When you pull on your skin, it should bounce back. This is a sign that you have elastic tissue fibers, such as collagen and elastin, in your skin. These fibers allow your skin to remain smooth. When they break down, your skin elasticity suffers and you might experience signs of aging, including wrinkling and skin sagging. To prevent the premature breakdown of elastic fibers, you can eat foods that help to build skin cells and protect against damaging particles known as free radicals in your skin.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that plays a vital role in skin elasticity. This is because vitamin E binds with free radicals in your skin that result from pollution, sun exposure and smoking. If free radicals remain in your body, they can break down healthy elastic skin cells, contributing to wrinkles and skin sagging. Examples of foods with vitamin E include sunflower seeds, peanut butter, spinach, broccoli and tomato, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. Incorporating these foods into your diet can help you fight against skin elasticity breakdown.
Vitamin C
Also known as ascorbic acid, you need vitamin C to build collagen fibers in your skin. These fibers are the major structural component of skin tissues. They also add structure to your skin to prevent wrinkling. In addition, vitamin C is an antioxidant. To get enough vitamin C in your daily diet, you need foods like orange juice, grapefruit juice, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and potatoes, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.
Zinc
Zinc is another nutritional element vital to skin health. Your body requires zinc to build new healthy skin cells, including the cells that produce elastic fibers. Zinc also aids in wound healing. If you experience damage to your skin, such as through a blemish, zinc works alongside collagen and other supplements to help you stay healthy. Food sources of zinc tend to be high in protein and include beef, pork, lamb, peanuts and peanut butter.
Considerations
If you incorporate antioxidants and nutrients such as zinc into your daily diet and are not experiencing results after several weeks, talk to your physician about your skin health and elasticity. Your doctor might recommend other nutritional elements or lifestyle factors that could help to improve your skin's elasticity.
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