Your skin is an excellent indicator of the nutritional content of your diet. Consuming too many simple carbohydrates and unhealthy fats and not getting enough vitamins and minerals might lead to blemishes, oily skin, dry skin or wrinkles. A diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables and plant-based proteins, and limits sugars and fried and processed foods might be best for your skin and overall good health.
Get your vitamins and minerals from whole food sources, rather than synthetic supplements, for easiest absorption.
Step 1
Eat fruits and vegetables that contain silica, an often overlooked mineral found in celery, leeks, green beans, asparagus, cucumbers, strawberries, mango and rhubarb. This trace mineral is an essential component of connective tissue and vital for skin elasticity and hair and nail growth. A silica deficiency might slow down skin healing.
Step 2
Add B vitamins to your diet. A lack of B2, known as riboflavin, might cause brown spots and oily skin. A deficiency of other B vitamins, such as niacin, might lead to eczema. The easiest way to get all your B vitamins is to add brewer's yeast to your diet. The Holistic Online website suggests adding 2 tbsp. of brewer's yeast daily for an improvement in smoothness and texture.
Step 3
Increase your vitamin A intake, or use a retinol cream topically. Vitamin A boosts collagen production, giving you smooth and supple skin. For younger-looking skin, eat carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, red peppers, mangoes and apricots. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, so eating these vegetables with butter or olive oil will help your body absorb the nutrients more effectively.
Step 4
Consume adequate amounts of zinc. Adults should eat 15 to 25 mg of zinc daily. Acne might be a symptom of a zinc deficiency because zinc controls the production of sebum, the oil in the skin that leads to acne. Eat eggs, oysters, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds and oatmeal to ensure your acne is not caused by a lack of zinc.
Step 5
Drink orange juice. Citrus fruits, strawberries and kiwi are excellent sources of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that fights free-radical damage and the signs of aging. Antioxidants help keep your skin looking young and might help prevent or reverse sun damage. Vitamin E is also a potent antioxidant found in avocados and nuts.
Step 6
Add omega-3 fatty acids into your meal plan. Walnuts, flaxseed, salmon and other coldwater fatty fish are high in polyunsaturated fats that repair skin and soothe dry, red, inflamed skin. Those fatty fish are also high in selenium, a mineral that keeps skin elastic, preventing wrinkles.
Tips and Warnings
- Buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible to avoid introducing pollutants and chemicals into your body.
- Face creams that contain a lot of artificial chemicals might make your skin worse, not better. Keep your skin care routine simple, making changes from the inside out.
