The Best Foods for Clear and Healthy Skin

We’re sure you’ve heard the expression “ You Are What You Eat” and it’s true. What you put inside your body plays a large factor in determining the health of your organs, blood, skin and bones. So logically, if you want to be fit and healthy and look good you need to eat food rich in nutrients. Our cells are made up of the same cells found in food (vitamins, amino acids, minerals and more) and our digestive systems take these vitamins, minerals and amino acids and use them in cell development – so you could say your fo od becomes part of your make up, hence the saying You Are What You Eat ! The same applies to your skin. What you put into your body doesn’t just aid wellness; it also keeps your skin super-healthy. Read on for more. While a good skincare routine must be high on your list of importance and followed every day (no more sleeping in make-up!), great looking skin also comes what you put inside your body. If you want clear skin, soft and plump then feed it well with quality, natural skincare and healthy food. You will reap the reward with a beautiful complexion that people notice. Generally, if you follow a healthy, balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals your body and skin will reflect this. You should glow with good health not to mention feel fabulous too. If you only eat junk food your body won’t receive the nutrients it needs to work properly and it will do its best to remove the unhealthy from your body through waste but also that unhealthy stuff (toxins and impurities) ends up in your body’s natural oils, those oils clog up your skin and the result is a greasy looking, dull, grey complexion. There are many more consequences to eating a Big Mac and Fries a few times a week and snacking on chocolate bars and crisps, you’re likely to put on weight, be prone to more breakouts and you won’t feel good either.

Don’t Yo-Yo Diet

Dieting is useless too – unless you follow a healthy, balanced diet. Ditch the milkshake diets and the total cleanse diets because they just rid your body of water (and you need to be hydrated, as does your skin). Follow a good calorie controlled diet if you’re overweight but don’t stint on the healthy stuff! Yo-Yo dieting doesn’t just pile on pounds; ultimately it also plays a huge part in upsetting your skin, skin ages faster, it sags and yo-yo dieting even causes wrinkles because of the toll of the weight loss/weight gain/weight loss/weight gain pattern.

Never Starve Your Body

Obviously eating is important – if you don’t eat your skin suffers (not to mention the danger not eating does to your other organs). Skin needs nutritious food to radiate good health. Starve skin of food and it will lose elasticity, plumpness and fullness will disappear, dark circles form under eyes and the ageing process speeds up.

5-A Day

There’s a reason we’re all advised to eat 5 a day. It’s because fruit and veg has antioxidant properties and these protect skin from free radicals. You might not know what free radicals are but they are the horrid things skin absorbs from the atmosphere – the dangerous sun’s rays, petrol and pollution, smoking etc. All of these play havoc with skin, so skin needs to fight back! You need 5 portions a day to keep skin radiant. Look for food with plenty of antioxidant properties:

• Sweet Potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Kale
• Spinach
• Avocado
• Berries
• Legumes
• Vegetables

Vitamin C & Selenium

One essential vitamin for skin is Vitamin C (and for the body as a whole), it is rich in calcium and is necessary for a bright complexion. Vitamin C is used by the body to develop and maintain scar tissue, cartilage and blood vessels. It gives antioxidant protection and guards your skin from free radicals which age skin. Vitamin C also promotes collagen production for firmer skin and calms down inflammation and irritation. Additionally if you’re getting older and noticing those brown marks, Vitamin C helps fade brown spots. Get your vitamin C through food and your skincare. Here are some foods rich in vitamin C to add to your food shopping list:

• Citrus fruit (oranges, tangerines/satsumas)
• Dark leafy green vegetables/legumes
• Berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries)
• Tomatoes
• Kiwis
• Broccoli
• Peas
• Papaya

You need Selenium in your diet too and this works with Vitamin C. It is believed to protect against skin cancer, sun damage and age spots. Selenium is found in these foods:

• Brazil nuts
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Fish
• Eggs

Drink Up!

Your skin needs hydration too so drink up! It might be tiresome drinking plain old water but it is so important in developing a radiant glow, plumping out skin, ridding spots and keeping your skin looking good. It’s also great for getting rid of toxins in your body. Keep a small bottle of water with you at all times and sip during the day – it’s amazing what you get used to (running to the loo will eventually settle down too).

Omegas

For skin sufferers (we’re talking dermatitis eczema and sensitive skins) eat food rich in omega 3 and 6. This is found in oily fish such as salmon. Omegas are good for inflammatory skin conditions (they’re also great for brain development.) You will find plenty of Omegas in:

• Oily fish (salmon is a great source of Omega 3)
• Tuna
• Linseed
• Flaxseed oil
• Rapeseed oil

Now for the list of foods to avoid if you want great looking skin:

Acne prone

• Avoid saturated fat
• Processed foods
• Junk food
• Cakes, biscuits

Eczema prone

• Milk
• Eggs
• Fish
• Cheese

Take our challenge – use all the foods mentioned above over the next week, drink 2 litres a day and we are sure that you WILL see a remarkable difference and a far more glowing, healthy looking skin that you can’t wait to show off!

Recipes