Many of my students and blog followers ask, “What foods can
I eat for healthier skin”? There are
many topical beauty products one can buy for healthier skin but eating healthy
foods should be a first step. Eat
This, Not That! has a great article, 25 Healthy
Foods That Give You Glowing Skin.
Besides eating healthy, keeping the sun off your face by wearing a hat
and using sunscreen are also wise ideas.
The article makes the point that having healthy, “hydrated skin
starts from within” by eating healthy foods.
Healthy foods can help build up collagen in your skin, and help strengthen
your skin. Collagen is important as one New York dermatologist
says, “It’s the glue that holds the body together. “Collagen makes up about 75% of the dry
weight of your skin, providing volume that keeps skin looking plump and keeps
lines at bay.”
What are some foods that promote healthy skin and what is
in these foods that works that magic?
- Tomatoes – plants have chemicals in them
that help protect the plant. These
chemicals are called phytochemicals. Research
have found that phytochemicals are not only good for plants but also good for
us. Tomatoes have the phytochemical,
lycopene, which acts as a potent
antioxidant. (See Antioxidants
and good health.) Lycopene helps
strengthen the collagen in your skin.
Interesting, lycopene also helps your skin fight off the harmful rays of
the sun which can age your skin, even helping to prevent sunburn.
- An interesting thing about tomatoes is that cooking
tomatoes makes the lycopene even more absorbable. Don’t like raw tomatoes? No problem. Enjoy salsa,
tomato sauce on your spaghetti, tomato soup, tomato juice, gazpacho, and even ketchup.
 |
| Full of healthy lycopene. |
- Carrots – some people eat carrots for
good eyesight and carrots do help your eyes.
But carrots are also great for your skin because the orange color is
loaded with carotene which your body turns into vitamin A. Carotene is another antioxidant that helps
your skin
appearance and health and may even help protect your skin from the harmful rays
of the sun. We buy the baby carrots in
the bags and I eat a few baby carrots for lunch every day. This is to be sure that every day, I get some
healthy carotene in my diet.
 |
| Full of carotene, so good for your skin. |
- Sweet Potatoes – many restaurants
offer baked potatoes but fewer offer baked sweet potatoes. If sweet potatoes are
on the menu, they are a healthy choice as like carrots their orange color means
they are loaded with carotene. Not going
out, then buy some sweet potatoes and pop them in the microwave. An interesting study in the journal of Evolution
and Human Behavior found that people who ate more foods with carotene and
who ate more fruits and vegetables
had a “healthier, more attractive, and more radiant glow than you would get
from sun exposure”. - Turmeric – not really a “food” but a
spice. Many people now take supplements
of turmeric as it is an anti-inflammatory. (See Anti-inflammatory
foods.) Turmeric provides the antioxidant called curcumin. Researchers have found curcumin to be a
powerful anti-inflammatory. NIH reviewed 234 articles
on turmeric and concluded that turmeric “may provide therapeutic benefits for
skin health”. - Salmon – always very popular on the menu
at restaurants. Who knew salmon would promote healthy skin? Why? Salmon
provides a healthy fat, called omega-3’s.
It also contains DMAE – a substance you may never have heard of but it
promotes healthy skin and protects your skin cells. “Strengthening the cell membranes guards against
their deterioration that causes premature aging”. This is some substance as DMAE also helps your
skin look more toned and firmer. So, if
salmon is on the menu when you are going out to eat, order the salmon. And find some ways to incorporate salmon into
your home menu. - Eggs – not hard for me to add eggs to my
day as I love boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, and deviled
eggs. What is so great about eggs? Not only do eggs provide a high-quality protein
but they provide a B vitamin called biotin.
Some people take biotin supplements for healthier hair and fingernails. But
biotin also protects the skin and helps prevent dryness. Some other food sources of biotin
include dairy products (real dairy, not fake dairy), whole wheat bread, whole
grain cereals (any General Mills cereal), peanuts, salmon and chicken. - Green Tea – a favorite during cold days
of winter. Green tea provides antioxidants
called catechins. These have “anti-inflammatory and anticancer
properties”. Drinking green tea can
actually help protect
your skin from sun damage and help your skin repair damaged cells.
This week plan on adding some foods that promote healthy
skin to your diet. Make them a
habit. Almost every day, I have those
baby carrots at lunch and a handful of peanuts.
A few times a week I have some hard-boiled eggs or a fried egg sandwich
with cheese. Enjoy some Green Tea on those
cold winter days. Have some salsa and
corn chips for a snack. So many easy ways
to eat for healthier skin.
Sources: 25 Healthy
Foods That Give You Glowing Skin , dermatologist
, potent
antioxidant , Antioxidants
and good health, cooking,
skin ,
Evolution
and Human Behavior , vegetables,
Anti-inflammatory
foods , NIH , cells
, biotin
, catechins,
protect
Image sources: Tomato
soup, Baby
carrots , Green Tea
source https://betterweightloss.info/ktk-nutrition-foods-for-healthy-skin/
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