Diet for your beautiful skin

Giving fruit and vegetables their red, yellow and orange colours, vitamin A can give your skin a golden glow as well. Vitamin A benefits the skin by normalizing keratinization. Keratin is the protein that protects epithelial cells from damage or stress. It is the key structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. It is also the key structural component of hair and nails. Thanks to keratin, your skin can reverse and treat sun-damage and cellulite. Vitamin A also downregulates sebum production which contributes to acne. Sebum is an oily or waxy matter secreted by microscopic sebaceous glands to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair. They occur in the greatest number on the face and scalp. About 20 grams of sebum is secreted in the skin during a day.

Foods with vitamin A for healthy skin

Foods include liver, eggs, milk, red peppers, pumpkin, carrots, apricots, cantaloupe, and sweet potatoes. Other good sources of vitamin A are leafy greens. No, that wasn’t a mistake – the orange pigment hides beneath green-tinted chlorophyll.

Vitamin D is responsible for enhancing intestinal absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc. Vitamin D is used to downregulate the cutaneous immune system and epithelial proliferation while promoting differentiation.

Foods with vitamin D for healthy skin

Very few foods contain vitamin D. Sunlight exposure is the primary source of vitamin D for people. Dermal synthesis of vitamin D from cholesterol in the skin under the sun is the major natural source of this vitamin. Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, eggs, mushrooms are good prerequisites for the vitamin D formation. (WARNING! Never overdo with the sun, ever!)

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that regulates collagen synthesis, forms barrier lipids, regenerates vitamin E, and provides photo protection. There is no shortage of products on the market that claim to reduce the signs of aging on the skin. One of the key ingredients found in many of those products is vitamin C.

Foods with vitamin C for healthy skin

The richest natural sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables, and of those, the Kakadu plum and the camu-camu fruit contain the highest concentration of the vitamin. Then follow rose hips, red bell pepper, parsley, broccoli, strawberry, blueberry, papaya, orange, kale, and pineapple. It is also present in some cuts of meat, especially liver.

Vitamin E is a membrane antioxidant that protects against oxidative damage: it stops the production of reactive oxygen species formed when fat undergoes oxidation. It also provides protection against harmful UV rays.

Foods with vitamin E for healthy skin

Vitamin E can be found most abundantly in wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds, safflower oil, corn oil, almonds, avocado and papaya. But don’t go crazy with vitamin E because regular consumption of more than 1,000mg of it per day may cause hypervitaminosis E, with an associated risk of vitamin K deficiency and consequently of bleeding problems.

Vitamin K can improve your skin and prevent wrinkles because it plays a key role in solving the calcification problems that harden arteries and affect the connective elastin that keeps your skin soft and subtle. Without adequate vitamin K in your diet, calcium can be deposited in your skin’s elastin fibers and harden to cause wrinkles. Vitamin K is needed for the formation of certain proteins that maintain healthy skin cells. It also can help treat a variety of skin conditions such as spider veins, stretch marks, scars, skin irritations, and dark circles under the eyes. Vitamin K helps to prevent acne and heal skin affected by acne scarring. However, applying vitamin K to the surface of the skin won’t make spider veins disappear, you have to enrich your diet with vitamin K.

Foods with vitamin K for healthy skin

Vitamin K is found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, avocado, kiwifruit and grapes. Two tablespoons of parsley contain 153% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin K.

TIP: the absorption of vitamin K is greater when accompanied by fats such as butter or oils.

When it comes to head-to-toe healthy skin, it’s scientifically proven that the foods you put IN your body are more important than the products you put ON it. Omega-3 fatty acids are among the must-have foods for healthy skin because they are responsible for the health of the cell membrane, which is not only a barrier to harmful things, but also the passageway for nutrients to cross in and waste products to get out. Thanks to membranes, the skin cells are able to hold water and maintain healthy metabolism resulting in softer, more subtle, and more wrinkle-free skin.

Foods with Omega-3 fatty acids for healthy skin

The foods highest in omega-3 fatty acids include fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), and seafood as well as walnuts, canola oil, and flax seed.

Foods with zinc make your skin soft and smooth. Zinc assists in the proper structure of proteins and cell membranes, improves wound healing, has anti-inflammatory effects, and protects against UV radiation. Dietary zinc helps reduce acne, even as effectively as antibiotics. This may be because it interacts with vitamin A significantly increasing the level of vitamin A in the blood that leads to the positive effect on acne.

Foods with zinc for healthy skin

Dietary sources of zinc are best absorbed from animal sources. Oysters, lobster and red meats, especially beef, lamb and liver have some of the highest concentrations of zinc in food. Plant foods can also be high in zinc, but are less bioavailable, as the zinc is bound to phytates. When there is adequate zinc in the soil, the food plants that contain the most zinc are wheat and various seeds (sesame, poppy, alfalfa, celery, mustard). Zinc is also found in beans, nuts, almonds, whole grains, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and blackcurrant.

Sulphur is not a chemical but a naturally occurring mineral. Sulfur is an essential component of all living cells. It is the seventh most abundant element in the human body by weight: a 70kg human body contains about 140 grams of sulphur. Disulfides, S–S bonds, confer mechanical strength and insolubility of the protein keratin, found in outer skin and hair.

Foods with sulfur for healthy skin

To get flawless and younger looking skin, try using these natural sources of sulphur: 1) Eggs contain the highest amounts of sulphur. Eat it and apply it on your face and you’ll look youthful for many years. 2) Onions and garlic contain good reserves of sulphur. That is why onion juice is said to be one of the most effective remedies for acne and dandruff.

Onions and garlic contain good reserves of sulphur. That is why onion juice is said to be one of the most effective remedies for acne and dandruff.

You have to drink water to hydrate your skin. Pure water. Coffee and tea don’t count.

Slow down with expensive skin treatments at beauty salons, eat your carrots instead. However, don’t expect a miracle in a day or two. It’s needed 6-8 weeks for your skin to be completely renewed; so, the same time to see the results.