We all kinda want to find the Fountain of Youth, don’t we? The ability to turn back the hands of time and take 5, 10, or maybe 20 years off of our skin.
I’m a woman in my early 40s and the internet bombards me every day with every anti-aging beauty product imaginable. From creams and masks to fillers and plumpers, I’m amazed by all of the products available today.
Add the photoshopped pics of women “my age”, and it makes it a lot harder to embrace my well-earned wrinkles and laugh-lines.
But, I do take care of my skin the best way I know how - with my diet. We are literally what we eat. The food we eat, digest, and assimilate creates the structure and the quality of every cell in our body.
Our diet is literally written all over our faces.
But, you don’t need a perfect diet to have great skin, you just need to add some extra skin-lovin’ foods to your diet each week. And that’s what this blog post is all about - which foods to eat so your body can make amazing and glowing skin cells.
This is all about beauty from the inside out.
With each decade our food choices becomes a bit more visible on our skin. A highly processed diet when you’re in your 20s isn’t a big deal…but keep it up into your 40s or 50s and it might start to become noticeable.
The best news is - it’s never too late to change things up. No matter how you’re eating right now, you only need to add some healthy, beauty-boosting foods to your diet and you will start to see a change.
Every day you’re making new cells so feed today’s cells with some of these skin-lovin’ foods :)
1. Water Water Water -
Do you want to (almost) instantly take 5 or 10 years off your skin? It’s easy, just drink some water…well, drink enough to be fully hydrated.
Dehydration is so very common. Many people I work with will say “I KNOW I don’t drink enough water”, and many more feel they’re drinking enough (the designated 8 glasses of water each day) but they are still showing signs of dehydration.
8 glasses of water might be not quite enough for one person and too much for another.
For me, 5 - 6 litres per day is what I need (insert gasp). I’m a particularly dry person and this is just what I need. I don’t recommend this amount for the average person…it’s just an example of how different each person’s water consumption can be.
How do you know if you’re hydrated? Just look at your urine.
If you’re fully hydrated, it will be pale yellow or clear. If it’s dark yellow then you need more water. If it’s a bright, fluorescent yellow then you’ve probably had some B vitamins lately (it’s a natural part of metabolizing B2). Wait until that colour passes to know if you’re hydrated.
2. Fat, Fat, Glorious Fat -
Do you want to exchange your dry skin for shiny, plump skin? If your answer is yes, add some more fat to your diet.
Healthy (read: unprocessed) fat lubricates your joints and moisturizes your skin…and it makes every meal taste SOOOOO good.
Look for unprocessed/not-very-processed fats and oils like avocados, raw nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, and cold-pressed oils stored in dark glass bottles.
Want to learn more about which fats are super good for your body? Check out this article for more :)
3. Lots and Lots of Veggies (especially green ones) -
When I’m working with a new client I can tell a lot about their overall diet, particularly their veggie intake, just by looking at their skin. These foods make our skin GLOW.
To answer why is a bit complicated. There are so many healthy goodies in plant-based foods that it’s hard to say exactly why they’re so good for our skin (but really, does it matter? Do we really need to know?)
Green veggies are really high in chlorophyll, which helps to clean our blood and fight free radicals (a sunburn is free radical damage…so we can always use some extra help).
Dark leafy greens, along with carrots and sweet potatoes are also really high in beta-carotene. This orange-coloured nutrient can give our skin an extra healthy glow.
Funny story - my skin is particularly sensitive to orange veggies and I’m often asked if I’ve just flown home from somewhere sunny the day after eating a dinner filled with sweet potatoes. I like my sweet potato tan :)
4. Sulphur-rich foods (they taste better than they sound :) -
Sulphur naturally occurs in lots of super healthy foods and plays a big role in our liver health AND the production of connective tissue, collagen, and keratin in our skin and hair.
We don’t always think of supporting our connective tissue when we want great skin, but it’s an unsung hero. Our skin attaches to our bones with connective tissue and when it breaks down then our skin can sag and wrinkle.
Collagen helps with strengthening this connective tissue and helps keep our skin superelastic. And keratin helps to make our hair shiny and bouncy.
Sulphur is also an important ingredient in our body and helps to make the super anti-aging antioxidant glutathione.
So, it just makes sense that we need more sulphur-rich foods in our diet, and happily, that’s easy to do. The allium family (garlic and onions), the cruciferous family (broccoli, kale, cauliflower), and eggs are all high in sulphur. Just aim for 4 - 6 servings per week!
5. Horsetail Tea -
This is an extra easy one and can be super effective. Horsetail is a great source of an underestimated mineral, silica.
Silica, which is partially converted to silicon in the body, triggers collagen production (go collagen!) AND is an important component of strong bones (a great bonus :).
A great bonus, silica helps to strengthen our hair and nails. My hair response SO well to silica, it grows faster and stronger when I regularly enjoy some horsetail tea or take a silica supplement.
Glowing, healthy skin is just a few healthy foods away! What is your favourite skin-lovin’ food? Share it with all of us in the comments below :).