What To Eat and Drink For Beautiful Healthy Skin
Jennifer R. Scott, RLD
Registered Licensed Dietician
Healthy skin can be obtained by using appropriate skin care products such as good quality cleansers and moisturizing lotions and creams. These products are external treatments. However, the internal aspect of skin care, although just as, if not more important than the external care, is often ignored. What we eat and drink daily plays a significant role in the health of our skin as well.
The best skin care regime involves paying attention to both the external and internal needs of the skin. Skin requires nutrients derived from inside the body in order to protect itself from damage and replenish dead skin cells with new healthy cells. Eating the best food for skin goes a long way towards having the best and healthiest looking skin possible.
What are the best food and drinks for skin? There are many foods and drinks that, if consumed regularly as part of an overall well-balanced diet, will benefit the skin. However, some are better than others, and the following foods and drinks provide the extra nutrients required to boost your skin’s health and give you that great complexion you’ve always wanted.
Selenium & Zinc
Brazil Nuts
Selenium is a trace mineral that may help protect skin cells from free radical damage. It may also play a role in skin cancer prevention. Selenium improves the elasticity of skin, helps to battle skin infections, and is thought to help individuals with acne. Selenium is necessary for the production of glutathione, which neutralizes free radicals in the body that can lead to the deterioration of collagen and elastin in the skin. In addition to skin benefits, selenium improves the hair and nails. Excellent sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, button mushrooms, shrimp, lamb, and fish such as snapper, cod, halibut, tuna, and salmon. Selenium is also found in cooked beef, light turkey meat, oysters, sardines, crab, and whole-wheat pasta.
Brazil nuts are also a good food for skin health because they contain zinc, which helps with skin inflammation problems, skin cell growth, maintenance of collagen and elastin, and dry skin related problems such as eczema and psoriasis. Turkey is another food that is high in the mineral zinc and provides similar benefits for the skin.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants prevent or slow the damage done to cells by free radicals. This damage contributes to signs of aging, such as wrinkles and dry skin.
Antioxidants can be found in all kinds of foods, especially colorful fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apricots, beets, squash, spinach, tangerines, peppers, and beans. Other excellent sources of antioxidants include:
Green Tea
(Vitamins C, D, and K, and riboflavin, zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron)
Green tea is an antioxidant powerhouse and is the closest thing to a magic elixir that nature can offer for skin health. It provides a wide range of benefits. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is thought to play a role in preventing certain types of skin cancers by reducing the risk of damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Green tea is loaded with a variety of antioxidants and is a good food for skin and overall good body health.
In addition to being a good food for skin, it is also used in skin creams and cosmetics in order to take advantage of its potent antioxidant activity directly on the skin.
Salmon& Whole Grains
(CoQ10: Coenzyme Q10)
CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant made naturally in your body. It protects skin and other body cells from the damages of free radicals. CoQ10 is also involved in energy production and immune system function. The main food sources of CoQ10 include oily fish such as salmon and tuna, organ meats such as liver, and whole grains
Carrots, Cantaloupe, Sweet Potatoes, and Dairy Products
(Vitamins A, C & E)
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that mops up free radicals, such as those produced by overexposure to the sun, that destroy skin-firming fibers such as collagen and elastin, which lead to the premature aging of skin. It also aids in skin collagen formation. Collagen helps skin look young and plump. Carrots and sweet potatoes are good sources of vitamin C. Other excellent sources of vitamin C include berries, red bell peppers, citrus fruits, papaya, kiwi, broccoli, greens, and Brussels sprouts.
Carrots are a good food for skin because they are also a high source of beta-carotene. The body coverts beta-carotene to vitamin A for use within the body. Vitamin A aids in the development of skin cells and the maintenance of proper skin cell health. A vitamin A deficiency can lead to dry skin.
Want to steer clear of dry, flaky skin? Grab an orange, a carrot, or a slice of cantaloupe. These fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamin A, which helps hydrate the lower layers of the skin. Other good food sources of vitamin A include leafy greens, eggs, and low-fat dairy products such as cheese and milk. Eating carrots can also be a natural sunscreen, providing a SPF factor of 2 to 4 in people with light colored skin.
Unlike foods containing beta-carotene, which is the precursor to vitamin A, dairy products provide vitamin A directly. Therefore, individuals with certain health problems that interfere with beta-carotene to vitamin A conversion will still get vitamin A into their bodies if they consume sufficient amounts of dairy products.
Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene and vitamin C as well. In addition, these potatoes contain vitamin E. Vitamin E helps the body regenerate vitamin C and therefore is necessary in order to maximize the effectiveness of vitamin C. Foods that contain high quantities of vitamin C and vitamin E are very effective antioxidants for skin protection.
Vitamin E is another antioxidant that may help shield your skin from damage done by the sun. Vitamin E is also an anti-inflammatory and immunity enhancer.
Vitamin E is found in avocados, vegetable oils, nuts, sunflower and other seeds, olives, spinach, asparagus, olives, berries, and leafy greens in small amounts.
Healthy Oils & Essential Fatty Acids for Healthy Skin
Essential fatty acids such as omege-3’s and omega-6’s help produce your skin’s natural oil barrier, preventing skin dryness, and keeping blemishes at bay. EFAs are necessary fats that help leave skin smoother and younger-looking. Good sources of essential fatty acids include Brazil nuts, flax seeds, flax, olive and canola oils, walnuts, and cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel.
Omege-3 fatty acids, which the body cannot manufacture on its own. These fatty acids improve the skin by decreasing the occurrence of clogged pores, reducing the body’s production of inflammatory agents that can lead to skin damage, reducing skin dryness and skin dryness related problems such as eczema, and improving the skin’s elasticity. These fatty acids are responsible for healthy cell membranes. They prevent harmful substances from entering the cells, but allow essential nutrients in. Because these substances strengthen the cell membrane, they help to keep water in and keep the cells hydrated. This helps the skin maintain its proper moisture level resulting in skin that is plump and younger looking. Salmon is also high in selenium, which improves various skin problems and overall skin health.
Some oils pack more than essential fatty acids. Good-quality oils like extra virgin olive oil and cold- or expeller-pressed oil like flax seed oil, are more simply processed than many commercial oils, and so they may help retain more skin-boosting nutrients. These oils may also help lubricate skin and keep it looking and feeling healthy.
Salmon and Avocados
Salmon and other oily fish (sardines, mackerel, fresh tuna) play an important role in skin health. Salmon contains a high amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which the body cannot produce on its own. Avocados are high in fat, but most of the fat is monounsaturated and thus is considered a healthy fat.
Whole Grains
(Group B Vitamins)
Whole grains, as can be found in certain breads and cereals, are a good food for skin because they are loaded with the B group vitamins. B group vitamins are essential for normal skin functioning. They are required for the growth of new cells, replacing those that have died, and help strengthen the skin against infections and stress. Specifically, whole grains help prevent the peeling and cracking of skin, rough skin on the hands and feet, and conditions such as mouth ulcers.
Pomegranate Juice
(Anthocyanins)
Pomegranate juice contains anthocyanins that act to strengthen the walls of the tiny blood vessels that supply nutrients to the skin. Therefore, drinking pomegranate juice can help stop the formation of spider veins.
H2O:
How Water Benefits Your Skin
And last, but certainly not least, water. Few things are as good as water for keeping your skin in shape. Water keeps skin hydrated, reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. It helps cells take up nutrients and purge toxins. And water improves circulation and blood flow, keeping your skin glowing. Follow your thirst, or aim for about eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day.