It’s no secret that what we eat and drink can dramatically change the appearance of our skin. Eat the right foods, up your daily water intake and watch your skin become more radiant, clear and plump. Eat the wrong things and your skin will eventually begin to show the effects. It will lose elasticity, become puffy and defused redness will creep in.
By simply changing and watching what we put into our bodies, we can have a huge effect on our skins texture, pigment and elasticity.
Luminous skin happens when we supply our body with the vitamins, minerals, amino acids and phytonutrients that are essential to the maintenance of the skin’s structure and prevent it from free radical damage and inflammation. Free radical damage and inflammation are triggered by oxidative stress and glycation. Both of these result from excess sugar and refined carbohydrate consumption.
To help you jump-start your own good skin diet, we put together a skin-loving menu, plus some guidelines on what to eat and what to avoid.
The Hidden Culprits
We all know we should stay away from take out, fast food and sugary treats but sometimes the nasties are hidden behind a very convincing label. Have a look at muesli bars, fruit shakes, yoghurts and breakfast cereals!
A large amount of these products are loaded with hidden sugars. These hidden culprits can cause the cross-linking of proteins, which leads to damaged sagging skin. Alcohol and large amounts of coffee can dehydrate the skin and place additional stress on the liver to remove toxins.
It is not necessary to completely give up all the sweet things in life but it is recommended to keep the treats to a maximum of 1-2 per week.
So what about the good stuff?
One of the most common mistakes we make is not eating enough protein. Protein is vital for firm, luminous skin because the amino acids that make up protein are needed to create the skin’s matrix as well as collagen and elastin. Some sources of protein are eggs, chia seeds, fish and lean cuts of red meat.
Eating dark leafy greens provides the skin with antioxidant protection and stimulates the body’s detoxification mechanisms to help clear toxins and old hormones from the body.
Avocado and raw seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds contain concentrated amounts of vitamin E, which is an antioxidant that protects the skin from pigmentation and fine lines.
Vita’s skin boosting thirst quencher
Watermelon + Mint smoothie
3 cups of Watermelon
1 cup of Coconut Water
4 sprigs of Mint, leaves removed
Juice of ½ Lemon
Instructions
Combine and blend for 45-60 seconds. Enjoy cold!
