Healthy skin diet: Eat your way to fabulous skin
Healthy skin diet: Eat your way to fabulous skin
Following a healthy skin diet can provide your body with vital nutrients needed for cell growth, and keep your skin feeling – and looking – soft, supple and blemish-free.
While there are many external things we can do to boost our skin health (a great skincare routine, good sleep, exercise, skincare treatments, etc. are all important), there’s no doubt that truly healthy skin starts from the inside out.
Following a healthy skin diet can provide your body with vital nutrients needed for cell growth, and keep your skin feeling – and looking – soft, supple and blemish-free.
What does a healthy skin diet include?
In today’s blog, we’re taking a closer look at some of the best foods you can eat to help your skin look fabulous.
It’s not a definitive list but these are some of our favourites:
Avocados
Avocados are unusual among fruits because they’re high in monounsaturated fat (also found olive oil and rapeseed oil).
Monounsaturated fats can help to keep your bad cholesterol levels within a healthy range. In addition, those same fats are great for your skin.
One study of 716 Japanese women found that eating a diet high in monounsaturated fats is “significantly associated” with greater skin elasticity and fewer wrinkles.
Another study suggests avocados can support healthy ageing by helping to protect your skin from the sun damage caused by UV rays.
Avocados are also rich in vitamins E and C, both of which are needed to keep your skin strong and healthy.
Research suggests that vitamin E is able to protect the skin from sun damage more effectively when eaten at the same time as vitamin C, making avocados the perfect food for combining these crucial antioxidants.
Fish
Fatty fish such as mackerel, herring and salmon are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help your skin to stay supple, strong and moisturised. Omega-3 fatty acids are also natural anti-inflammatories, which means they can help to reduce redness or acne.
The benefits of eating fish don’t end with omega-3 fatty acids. Fish are also a fantastic source of vitamin E, which is one of the most important antioxidants for your skin, and they’re rich in zinc and protein.
Zinc helps your skin to function properly as a barrier and is necessary for wound healing, including reducing inflammation.
If you’re a vegetarian, you will need to look to other sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Flaxseed (linseed) oil, rapeseed oil, soya oil and soya-based foods (e.g. tofu), walnuts and eggs can all help to improve your skin health.
Green tea
Green tea is rich with antioxidants and nutrients known to be good for your skin.
Drinking green tea regularly (or applying a green tea-based facemask) can help to protect your skin against sun damage and reduce the redness caused by sunburn or acne. It can also help to stabilise and improve the shiny appearance of oily skin.
Various research has shown that the topical application of green tea extract could be potentially effective for skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, acne and rosacea.
Green tea can also improve the elasticity, thickness and texture of your skin and leave it feeling more hydrated.
Leafy greens
Leafy greens such as broccoli, spinach and kale should be a mainstay of your healthy skin diet.
They are each full of vitamins and minerals essential for skin health. This includes zinc, vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene or other carotenoids such as lutein (see “Sweet potatoes” below).
Broccoli (like many other cruciferous vegetables, e.g. cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage and kale) contains sulforaphane, which can help to protect against sun damage and maintain the collagen levels in your skin.
Red grapes
The skin of red grapes contains a compound known as resveratrol, which has antioxidant properties and is known to neutrialise harmful free radicals that can cause skin damage and signs of ageing.
Resveratrol can also be found in peanuts and some berries.
Red or yellow bell peppers
Red and yellow bell peppers are amazing sources of beta carotene (see “Sweet potatoes” below), which the body converts to vitamin A to help prevent cell damage.
Bell peppers are also one of the best sources of vitamin C (more so than most fruit!), which is an essential component of collagen production. In turn, collagen is a protein that keeps your skin strong, smooth and healthy.
Soy
Soybeans are naturally rich in protein and contain all the essential amino acids needed by the human body. They’re also an excellent source of plant-based fats, fibre and various vitamins and minerals that are good for your skin and overall health.
In particular, soy contains isoflavone, a type of phytoestrogen, which is a natural chemical found in plant foods that can help to keep our hormones in balance.
One small study of 26 women in their 30s and 40s found that eating soy isoflavone aglycone every day for eight to 12 weeks improved their skin elasticity and reduced the appearance of fine lines around the eyes.
Soy has also been found to increase collagen and improve skin dryness in postmenopausal women.
If you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, then soy-based products may feature more heavily in your weekly menu.
Sunflower seeds
Most nuts and seeds are good for your skin because they’re a source of antioxidants and essential fatty acids (see “Walnuts” below).
Just one ounce of sunflower seeds (28g) contains 49% of the daily value (DV) for vitamin E, 41% of the DV for selenium, 14% of the DV for zinc, and 5.5g of protein.
This powerful composition means that sunflower seeds can help to prevent premature ageing, free radical damage, sun damage and environmental damage. They also have anti-inflammatory properties.
Sunflower seeds are packed with essential fatty acids such as linoleic, oleic and palmitic acid, all of which aid in collagen and elastin formation – the building blocks of smooth, clear, youthful skin.
And if that’s not enough, sunflower seeds have a high-magnesium content, which helps to flush toxins from the body and is anti-bacterial. This can help to prevent a host of skin problems, including acne and infections.
Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta carotene, which is converted into vitamin A by your body when eaten.
Beta carotene is an antioxidant that helps to protect skin cells from sun exposure. Acting as a natural sunblock, this can help to protect your skin against sun damage, dryness and wrinkles.
Oranges, carrots, pumpkin, kale, tomatoes, cantaloupe, apricots and spinach are all rich in beta carotene too.
Research even shows that eating foods high in beta carotene can help to give your skin a natural tan.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a powerhouse of nutrients for your skin. They contain vitamin C, beta carotene, lutein, and lycopene, all of which help to protect your skin from sun damage and premature ageing.
Try eating tomatoes with cheese, avocado or olive oil as research has found that the body better absorbs skin-nourishing carotenoids when they’re eaten with healthy fats.
Walnuts
We mentioned walnuts briefly above when talking about sources of omega-3 fatty acids but these nuts are so good for your skin that they deserve their own section.
Walnuts actually contain more omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids than most other nuts.
Too much omega-6 in your diet can cause inflammation and flare up conditions such as psoriasis. However, because omegas 3 and 6 work together in walnuts in a harmonious ratio, the nuts can help to prevent inflammation.
These aren’t the only healthy skin nutrients in walnuts.
Just one ounce of walnuts (28g) contains eight per cent of the recommended daily value of zinc we should each consume. As we’ve already seen, zinc is essential for skin healing.
Walnuts also contain vitamin E, protein and selenium.
Selenium is a mineral that helps your skin to stay firm and protected against UV damage, pigmentation and inflammation. Eating zinc and selenium-rich foods can help to prevent premature wrinkles and acne.
Other sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, fish, shellfish, white meat, brown rice, lentils, peas, wheatgerm, tomatoes, broccoli and potatoes.
Other zinc-rich foods include beef, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, egg yolks and dark chocolate (100g contains approximately 10mg of zinc, which is nearly the daily amount recommended for men).
Other pointers for a healthy skin diet
The above are just a few examples of foods you can eat to help your skin look and feel as healthy as possible.
Here are a few more pointers for you too:
Eat a minimum of five portions of fruit and veg a day – Eat a rainbow of colourful fruit and vegetables every day as this will help you to include a diverse range of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in your diet.
Eat enough vitamin C – Essential for skin healing, a glowing complexion and strong immune system, make sure you eat plenty of foods rich in vitamin C. Some of the most vitamin C-packed pleasures include blackcurrants, blueberries, guava, kiwi fruit, strawberries, papaya, oranges, broccoli, bell peppers and sweet potatoes.
Drink plenty of water – Your skin needs plenty of water to stay hydrated. Aim for six to eight glasses of water a day and top up with fruit and veg with a high water content such as watermelon, cucumbers and courgettes.
Consume enough vitamin E – Vitamin E can protect your skin from cell damage and it supports healthy skin growth. Include almonds, avocado, hazelnuts, pine nuts, sunflower and corn oils in your diet.
Include some fat in your diet – While the saturated fats in many processed foods are bad for our health (and skin), monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help to keep your skin feeling supple and hydrated.
Avoid high-GI carbs – The glycaemic index (GI) is a system that ranks carbohydrate-based foods according to how quickly or slowly they are broken down in the body into glucose. High-GI foods containing lots of sugar (e.g. biscuits) or heavily processed grains (e.g. white bread) tend to cause the body to produce insulin, which, in turn, breaks down collagen and accelerates wrinkles, speeding up the skin’s ageing process. It’s better to opt for low GI foods such as beans, pulses and porridge.
A healthy skin diet is part of a bigger picture
Following a healthy skin diet can certainly help to improve the appearance and underlying health of your skin.
However, it may just be one piece of the puzzle.
As we saw in our recent article about how to keep your skin healthy and glowing, good skin health is also about getting enough sleep and exercise, following a great skincare regime, and using the right treatments and products for your individual needs.
Don’t be afraid to seek professional advice if you feel your skin needs some extra TLC or even if you love how it looks and feels and want to maintain that.
Book a consultation to talk about your skin health at Medikaur.