Food for Healthy Skin

D id you know the largest organ of your body is the skin? Hence, ensuring healthy skin not only boosts your confidence and keeps the compliments coming but works like a stamp of approval for your body’s overall health as well. 

As with all good things in life, the recipe for healthy skin starts with the right kind of food. 

Any medical health professional will tell you that your skin is one of the quickest organs to show signs whenever your health is affected, so if your skin isn’t looking its best lately, you know the surefire way to change it is to get under your skin. No, really, it’s through your skin, fat, fascia, meat, and bones, and then you arrive in the gut. 

So, here are some of the most well-researched foods that you can consume to ace your skin game. 

Get Your Vitamin C from Kiwis, Oranges, and Limes

Bet you already knew how great vitamin C is for your skin but did you also know that fruits differ in their vitamin C content? We have always known citrus fruits to be a great source of vitamin C but the fruit that is most rich in vitamin C is kiwi. 

The most abundant antioxidant found in the skin is vitamin C; however, due to constant atmospheric exposure and insults, your skin is likely to lose it. This vitamin helps with sun protection, cell turnover, rejuvenating the appearance of skin by reducing wrinkles and giving your skin a supple texture.

While different skin products boast having vitamin C in them, it’s difficult to pick the right product because vitamin C almost instantly breaks down on exposure to oxygen. Therefore, if you want to get glowing, supple skin and reverse the number done on your skin by aging and sun exposure, you know you have to eat your vitamin C! 

Get Your Omega-3 from Fatty Fish 

It’s no coincidence that the most recommended diet for healthy skin, luscious hair, and laser vision over the years has proven to be fatty fish. Fatty fish such as salmon, cod, mackerel to name a few are a great source of omega-3. 

According to an article by Harvard, omega-3 fats don’t just improve the visual appearance of your skin but they are essential throughout the body as “an integral part of cell membranes” and aid in “functioning of cell receptors”. 

In the skin, omega-3 fats help regulate sebum production to keep it looking supple, help relieve dryness and itching, as well as relax capillaries to give a more even-toned complexion. Anti-inflammatory properties ward off diseases like dermatitis, eczema, and hypersensitivity, and help in maintaining a strong defense system of the first line of defense for the human body (aka the skin). 

Get Your Vitamin P from Carrots, Bell Peppers and Capsicums 

You thought you’d heard from all the vitamins but here comes vitamin P, now known as “flavonoids.” 

Think of this as the property that gives brightly colored vegetables and fruits their melanin because the same substance also helps them protect themselves against sun damage. 

Similar to how they work for our leafy friends, flavonoids work in the human body to protect against free-radical damage caused by UVA and UVB rays. Their anti-aging properties on both the skin and brain are backed by mountains of research. However, the one quality that takes the cake for vitamin P is how it helps in inactivating dangerous substances through a special “xenobiotic metabolism” to eliminate skin cancer risk. 

Get Your Vitamin E from Spinach, Broccoli, and Nuts

Well, I have to admit that I’m not being entirely honest with this one. Spinach and broccoli don’t have vitamin E to offer in the way of amazing skin-altering (read: life-altering) nutrients. They have so much more! 

Packed with detoxing elements like vitamin A, C, K, lutein, and antioxidants. I bet you understand why I don’t scrunch my nose at fitness gurus drinking green smoothies first thing in the morning anymore. 

According to an article in Medscape, experts have claimed vitamin E as the “most important antioxidant” in the human body because it protects it at the cellular level. 

Vitamin E helps the skin retain moisture, improves texture, and repairs collagen, and you can say goodbye to undereye bags because over time it can also eliminate puffiness. 

The verdict is out; this is the one superfood that checks all the boxes for healthy skin appearance.

Let’s be honest, it’s much easier to apply a miracle cream on your face at night and expect to wake up with flawless skin. But that only works on TV. In real life, healthy skin is the commitment you make to yourself every day; and follow through with clean food at every meal. These foods for healthy skin can be quite beneficial for your overall health and, of course, result in glowing, younger-looking skin!

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• healthy skin
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• food and beauty