5 Eating Tips for Better Skin
The benefits of a healthy diet are many—you can enjoy improved cardiovascular health, maintaining a healthy weight, more energy, and even mental clarity. That being said, there is another huge advantage when it comes to eating the right foods: healthier skin.
Let’s be honest, between age, pollution, and the sun, our skin is under constant attack. It’s a full time job trying to fight off dry skin, blemishes, wrinkles, and the like. We need every bit of assistance we can get.
That’s where your diet can help you greatly.
Eat the wrong stuff and it’s not just your waistline that pays the consequences. Likewise, a healthy diet will pay dividends in multiple ways when it comes to your body’s health.
Here are 5 tips for better eating habits that will have a huge impact on your skin’s health and appearance.
Tip #1: Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
Yeah, we know, you heard this from your mom all the time, but guess what? She’s right. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is good for your digestion, heart health, and skin too.
Many fruits and vegetables contain large amounts of powerful antioxidants and are important for skin cell development and healthy skin tone while offering protection from damage done by free radicals, pollution, and sunlight.
Some experts recommend eating at least five portions of fruits and vegetables a day.
Tip #2: Load up on vitamin C
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin so you literally can’t eat too much, and it’s very important when it comes to maintaining a healthy immune system. This vitamin also improves your skin’s shine, heals blemishes, and stimulates the biosynthesis of collagen (a major building block of bones, skin, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.)
Citrus is the most commonly thought of source for vitamin C, but this vitamin can also be found in many other foods, including blueberries, broccoli, papaya, and sweet potatoes.
Tip #3: Diet right
Crash diets and food plans that starve your body of essential nutrients or fats may help you shed pounds quickly, but will harm your skin quality. Make sure that any diet you undertake is balanced and does not omit foods that are critical for the body’s proper functioning.
Tip #4: Don’t forget about vitamin E
Unlike vitamin C, vitamin E is fat-soluble which means technically you can eat too much of it—but that is only in extreme cases. Most people actually don’t eat enough.
In fact, some experts say that about 90% of people are deficient in vitamin E, which is unfortunate since this nutrient has anti-inflammatory properties and protects skin from cell damage and supports healthy skin growth.
That being said, you can get enough vitamin E for the most part in your diet by simply eating better. Usually, there’s no need for supplements. Just try to incorporate some of the following foods (all high in vitamin E) into your meal plan: almonds, avocado, hazelnuts, pine nuts, or eggs.
Tip #5: Eat fat
Ok, before you get excited, don’t eat just any fat. However, healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats—such as those found in avocados, fish, and nuts—provide essential fatty acids which serve as a natural moisturizer for your skin, keeping it soft and firm.
Pro-tip: These fats also contain healthy amounts of vitamin E.
These are just five helpful tips for better skin. There are many others.
However, the main take-away is this: a healthy diet is far more beneficial than just helping with weight loss and/or maintenance.
Next time you are calorie counting or food planning, make sure you take these things into consideration. Your skin will thank you.
And as always, if you need any help with your meal planning and personal health journey, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Bee Healthy Clinic nearest you.