Following a diet that provides the proper nutrition proves important for multiple aspects of your health: it benefits your heart and brain, helps you maintain a healthy body weight and helps maintain your immune system. In addition, a healthy diet can maintain visibly healthy skin, nails and hair, providing an aesthetic benefit to consuming healthy foods. If you want to lose weight and improve the appearance of your skin, follow a few basic rules regarding the foods you eat to help you reach your goals.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are among the most important parts of a healthy diet, and should form the cornerstone of each meal you consume. Many fruits and vegetables provide minerals and vitamins essential to healthy skin. For example, the vitamin C in citrus fruits and pineapple helps produce collagen, a protein essential to maintaining your skin, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, fruits and veggies typically contain only small amounts of energy, and consuming these foods can help you cut your calorie intake and create a caloric deficit to allow for weight loss.
Nuts
Consuming nuts can also benefit your skin while also promoting weight loss, according to Dr. Jane Higdon at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Nuts contain Omega-3 fatty acids, lipids which prove important in maintaining health, moisturized skin. Individuals who consume nuts also tend to maintain a lower body weight than people who do not consume the nuts. The Linus Pauling Institute recommends substituting 1 oz. of nuts in place of less healthy snacks in your diet as a possible method of weight control.
Lean Meats and Fish
Consuming lean meats, such as chicken or turkey, as well as fish may help you achieve weight loss, while also contributing to healthy skin development. Your skin contains thousands of proteins, that provide structural integrity to your skin tissue, as well as contribute to skin cell development. Dietary protein provides the basic subunits your body needs to make skin proteins, to contribute to healthy skin. In addition, lean proteins provide a source of the nutrient without the excess fat found in other meats, so substituting lean meats for fattier meats, like fatty beef or pork, may support weight loss. Bonnie Brehm, PhD, RD, recommends consuming 0.8g of total protein for every kg of body weight, and consuming lean meats and fish contributes to your total protein consumption.
Whole Grains
Consuming whole grains -- including whole-grain cereals like oatmeal, as well as pastas and breads made from the grains -- may also support both weight loss and healthy skin. Whole grains contain fiber, a nutrient that adds bulk to your food as it passes through your digestive system, helping you feel satisfied for longer after each meal. In addition, a diet that contains whole grains may prevent molecular damage, called oxidative stress, within your skin tissue, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid); Dr. Steven Ehrlich; June 2009
- Linus Pauling Institute; Nuts; Dr. Jane Higdon; December 2005
- NetWellness; How To Gain Muscle and Not Fat; Bonnie J. Brehm, PhD, RD; December 2006
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Skin Wrinkles and Blemishes; Harvey Simon, MD; December 2008
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