Skin Care & Eating Well

You know that eating healthy foods helps to keep you at a good weight. Eating the right foods also helps your skin to look its best. To have beautiful skin on the outside, you need to start from the inside, according to the Sheer Balance website. Environmental factors, how well you take care of your skin and what you eat all contribute to having healthy, glowing skin.

Treat Skin From Inside

The first thing people usually do when they get dry skin or a breakout is to reach for the latest treatment. That’s all well and good, but you may be able to treat the problem from the inside, according to The Site website. Healthy eating can show in your complexion. Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is another way to help your skin tone.

10 Best Foods

The 10 best foods to eat for skin health are oily fish, nuts and seeds, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, berries, spinach, mango, whole grains, probiotic (good bacteria) yogurt and green tea, according to The Site. To get the positive skin benefits from oily fish, such as salmon, trout, mackerel and fresh tuna, you would need to eat it up to three times a week. If you can’t do that, substitute the fish with fish oil supplements or with flaxseed oil.

Benefits of Vitamins

The reasons for eating other foods for your health are the vitamins they contain that are good for the skin. Vitamin A and vitamin E, which are antioxidants, are good for your skin and can be found in nuts and seeds. You can eat them alone or put them in your cereal or salad. Avocado contains vitamin E and has the good monounsaturated fats that help with dry skin. Berries contain vitamin C and helps with collagen production. Spinach and other green, leafy vegetables contain vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B.

Foods with Medicinal Value

Extra virgin olive oil is so good for your skin, you should do more than cook with it. Apply it directly to your skin if you have a minor irritation or sunburn. Mango, along with carrots, apricots, cantaloupe and sweet potatoes (orange foods) are good if you have acne because of the beta-carotene they contain. Whole grains help to get rid of bodily waste.

Anti-Aging Foods

To fight aging skin, eat apples, eggplant, garlic, onions and green tea. These foods contain polyphenols that protect skin from free radicals that contribute to aging. Foods that contain selenium fight free radicals, too. They are brown rice, Brazil nuts, chicken breast, turkey, eggs, shrimp and tuna.

What Not to Eat

Just as certain foods will help your skin, just as many can harm it. Too much alcohol can leave you with reddish and wrinkled-looking skin, according to the Sheer Balance website. Too much caffeine can dehydrate you. Make sure to combat that by drinking plenty of water. Fatty foods with saturated fats or trans fats may prematurely age your skin. High carbohydrate foods and refined sugar can attack collagen. Sugars also increase androgens, which are hormones that can cause your skin to be oily.

Smoking is terrible for your skin. It decreases blood flow, depletes your body of vitamin C (which helps with collagen), will give your skin a grayish cast and will contribute to wrinkles, especially around your mouth and eyes.