Your skin, like all your body parts and functions, is affected by what you eat. An excess of fat and carbohydrates can age your skin, says MayoClinic.com dermatologist Lawrence E. Gibson, M.D. Conversely, certain vitamins and foods can help your body keep your skin at its healthiest.
B-Complex Vitamins
All eight B-complex vitamins are important nutrients to help your body maintain healthy skin, explains the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). One specific B-vitamin important to skin is B3 or niacin. Niacin is used topically to improve acne and aging skin, and has shown results in preventing skin cancer, although more research is needed. You can get niacin through your diet in beets, peanuts and sunflower seeds, brewer's yeast, beef liver and kidney, fish and fortified grains.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A, or retinol, is essential for the health of facial skin around your nose and mouth, notes UMMC. Retinoids, a man-made form of vitamin A, are used in treatments to ingest or to put on your skin for skin conditions, such as rosacea, acne, aging skin, warts and psoriasis. Consult your physician for a prescription. Through your diet, you can get this form of vitamin A, retinyl palmitate, through beef and chicken liver, eggs, fish liver oil and dairy. Your body can also make this from another type of vitamin A, carotenoids, which are found in many leafy green vegetables and orange-colored fruits and vegetables.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C had promising results for protecting and maintaining healthy skin in a 2009 study by T.L. Duarte and colleagues in "Free Radical Biology and Medicine." You can include vitamin C in your diet through fruits and vegetables, such as guava, peppers, kiwi and citrus fruit.
Foods
Foods high in antioxidants help the skin, says Gibson. These include fruits and vegetables, such as blueberries, orange-colored fruits and vegetables, tomatoes and leafy green vegetables, as well as other foods, such as nuts, beans and fish.
References
- MayoClinic.com: What are the Best Foods for Healthy Skin?
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin A (Retinol)
- PubMed: Gene Expression Profiling Reveals New Protective Roles for Vitamin C in Human Skin Cells; T.L. Duarte, M.S. Cooke and G.D. Jones; January 1, 2009
- Health.gov: Food Sources of Selected Nutrients
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