10 Great Foods for Your Skin
Everyone has heard of the phrase, "You are what you eat." But when talking about skincare, "You reflect what you eat" may be more appropriate. Okay, sure, it's not as catchy, but the simple truth is that when you eat right, your skin will love you—and everyone else, in turn, will love your skin. The food you eat can be a great ally in the fight against age and acne.
As Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, said recently to the American Academy of Dermatology, "While there's no mistaking how our diet affects our overall health, we're just beginning to understand how certain foods—or lack thereof—can impact our skin's health." So, before you purchase the $40 pimple eraser and the $100 wrinkle cream, make sure the following items are on your grocery list.
There are several topical creams that can help give you that youthful glow, aid in reducing redness, and help remedy deep lines due to sun damage and age. However, most experts say that eating a healthy balanced diet is a sure way to help alleviate skin problems. Here are 10 great foods to help boost your chances at a lovely complexion.
- Water. According to the American Skin Association, "Water is the most important nutrient we consume. The human body is anywhere from 55 to 75 percent water. Without water, we could not survive. It is recommended that people drink 8 glasses of water a day." Drinking the right amount of water helps you sweat. Sweat helps you detoxify from toxins that the body absorbs through unhealthy eating habits and living in a smoggy world. In turn, you clear out the body and keep the internal and external body nice and clean. Clean skin = healthy skin.
- Whole grains. Whole grains will up your intake of fiber. Fiber is just what you need to clear your body of waste and toxins. When we retain toxins from the food we eat and our physical environment, it starts to show on our face. Whole grains such as whole-meal pasta, whole wheat breads, and rice, also contain vitamin B, which is an ingredient you will find in anti-aging creams.
Veggies. Foods high in vitamin A help to repair your skin. When one is low in this vitamin, skin can become dry and flaky, and take much more time to heal. Many topical creams contain vitamin A and are said to help with acne and reduce lines and wrinkles. You can find vitamin A in most fruits and vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, spinach, tomato juice, broccoli, and kale.
- Vitamin B foods. There are many forms of vitamin B. The one most important to skin is Biotin. This nutrient helps form a basis for the skin, hair, and nails. Those who show a deficiency in Biotin will have problems with itchy skin and possible hair loss. Most adults require about 30 micrograms of Biotin a day. Almonds and peanuts are high in this nutrient; in fact, peanut butter contains the full 30 micrograms per serving. Other foods high in Biotin are milk, eggs, yogurt, and cheese. You can absorb vitamin B when eating chicken, turkey, and beef; leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, and cabbage; and fruits such as raspberries, avocado, and bananas.
Salmon. Sea creatures such as salmon and oysters happen to contain zinc and omega-3 fatty acids. Zinc helps shed old skin and promotes new-cell growth, which gives you that youthful luminescence. Damage to your skin creates inflammation, which in turn causes your skin to age at a faster rate. Omega-3 fatty acids are responsible for reducing inflammation associated with redness. The fatty acids also promote healthy circulation. Healthy circulation is crucial to healthy skin. Anti-aging expert Nicholas Perricone, MD, author of The Wrinkle Cure, has advocated a diet rich in antioxidants and omega-3s for better skin.
- Citrus and other vitamin C-rich fruit. You can absorb vitamin C from oranges, grapefruits, tomatoes, and Acerola cherries. (One Acerola cherry feeds 100 percent of your daily vitamin C requirement.) Vitamin C is in many of your over-the-counter skincare products because it aids in the production of collagen. Collagen is that priceless protein that holds your skin in place. As one gets older (usually around 35 years and on) the skin starts the "sagging" process due to the breakdown of collagen.
- Raw or sprouted seeds and nuts. Foods high in vitamin E offer the benefit of antioxidants. They protect your complexion from skin-aging free radicals and sun damage. Vitamin E also helps lock in moisture to protect your skin from looking dry and aged. Seeds and nuts are very high in vitamin E, specifically sunflower seeds, almonds, hazelnuts, and dry roasted peanuts.
- Cottage cheese. You have heard that dairy is beneficial to your bones, but did you know that this dairy product is actually good for your skin? Cottage cheese contains high levels of selenium—an essential mineral that works like vitamin E as an antioxidant. It also protects against skin cancer.
Dark chocolate. This yummy treat contains high counts of antioxidants. It can help increase blood flow to your skin and helps reduce the roughness of skin, while keeping you safe from sun damage. You don't have to feel guilty when you run to the candy aisle to grab a bar of dark chocolate. When eaten in moderation, this is a "guilty pleasure" that actually is good for you. So break off a couple squares every once in a while for a healthy glow and soft skin.
- Avocado. This green, smooth, and creamy fruit contains B-complex vitamins and B3 vitamins (Niacin). These vitamins have anti-inflammatory qualities and help relieve irritated, red, blotchy skin. Avocados are also a great source of vitamin E.
These foods don't only need to be ingested to help create healthy skin. You can also apply many of them to the face by making some fun homemade food facial mask. Face masks are a great way to pamper yourself while cleaning your pores and soothing dry irritated skin. Get in the kitchen, whip up a facial concoction, dim the lights, and you have yourself an at-home spa treatment for a fraction of the cost. Here are a few simple facial masks for you to try out.
Avocado Mask:- Mash one whole avocado.
- Add 1 tsp. flaxseed oil and 1 tsp. honey.
- Mix together until smooth and creamy.
- Apply to face and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Rinse clean with warm water.
This helps to sooth and heal irritated skin due to sun exposure.
Oatmeal/Egg White Mask:
- You'll need: 3 to 4 egg whites and 1/3 cup oatmeal.
- Mix ingredients together.
- Apply and rub mixture onto skin. Oatmeal will exfoliate the skin. Allow for mixture to sit for 5 minutes and let egg whites dry.
- Rinse clean with warm water.
This exfoliates and removes dead skin and blemishes, leaving skin feeling soft and smooth.
Cucumber Mask:- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- Cut a cucumber into thick slices and place in a blender. Set aside 2 thin slices of cucumber for the eyes.
- Throw 3 mint or parsley leaves into the blender. Puree to a paste.
- Mix the cucumber puree with the yogurt in the bowl.
- Cover your face with the cucumber mask. Place thin slices of cucumber on the eyes and let sit on the skin for 15 minutes.
- Rinse clean with warm water.
This purifies and cleanses the skin, leaving the face feeling cool and smooth.
So hop in the car and head to the grocery store. Nourish yourself inside and out. Next time you hear, "WOW . . . you haven't changed a bit since high school," you know they are talking about your beautiful, youthful glow and not a face stained with break outs.
References
- Interview with Nicholas Perricone, MD, author of The Wrinkle Cure http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=54286
- American Skin Association http://www.americanskin.org/research/
- The Journal of the American Medical Association; Effect of Chocolate on Acne Vulgaris. (date accessed: March 1, 2010)
To find out some of the great nutritional products that beachbody has to offer to help keep you healthy please visit http://www.instantnewbody.com
One teaspoon of table sugar has 15 calories. Honestly, if you have a couple of cups of tea or coffee in the morning and you dump the proverbial spoonful of sugar in each, that's 30 calories. If the rest of your diet is tight and you're active, it won't matter. If you're trying to lose weight and are eating at a severe deficit, you'll probably want to skip those few spoonfuls of sugar, because table sugar is nutritionally void and you want every calorie to count nutritionally. Other than that, though, life's short—enjoy your java.
When the low-carb "revolution" hit in the early aughts, fruit was demonized for its sugar content. This is, in a word, ridiculous. Yes, fruit is loaded with sugar, but it's also usually loaded with fiber, which slows sugar absorption, making it an ideal way to get your simple carbs without straining your little insulin buddies. Fruit is also loaded with easy-to-absorb vitamins and minerals. Most fruit is also filled with water, yet another benefit.
Interval training. 
No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That's it, just junk. Other than this, you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Now, how hard can that be? Guess this depends on what I mean by "junk." But all I'm concerned with this week is the obvious stuff like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, etc. You may be stricter if you'd like, but for Week 1, don't be too hard on yourself. For many of you, this step alone will reap huge benefits.
Each week's rules are cumulative, so the "no junk" rule from Week 1 will apply until the end, as will each subsequent week's rule. Remember that this is a learning and conditioning process. It's like you're in school and the subject is your own body.
Eat some colorful, low-density food at every meal. These are foods that take up a lot of space without a lot of calories. Veggies are the most obvious example. You can eat a salad bowl overflowing with lettuce and veggies and you most likely won't exceed 100 calories. By eating low-density foods like veggies and fruits, you'll keep your portions under control naturally, because they have very few calories for their size. Conversely, high-density foods, like chocolate and butter, are loaded with calories in even the smallest amounts. So beware of salad dressings and other things you add to salads and veggies. Only add enough for flavor; don't fill up on them. When it comes to live foods, the richer the colors, the fresher the products tend to be. Try to eat a variety of colors in your diet. This simple and somewhat random act will help ensure that you're covering your bases, nutrient-wise.
Cook at home. One of the best ways to control your eating is to prepare all your meals yourself. Eliminate all fast food (which should have been gone in Week 1) and most other restaurant food. You may still eat food from certain restaurants where you can be sure of the ingredients (most will be savvy enough to make a point of how healthy their food is). But avoid all fast food chains, even ones that claim to be "healthy." Restaurants need their food to taste good, so they'll often use compromised ingredients, even when they list low numbers on fats and/or calories. Fast food can contain many hidden evils in addition to calories. For example, next time you see one of those nutrition charts, check the sodium levels; most fast foods use ridiculously high amounts of salt. Avoiding fast food alone will often bring your body closer to homeostasis (its desired state of balance). This can be hard for many of us because we now have to plan our meals and prepare ahead of time, but try and treat it like vocational school—you don't learn a new "job" without a little retraining.
Reduce starchy carbohydrates. Starches include rice, bread, potatoes, corn, beans, and other legumes. While many of these are in no way bad foods, most people tend to consume far too many of them. So what you want to do this week is cut way down on them, if not cutting them out completely. Then add them back in when your body feels like it needs energy, which it will at some point if you're exercising (and why wouldn't you be?). But don't add a huge plate or bowl of pasta; instead, add a small single serving. Starches are great energy food, but if you eat too many, they turn the tables and make you sluggish!
If man makes it, don't eat it. This is likely to be the hardest week of your diet. You want to eat onlywhole foods and eliminate all processed foods, even good ones, for the week. This includes breads, most salad dressings, all cereal, luncheon meats, cheese, dried fruits, anything with preservatives, and alcoholic beverages. What you can eat are whole foods such as fruit, raw or steamed vegetables, meat (sans any type of sauce), natural whole-grain rice, poached eggs, etc. Since your eating habits have been slowly changing, this shouldn't be that big a shock to your system, but keeping in focus that you only have to do this for 7 days will make it easier. (Although each week's rules are cumulative in the plan, Week 6 is more of a "cleanse" or "reset" week where you avoid all processed food; after Week 6, you can go back to the occasional processed food, but chances are you'll take what you learned this week and tend to make healthier, smarter choices.)
Be yourself. No rules—just try and eat as healthily as you can and do it by feel. Trusting yourself might seem like a lot of responsibility, but by now you'll be up to it. Learning to eat by feeling what your body needs is an important step in your transformation. Consider the way you've been eating over the last 6 weeks, but don't worry about what you should and shouldn't do. Just fuel yourself. The point is to take a mental break. Relax and allow yourself to eat in a way that feels normal. You may be surprised to find yourself craving something healthy instead of a candy bar or soda. You'll be better at listening to your body because it'll tell you what it needs to eat, as opposed to what you're used to eating. Your body should feel somewhat transformed. Does it?
Eat a perfect diet. Now it's time for a real challenge—are you ready? The perfect diet is strictly individual, as there's no one diet that suits everybody. So who better to choose the perfect diet for you than you? Our bodies are all different, and the key to your own perfect diet is learning about how your body reacts to different foods under different circumstances. Your journey over the last 7 weeks should have brought you to a new understanding of how food affects your body, both for good and for bad. Now it's up to you to put it to the test. See how well you can eat for a week. In fact, see how well you can eat for the rest of your life. Live and enjoy.