You’ve mastered your skincare routine, you’ve got your regular appointment for botox, and your exercise routine is on track. But what about your diet? What we eat is connected to our skin – the health of the skin on our face, neck, chest, and hands are evidence of the health of our diet. There’s extensive research showing that the food you eat affects your complexion, your hormones, and inflammation. This means that the cheeseburger you just wolfed down might cause acne and premature aging.
While all that might sound negative, the good news is that changing your diet is easier and more affordable than adding a new routine of serums, creams, or medical procedures! Instead of stressing over the products you’re putting on your skin, move your attention to what you’re putting in your body. Here are 6 foods to add to your diet to keep your skin glowing and healthy.
- Tomatoes: This fruit is full of lycopene, which improves your skin’s natural SPF abilities by eliminating the skin-aging free radicals found in the sun’s ultraviolet rays. While most of the time we encourage you to eat raw fruits and vegetables, lycopene levels are higher when tomatoes are cooked.
- Dark chocolate: Chocoholics rejoice! Your “guilty pleasure” food can help your skin from the inside out. As long as it is 72% or higher, cocoa flavanols have antioxidant properties that help hydrate your skin and improve circulation. But don’t overdo it! Adding 1 oz of dark chocolate to your diet helps you to reap the benefits of the antioxidants, without weight gain.
- Grass-Fed beef: Not all beef is created equal, but true grass-fed beef contains omega-3’s, which reduces the inflammation in your skin. It also has nearly 30 grams of protein per serving, which is one of the building blocks of collagen and elastin tissues in your skin. These help keep your skin taut and wrinkle-free!
- Sweet potatoes: These root vegetables are loaded with Vitamin C, which helps to smooth out the wrinkles and is essential to the production of collagen in your skin.
- Dark leafy greens: Kale is one of the best sources in nature of lutein and zeaxanthin. These tongue twisters are actually nutrients that absorb and neutralize the free radicals in UV light. The folate in these veggies works to repair and maintain the DNA in your skin cells, which makes your cells more able to renew themselves. The water in these leafy greens also penetrates your skin cell membranes, making them plumper and your skin appear less wrinkled.
- Carrots: We’ve all heard that carrots are good for your vision, but the vitamins in carrots make your skin look healthier and prevent the overproduction of cells in the skin’s outer layers. This means that your pores are less likely to clog.
While adding these nutrient-rich foods to your diet will make a big difference, it’s important to remember that it may take up to 6 weeks to see the full benefits of adding these foods to your meal plans. If you want to know how you can amplify the benefits of your diet with facial surgery or skin care products, give Dr. Barker a call to schedule a consultation!