Skin Healthy Diet
Skin has the potential to be radiant, vibrant, and glowing. However, if you're not eating a healthy diet that includes all the nutrients the largest organ of your body, your skin, needs to thrive, you're not only cheating your skin; you're cheating yourself. These days, everybody's thinking about, reading about, and talking about health. You hear it all over the news, and eating a balanced diet is foremost in those stories. Doctors are even talking and promoting one diet over another for heart health, blood health, energy, etc. But how often do you hear about skin-healthy diets? While it's true that the skin is the largest organ of the human body, it's also true that it tends to be the most neglected of all of the organs. The truth is, though, that what you eat shows on your skin. That's why folks everywhere are finally waking up to the fact that, when it comes to our skin, there are good foods and bad foods. It's also why people are finally beginning to the advice of certified dermatologists in New Jersey and throughout the country regarding foods that belong in a skin-healthy diet.
Foods to eat for healthy skin
Berries
Strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries top the list as best foods for skin because they are steeped in antioxidants. Vitamins A, C, and E, and beta-carotene are beneficial for skin because they fight free radicals which can damage skin, especially from too much exposure to the sun.
Low-fat dairy
You'll hear all sorts of arguments for and against dairy, even when it comes to skin. But facts are facts. Low-fat dairy that's rich in vitamin A is good for you skin because vitamin A is good for your skin. Much of the health of cells of the skin is dependent upon vitamin A for remaining vibrant and alive.
Essential fatty acids
Essential fatty acids that show up in many types of nuts and fish, including walnuts and salmon, are great for skin because these promote healthy cell membranes, which are the protectants of your skin.
Foods rich in selenium
Foods rich in selenium such as sunflower seeds, eggs, and some shellfish are highly beneficial to skin because selenium is a key player in skin cell health. Recent studies have even shown that some repair can take place of skin that's already been damaged by the sun.
Foods to avoid
Packaged and processed foods
Packaged and processed foods are quite possibly the worst foods you can eat... for anything, let alone for your body's largest and, in many ways, most sensitive organ. Processed foods are notorious for containing close to zero nutritional value. During processing and packaging, the nutrients of these foods are broken down. Eating a diet that includes too many packaged foods often leads to nutritional deficiencies that can leave skin dull and unhealthy.
Foods with hormones and pesticides
Many of today's inorganic foods include nasty hormones and even pesticides that can be toxic to skin health. They can even lead to defects in motor skills, and many of the chemicals used in these foods have been linked to inflammatory response and numerous diseases, especially of the central nervous system. The problem with these chemicals is that the human body doesn't recognize them, which can lead to health problems because the body doesn't know what to do with them and can't eliminate them properly.
It's as simple as that... choosing this food over that food. Of course, simple isn't always easy, but then there are very few things in the world worth doing that are easy. The best course of action for healthy skin is to take baby steps. Start out this week just making one simple change. Today, instead of reaching for that doughnut for breakfast, try a delicious bran muffin instead. Beautiful skin doesn't have to be the Holy Grail that's never reached. Radiant skin can be achieved largely through a skin-healthy diet that includes foods rich in nutrients that skin craves. Omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E, and beta-carotene... these are the building blocks that create beautiful skin that stays beautiful for a lifetime. Contact a certified dermatologist in Summit for more information about how to plan a skin-healthy diet without sacrificing all the foods you love.
Foods to eat for healthy skin
Berries
Strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries top the list as best foods for skin because they are steeped in antioxidants. Vitamins A, C, and E, and beta-carotene are beneficial for skin because they fight free radicals which can damage skin, especially from too much exposure to the sun.
Low-fat dairy
You'll hear all sorts of arguments for and against dairy, even when it comes to skin. But facts are facts. Low-fat dairy that's rich in vitamin A is good for you skin because vitamin A is good for your skin. Much of the health of cells of the skin is dependent upon vitamin A for remaining vibrant and alive.
Essential fatty acids
Essential fatty acids that show up in many types of nuts and fish, including walnuts and salmon, are great for skin because these promote healthy cell membranes, which are the protectants of your skin.
Foods rich in selenium
Foods rich in selenium such as sunflower seeds, eggs, and some shellfish are highly beneficial to skin because selenium is a key player in skin cell health. Recent studies have even shown that some repair can take place of skin that's already been damaged by the sun.
Foods to avoid
Packaged and processed foods
Packaged and processed foods are quite possibly the worst foods you can eat... for anything, let alone for your body's largest and, in many ways, most sensitive organ. Processed foods are notorious for containing close to zero nutritional value. During processing and packaging, the nutrients of these foods are broken down. Eating a diet that includes too many packaged foods often leads to nutritional deficiencies that can leave skin dull and unhealthy.
Foods with hormones and pesticides
Many of today's inorganic foods include nasty hormones and even pesticides that can be toxic to skin health. They can even lead to defects in motor skills, and many of the chemicals used in these foods have been linked to inflammatory response and numerous diseases, especially of the central nervous system. The problem with these chemicals is that the human body doesn't recognize them, which can lead to health problems because the body doesn't know what to do with them and can't eliminate them properly.
It's as simple as that... choosing this food over that food. Of course, simple isn't always easy, but then there are very few things in the world worth doing that are easy. The best course of action for healthy skin is to take baby steps. Start out this week just making one simple change. Today, instead of reaching for that doughnut for breakfast, try a delicious bran muffin instead. Beautiful skin doesn't have to be the Holy Grail that's never reached. Radiant skin can be achieved largely through a skin-healthy diet that includes foods rich in nutrients that skin craves. Omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E, and beta-carotene... these are the building blocks that create beautiful skin that stays beautiful for a lifetime. Contact a certified dermatologist in Summit for more information about how to plan a skin-healthy diet without sacrificing all the foods you love.