Did you know you can eat your way to amazing skin? While this claim might be a bit bold, there's undeniable truth in nourishing your skin with the right nutrients to enhance its natural glow.
I’m going to start off being a bit annoying here by stating that eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of whole foods is, of course, the best place to start. While this advice might sound like a broken record, it's tried and true – ensuring that your entire body, skin included, receives the essential nutrients it craves.
With this, here is a list of food groups known to support healthy skin that thrives all year round!
Antioxidant-Rich Foods:
Antioxidant may seem like a buzz word, but there’s actually a lot of great foods that fall under this category.
Enjoy berries, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate, fruits, veggies, lentils or a cup of green tea. And these are just naming a few of biggies off the bat.
Antioxidant-rich foods actually help with premature aging, so do yourself a favor and buy that extra dark chocolate bar to fight those wrinkles.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Omega 3 and fatty acids are great for reducing inflammation in the body and fighting disease. Try picking up some fatty fish like salmon or mackerel. Not a fish person? Try sprinkling some flaxseed or chia seed in your smoothies, walnuts on top of pasta can also add a great crunch.
Hydration and Water-Rich Foods:
When the skin is hydrated, it appears plumper, less red, and smooths wrinkles. Most fruits are water-rich making it easy to incorporate extra hydration into your diet.
Watermelon is actually mostly water, so cut up a slice, sit back, and let your skin do the rest! Cucumber and celery are some veggie options that are also great for extra H20. Try pairing with some hummus or ranch for a more balanced, satisfying snack.
Collagen-Boosting Foods:
Collagen is your BFF when it comes to promoting elasticity and firmness, two things we all want to maintain more of in our skin. Collagen holds up the structural integrity of your skin, which is a fancy way of saying it helps with wound healing, slowing wrinkles, and is your own natural anti-aging tool.
Shoot for some extra lean protein or shellfish. Eggs, avocado and leafy greens are also great sources of collagen.
Breaking down the specifics of which foods support each aspect of skin health can provide a helpful starting point for incorporating them into your diet. However, the common denominator among all these beneficial foods is that they are whole foods.
Unfortunately that means you won’t be finding these yummy nutrients at the bottom on a bag of hot Cheetos, as much as we all wish we could.
