Six Tips for Healthy Skin Feed Your Skin the Right Nutrients
The skin-care industry is an $8.0-billion-plus business in the U.S. That’s a lot of cash. There are all kinds of creams, lotions, hydrating gels, exfoliators, anti-aging products and cleansing soaps available for purchase. The logic here is that because the skin is on the outside of the body, it should be treated separately from everything else. But your skin is merely a reflection of what is happening on the inside of your body.
Nutritional deficiencies could cause problems with your skin. When you lack certain vitamins and minerals, your skin can get dry and irritated. Certain foods could trigger reactions, causing reoccurring blemishes. Let’s take a look at six foods that could help your skin look youthful and healthy.
1. Green Tea
Green tea contains a whole bunch of healthful compounds, but the ones that are most important to your health are the “flavonoids.” Flavonoids are plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants. The flavonoids in green tea are the same type that are found in red wine and berries. There are about 316 milligrams (mg) of flavonoids in a cup of green tea.
The most potent flavonoid is one with a long name — “epigallocatechin gallate” — but we’ll just call it EGCG. EGCG is a type of flavonoid known as a “catechin.” Research has shown that catechins are more effective antioxidants than even vitamins C and E are.
All of the antioxidants in green tea could reduce inflammation and protect cell membranes. They have been proven to reduce the damage of sunburns and overexposure to ultraviolet light, protecting you from the risk of skin cancer. Green tea is also high in polyphenols, which fight cancer-causing free radicals.
EGCG has been shown to act as a sort of “fountain of youth” by reactivating dying skin cells. Recent research by scientists at the Medical College of Georgia investigated inflammatory skin diseases, which were accompanied by patches of dry, red, flaky skin caused by the inflammation and overproduction of skin cells. In this animal study, those treated with green tea showed slower growth of skin cells and the presence of a gene that regulates the cells’ life cycles.4
Get the Most Out of Green Tea
Here are a few tips for getting the most health benefits from green tea:
• Drink more than one cup of green tea a day. In tea-drinking cultures like Japan, green tea is consumed three times throughout the day to maximize the absorption of antioxidants and other healthful compounds.
• Let your cup of tea to steep for three to five minutes. This will allow the release of “catechins” — those powerful antioxidants that fight skin damage.
• Drink freshly brewed tea. This is the best way to get the maximum amount of antioxidants and catechins. Decaffeinated, ready-to-drink bottled teas and instant teas have fewer of these compounds.
• Tea can prevent the absorption of iron from fruits and vegetables. Adding lemon or drinking tea between meals could help you avoid this problem.
2. Salmon
Salmon contains an important ingredient for healthy skin: omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for your health but because they cannot be made by your body, you must get them from the foods that you eat. Cold-water fish, like salmon, are higher in omega-3 fatty acids than warm-water fish are.
Increasing your consumption of foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids could help keep your skin supple and youthful. Most Americans are low in omega-3s; they tend to get far more omega-6s in their diets. Medical experts recommend a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3s. For the average American, the ratio is more like 20:1. If you boost your consumption of salmon and other oily fish, you’ll be increasing the amount of omega-3s that you get, and you’ll be helping your skin look and feel healthier.
German researchers were able to prove in a double-blind, randomized, parallel group study that omega-3s could improve the health of damaged skin. The trial was quite extensive and was performed in eight European centers. The study involved 83 patients who were hospitalized for chronic plaque-type psoriasis with a severity score of at least 15, according to the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI).
The patients were given either an omega-3 treatment or an omega-6 treatment. The researchers found that the omega-3 group had a significantly lower score on the PASI index after treatment than the omega-6 group. The omega-3 group also had the greatest improvement in overall scaling and redness of skin. The researchers concluded that omega-3s are effective in the treatment of chronic plaque-type psoriasis.5
3. Blueberries
Blueberries are a true superfood when it comes to providing you with antioxidants. In fact, one serving of blueberries gives you the same amount of antioxidants as five servings of carrots, apples, broccoli or squash do! Blueberries are a powerhouse when it comes to fighting disease — and that means your skin, too. They can give you the same protection as taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements.
Because blueberries are considered by many experts to be the highest food source of antioxidants, they are your best bet for targeting free radicals that can damage your skin cells. Blueberries contain “phytochemicals” — bioactive compounds that are found in plant food — which have the ability to neutralize DNA-damaging free radicals, reducing cell damage. When you protect your skin cells from damage and disintegration, you should notice that your skin looks younger for longer.
4. Carrots
Carrots are a great source of vitamin A. You need lots of vitamin A for healthy skin. Carrots, like blueberries, contain lots of antioxidants that prevent free radicals from damaging skin cells. Vitamin A also plays a role in the development and maintenance of your skin cells. When you aren’t getting enough vitamin A, your skin can feel dry and itchy.
Vitamin A has been proven to prevent acne. In addition, when you absorb vitamin A into your skin, you give yourself more protection against harmful UV rays from the sun.
Carrots are also high in a carotenoid called beta-carotene. Beta-carotene works together with vitamin A. When you eat foods containing beta-carotene, like carrots, the beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in your liver. Unlike vitamin A, beta-carotene isn’t toxic in large doses, though if you do get too much of it, your skin will turn slightly yellow-orange. Beta-carotene has the ability to scavenge free radicals and neutralize them before they can damage your skin.
In a German study, researchers focused on carotenoids and flavonoids and their ability to protect the skin. Previous studies had shown that carotenoids and flavonoids are involved in protection against excess light in plants and contribute to the prevention of UV damage in humans. In particular, the researchers were interested in beta-carotene. When beta-carotene is absorbed into the body, it gets distributed into light-exposed tissues such as the skin or eyes.
During the clinical trial, participants were given a diet containing beta-carotene for 10 to 12 weeks. The researchers noted a significant reduction in skin sensitivity toward UV radiation in the participants. They concluded that dietary micronutrients, including beta-carotene, could contribute to lifelong protection against harmful UV radiation.6
5. Garlic
Garlic contains a big dose of sulfur compounds. These compounds are amazing at binding with toxins, thereby helping remove them from your body — and that means your skin, too. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, containing a substance called “allicin.” Garlic can fight bacteria that threaten the health of your skin, leaving it clear and free from blemishes. Garlic is also a potent antioxidant and can protect against free-radical damage. Studies have found that aged garlic has even greater antioxidant benefits.
Garlic could help detoxify your liver. And when you have a healthy liver, it will show on the outside in the form of healthy, glowing skin. You can use raw garlic in number of recipes to enhance the health of your skin — from dinner entrées to breakfast juices, garlic can be added to fight free radicals, bacteria and toxins. If you’re worried about the pungent smell of garlic, you can take odorless capsules, which you should be able to buy at your local pharmacy.
6. Water
What is one of the best ways to boost the health of your skin? Simple, clean water. Drinking water will hydrate your skin, smoothing out wrinkles and warding off the effects of aging. When your skin cells become dehydrated, they can shrink and lose their elasticity. Make sure that you are getting enough water each day. Health experts recommend about eight to ten glasses a day, but even if you manage only half of that, you’ll still be well above what most people drink in a day.
Water performs one more important job when it comes to healthy skin: the removal of toxins. Water carries chemicals, pollutants and waste products out of your body. When you don’t drink enough, toxins can settle into your skin cells where they could do some serious damage. Flush these nasty substances out by drinking clean, filtered water throughout the day.
Water can help you sweat. Sweating is a natural way for you to maintain a healthy body temperature. It is also another way in which your body removes toxins. Give your body enough clean water each day to perform these two very important tasks, and you’ll likely notice that you feel better on the inside and look healthier on the outside.
Eat Healthy for Healthy Skin
If you’re trying to improve the health of your skin, remember that diet can be a powerful tool to achieve this goal. Your body and your skin only have access to the nutrients that you give them each day. If you don’t eat healthy foods, you have less working on your behalf. Try eating these six foods and dramatically improve the ability of your skin to stay healthy and youthful, even as you age.
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