By Bridget Hobart
Eating for Healthy Skin is as important as your skincare products. I believe that most people want radiant, clear and glowing skin. Honoring your skin means you respect yourself, your health and the environment.
Beautiful skin is achieved from the inside out, and an anti-inflammatory diet that helps inflammation is the first step I want to talk about in this blog. I always recommend making sure that your diet is nutritious and well-balanced with the right amounts of protein, fats and carbohydrates.
Have you ever noticed that the morning after eating most Chinese food your face looks puffy and pasty? That is the direct result of an inflammatory response to what you ate.
Here is what I recommend for ‘eating for healthy skin’: drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Upon waking, drink a glass of warm water with fresh organic lemon juice. Wait 30 minutes to eat breakfast. Lemons are packed with nutrients, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. (they contain more potassium than apples or grapes!). In addition to many other benefits, the main one I would like to mention is that the antioxidants in lemon juice help to not only decrease blemishes, but wrinkles too. It can also be applied to scars and age spots to reduce their appearance, and because it’s detoxifying your blood, it will maintain your skin’s radiance.
Always remember to choose foods high in antioxidants. Think bright and vivid colors! The orange found in carrots and peppers, the red in tomatoes and red delicious apples, and pink in salmon, the green in kale and spinach, the bright blue in blueberries; all signaling that you have made the right choice in foods. I like to recommend eating foods that you can pull from the earth or pick from a tree. Think about trying to eat foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.
I recommend eating at least 5 servings of vegetables daily and at least 2 servings of fruit daily as well. This is easier than you think, especially if you have a juicer and love to juice (like I do). I usually juice after my lemon water in the morning and I love to add Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to all of my juices. It is beneficial in so many ways but in conjunction to the skin, it helps with inflammation.
Did you know that they actually are good “fats”? These good fats are called essential fatty acids and are great for the skin. They can be found in wild fish, nuts, seeds and avocados. Good fats or essential fatty acids reduce internal inflammation.
Omega-3 EFA’s are extremely beneficial to the skin. Some of my favorites include: flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts and green leafy vegetables.
In addition, there are some dietary ingredients that are especially good for the skin. They include; minerals, such as selenium and zinc. Flavonoids from citrus and berries. B-vitamins, such as biotin, folic acid and B12.
We are what we eat, think and feel. Make conscious, good decisions in life but never get down on yourself if you get off track. Just get back on and begin again. Try to reduce stress as much as possible. Some people do this through running, yoga, meditation, sauna visits or just reading. Find what works for you and do it. You will look and feel better than ever. Good health and beautiful skin is an unbeatable combination!