What is the best food for your skin? What are some good nutrition tips to keep a healthy skin?
Most people tend to think that the key to achieve and maintain healthy skin is to use certain products. The truth is that while skincare products do help with that, using them alone won’t do much unless you also fuel your body with the right foods.
Lifestyle plays a role, too.
Stress, exercise, levels, inflammation, and lack of sleep all contribute to the health of our skin.
Talking specifically about nutrition these are the guidelines I’ve been following for the past few years. People always tell me I have very good skin and body so I’m pretty confident these will help you!
Note that I am going to write “reduce” yet it really means “eliminate”;
I understand that some people find it very hard to give up what I’m about to list, hence the word reducing.
I am 100% sure that once you start eating well you’ll love what you see and how you feel- that’s when you’re gonna be ready to “eliminate”.
Reduce sugar.
Sugar makes our skin age FASTER and therefore should be avoided as much as possible in order to keep a healthy skin.
Reduce processed carbs like pizzas, pastries, frozen meals etc.
Do I eat a sandwich every now and then? Yes, absolutely. But I never eat frozen meals.
More veggies.
Maybe you think you’re having enough greens, but once you start tracking them you’ll see that you’re not. This happened to me before I installed some apps to keep track of my daily intake of fibers, vitamins and minerals. I found out that EVEN THOUGH I WAS HAVING VEGGIES WITH EVERY MEAL, STILL ITWASN’T ENOUGH. So I started to eat bigger portions of veggies.
Veggies have a lot of antioxidants that keep the skin young and healthy. They also fight environmental stressors typical of urban environments.
Eat fatty fishes like salmon, herrings, and sardines.
I buy wild caught salmon and herrings at Aldi and eat them at least 4 times a week.
These fishes are good for the skin because they contain omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids protect the skin from non-melanoma cancer[1] while keeping it soft.
If you’re a vegetarian, eat nuts. They contain omega 3 too. The main difference with fish is that nuts have way more calories and less protein. So if you eat too many nuts you’ll gain weight even if they’re healthy!
Another food rich in healthy fats is avocados.
Use olive oil as a condiment.
Olive oil contains squalene which is also common as a skincare ingredient protecting the skin from dryness and free radicals.
If you’re in the mood for a treat, opt for dark chocolate (choose one with not much added sugar). Cocoa is among the best antioxidants. I also drink iced green tea sweetened with sugar-free syrups. Green tea has catechins, powerful antioxidants.
When you drink, opt for red wine.
Red wine contains polyphenols with antioxidant properties. However, I don’t recommend drinking alcohol as it dehydrates the skin.
Cook your own food so you have full control over what you’re putting in your body.
Eat berries!
Berries are excellent for the skin because don’t have much sugar AND they contain ellagic acid which helps with collagen. Collagen is a protein responsible for skin elasticity. Other sources of collagen are bone broth, meat, and fish.
