Eat Your Way to Healthier Skin
If you want to get the glow and have youthful, radiant skin, it all starts with great nutrition and maximum hydration. Yes, eating mindfully and drinking a boatload of water will do wonders for your complexion. Beautiful skin truly starts from the inside out. I mean, c’mon, they don’t call me Jason “Glowbell” for nothin’, honey.
However, it wasn’t always that way for me. I remember being in my teens and using really powerful pharmaceutical topical creams and medicines to combat my acne. Brainwashed by all the TV and magazine advertising, I thought that was the only way to win the war against pimples. My dermatologist mentioned that the cause of my acne could be the oily food and chocolate I was eating, but for some reason, I brushed it off. Little did I know, there was a correlation between my dietary choices and my skin issues (but chocolate got a bad rap for years).
Before I learned how to take care of my skin by eating a clean, organic, plant-based diet, I was all too familiar with the challenges detailed below:
- Acne is the most common skin disorder in the U.S., affecting 40 to 50 million people
- Nearly 85 percent of all people have acne at some point in their lives
- In 2004, the total cost associated with the treatment of acne exceeded $2.2 billion
As it turns out, healthy foods work from the inside out to brighten your complexion and give you an attractive, radiant glow. Good nutrition plays a vital role in maintaining awesome, youthful, and supple skin. Blueberries, spinach, walnuts, kiwis, dark chocolate, and nondairy yogurt are just a few great choices that come to mind — and there are lots more!
Necessary Nutrients for Sexy, Supple Skin
Omega fatty acids, antioxidants, and trace minerals are all essential nutrients that contribute to flawless skin throughout your lifetime. According to research from the University of Maryland Medical Center, increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids can reduce skin dryness and inflammation. Inflammation can cause your skin to age faster, and research shows that getting too little omega-3s may contribute to inflammatory disorders like eczema and psoriasis. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help keep the heart’s arteries clear and thus improve circulation. Good circulation is absolutely crucial for skin health. Omega-3 fatty acids also help to keep the top outer layer of the skin strong and intact so that external toxins and pollutants are kept out.
One of the big-kahuna antioxidants, vitamin E, combats skin-aging free radicals, protecting your skin from sun damage caused by these UV-sunlight-generated culprits. Vitamin E also tends to help skin retain moisture, relieving dryness and making your skin look younger.
Pairing vitamin E with selenium can enhance its powerful antioxidant abilities, so go ahead and munch on some raw almonds or Brazil nuts (both great sources of selenium) for a skin-revitalizing snack. Other antioxidants like lycopene (found in watermelon and tomatoes) and beta-carotene (found in carrots and peppers) are superfood skin saviors that can curb any potential damage from free radicals.
Vitamin C is a prime skincare ingredient in tons of beauty creams on the market. This vitamin aids in the body’s production of collagen, a protein that forms the basic structure of your skin. Collagen breakdown, which starts speeding up significantly around the age of 35, can leave your skin looking saggy. Consuming extra vitamin C in foods like oranges, grapefruits, camu camu, acerola cherries (a single acerola has 100 percent of your vitamin C for the day) and tomatoes can help to tighten up your skin and prevent wrinkles. Vitamin C may also fight inflammation, and its high levels of antioxidants can neutralize the free radicals (highly reactive oxygen molecules) that damage your cells and prematurely age your face. In case you get tired of eating all that fruit, hot peppers, bell peppers, and organic sprouts also have good amounts of vitamin C.
Zinc, a trace mineral, can help your skin by fighting acne. Zinc is involved in metabolizing testosterone, which affects the production of an oily substance called sebum, one of the primary causes of acne. Zinc also assists in new cell production and the sloughing off of dead skin cells, which gives skin a nice, healthy glow and plump appearance.
Foods that Help You Feel Foxy
Your skin is your body’s largest organ. It makes sense, then, that what’s healthy for your whole body is also great for your skin. As far as food choices, it doesn’t get much better than fresh, organic vegetables. You’ll especially want to look for brightly colored red-orange and green vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, and dark, leafy greens.
Orange- and red-colored vegetables are full of beta-carotene. Our bodies convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which acts as an antioxidant, thereby preventing cell damage and premature aging.
Spinach and other dark, leafy greens also provide tons of vitamin A, which helps your skin produce more fresh new cells and get rid of the old ones, reducing dryness and keeping your face looking bright and young.
Mangoes are also a great source of vitamin A and taste amazing in smoothies or dessert recipes. Truthfully, it’s best to get vitamin A from your food and not from supplements, as extremely high levels of vitamin A can cause health problems. The primary risks of too much vitamin A (either acute or chronic excess) are birth defects, liver abnormalities, central nervous system disorders, and lower bone mineral density that might increase osteoporosis risk.
Oatmeal is nature’s balm for dry, itchy, irritated skin — just ask the ancient Romans and Egyptians! Colloidal oatmeal, which is made by pulverizing and boiling oats, is an ingredient you’ll often see in skincare products. It fights itch, helps to retain moisture, and contributes to the barrier your skin maintains to protect you from harsh, outside elements.
In essence, a nutrient-dense, whole-food vegan diet offers a wide range of whole-body advantages, most notably great-looking skin. Whole foods are natural, unprocessed foods with high nutrient value — an example would be organic, sprouted whole-grain buckwheat instead of white bread. Whole-grain buckwheat is a great source of the antioxidant rutin, which helps to combat inflammation-related skin damage. Wheat germ provides the B vitamin biotin, which assists cells in processing fats. If you don’t have enough biotin in your body, your skin can become dry and scaly.
In general, whole grains instead of processed carbohydrates can improve your complexion. Processed or highly refined flours can cause insulin spikes, which in turn can promote acne. Replacing your refined flour cereal with buckwheat cereal is a great acne-reducing move. Incidentally, this would also help reduce your risk of developing adult-onset diabetes.
Not feeling the crunchy texture and nutty taste of buckwheat? It’s all good, baby. Avocados and mushrooms can provide many of the same nutritive benefits. Remember: a healthy body usually means healthy skin. So just make time to feed your body good, healthy, unprocessed, whole plant foods, get your daily exercise, and keep your stress levels low — and your skin will see some seriously beautiful benefits.
Other Lifestyle Practices For Healthy Skin
The ideal way to get the nutrients you need for a lifelong radiant complexion is to eat a healthy, balanced, plant-based diet. But it can also be a good idea to take a whole-food-derived daily multivitamin with lots of organically derived minerals and antioxidants to boost your overall nutrient intake if you’re not consistently eating a balanced diet. Taking high-quality vitamins and supplements is important if you spend a lot of time outdoors in an urban environment or are exposed to high levels of air pollution and secondhand smoke.
Your skin also needs sleep, regular exercise, hydration, and protection. On days of really high-intensity sun exposure, apply a natural, mineral-rich sunblock with an SPF of at least 30. The label should say “broad-spectrum,” meaning that it protects against the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. If you’re going to be outdoors during peak hours of intense sun, limit your exposure time, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on hot days. A good 15 minutes of direct exposure to your skin should be adequate to maintain healthy vitamin D levels. The important thing is finding the balance of just the right amount of sun exposure to be healthy and not increase your risk for skin cancer. If you have a genetic history of skin cancer in your family, it may be a better idea to obtain higher levels of vitamin D from your food sources and keep sun exposure to a minimum. Use your own best judgment and make smart choices with this one.
From a topical perspective on skincare, shea butter is usually the first recommendation to anyone looking for smoother skin. This soft substance from sub-Saharan Africa has been used for generations to treat ailments from stretch marks to arthritis to leprosy. Shea butter is composed mainly of triglycerides, such as palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic fatty acids. These make it a fantastic emollient, and, combined with its thick texture and creaminess, it’s a moisturizer that really sticks. But it’s the other aspect of shea butter that researchers are more interested in: the unsaponifiables — the parts of oils and fats that don’t form soaps. Shea butter is full to the brim with them, and they have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. And, to make it even better, cinnamic acids in the unsaponifiables actually absorb UV radiation.
Gettin’ your sweat on is a great way to detoxify your skin and open your pores. I recommend using a far-infrared sauna to penetrate deep into the layers of your epidermis and to release the maximum amount of toxins through your skin. Here’s a personal story to highlight the effectiveness of far-infrared sauna therapy for skin detox: my cousin Steve spent the better part of a year in China working on a project. While in Shanghai, he was exposed to some of the most horrific, toxic air pollution in the world. The air quality there is so bad that many people wear masks on the street during their commutes to and from work or even while jogging! When he finally returned to the U.S. after the project wrapped, he started a hardcore detox protocol that integrated far-infrared sauna therapy. He told me that once the temperature got above 150 degrees Fahrenheit, he noticed that black soot started to ooze out of his pores. Can you imagine this happening to you? Needless to say, he was totally freaked out but very relieved to be getting those potentially damaging toxins out of his body.
Do I Need To Drink A Ton of Water?
There are many important reasons to drink copious amounts of water every day. It helps your brain function, maintains consistent energy levels, regulates your body temperature, supports efficient digestion, and ultimately keeps your body healthy. But human beings aren’t necessarily like houseplants. Our skin doesn’t become instantly nourished when we consume a lot of water. In fact, when you drink water, it doesn’t go straight to your skin. It first travels through your intestines, gets absorbed into your bloodstream, and is filtered by your kidneys. Its final task is to hydrate your cells. To deeply moisturize your skin, water isn’t really all that efficient at moisturizing your skin. Whether it’s dry, oily, or a combination, your skin type is largely determined by your genetics.
Your natural moisture level tends to fluctuate depending on what your skin’s protective lipid barrier is exposed to. This lipid layer helps keep moisture in and germs and irritants out. If the irritants get past the layer, that’s when dry skin can become red and itchy. Minimizing your exposure to harsh elements like low humidity, strong winds, dry heat, high altitude, prolonged and intense sun exposure, alcohol, moisture-stripping soaps, and hot baths can prevent the loss of your natural oils.
Going back to your diet again: choosing foods rich in the essential fatty acids found in walnuts, flaxseed, and olive oil can help your skin cells stay hydrated and well-nourished. A study by the Institute of Experimental Dermatology in Germany revealed that women who took flaxseed or borage oil supplements for 12 weeks experienced a significant increase in skin moisture and a reduction in roughness. A healthy diet with three to five servings a week of omega fatty acids will do wonders for almost everyone. But if you suffer from extremely dry skin or eczema, try flaxseed, evening primrose, or borage oil supplements. All three oils are awesome sources of alpha and/or gamma-linolenic fatty acids.
Make no mistake, you want to stay hydrated — but the foods and supplements are the real game-changers when it comes to your epidermis!
When it comes to first impressions, your skin tells other people a lot about you. As your largest organ, it’s a direct reflection of your overall level of vitality and health. I think the REAL test of a person’s skin health is when you see him or her with no camera makeup and no fancy Instagram filters or tricky lighting angles. Unfortunately, we live in a quick-fix culture that values illusion over real, authentic, natural beauty. But you want the real thing, right? So, baby, blow off the Botox, forget the face-lift, and let nature nurture your skin the old-school way like a classic Hollywood diva from the ’20s.
Armed with the awesome information and lifestyle tips, your skin will be glowing like newborn-baby butt cheeks in no time!
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