probiotic supplement if you like, but probiotics from food sources are ideal, as with any other vitamin or mineral.
  5. Get your daily molybdenum: Your body makes new cells daily by copying DNA. Molybdenum helps ensure that the DNA is copied correctly so you get healthy new cells. You can get molybdenum from lima beans and other legumes such as edamame and green peas.

A skincare routine is important to make your skin look healthy and bright. But the foods you eat play just as vital a role, if not a more vital one, as your skincare routine. Choosing the right foods will keep your skin looking youthful, vibrant, and healthy for years and make your skincare routine easier and less expensive.

Peninsula Dermatology Skin Cancer Surgery Center encourages you to visit a dermatologist for the best skin and nail solutions, give us a call or visit us online to schedule an appointment.