Your diet is written all over your face. Okay, that might sound extreme, but it’s actually quite true.
Your genes do play an important role as well, but your skin tone, complexion, and the hydration of your skin are under your control. Plus, it has a lot more to do with what you put into your body than what you slather on your skin.
You can spend $100s or even $1000s on the latest and greatest beauty products and skin treatments, but nothing can replace what you eat. I can tell, pretty darn quickly, the quality of someone’s diet just by looking at their rosy cheeks and skin tone.
The cells in your skin are created through your diet. If your diet is full of processed, inflammatory foods then your skin will also be red, puffy, and inflamed. Neglecting your diet shows itself in your skin.
My diet used to be full of refined, sugary foods and my skin had a grey sallow appearance. I didn’t realize that my poor complexion was caused by my diet until I made a few healthier choices. I added some green veggies and some fruit to my diet and within a few months, my friends and colleagues were asking me for skin advice. They wanted to know what had changed my grey complexion to a glowing rosy one!
Happily, you don’t need a “perfect” diet for your skin to glow…you just need to make sure your diet is chockfull of some very important nutrients.
Your Skin LOVES Healthy Fats
Good quality, unprocessed, healthy fats are a very important ingredient for healthy skin. The quality of the fat in your diet shows itself quickly in your skin.
Processed oils and margarine can cause inflamed skin and wrinkling. While unprocessed oils and essential fats, like Udo’s Oil®, can create beautiful healthy skin cells that glow.
Want glowing skin? Add more unprocessed healthy fats into your diet.
Switch out refined sugar for unrefined options
My diet used to be very high in refined sugar and that caused many problems in my body, including breakouts. Terrible, frustrating breakouts.
Switching out refined, white sugary foods for whole food versions that use fruit, honey, or maple syrup for sweeteners made a huge difference in my mood, my blood sugar stability, and wonderfully, my skin.
Add Some Silica
Silica is an unsung hero for our skin, hair, nails, and even our bones. Silica is a very abundant mineral in our body…but it isn’t quite as abundant in our diet. And, a little-known fact about silica is it keeps us looking young.
When we are young, we’ve got tons of silica, and this gives us super flexible joints, wrinkle-free skin, and a glorious mane of hair. But, as we age our body’s resources of silica get depleted, and this is directly connected to our collagen levels. Silica is required for the production of the very important protein collagen, which keeps our skin elastic and wrinkle-free.
You’ll find some silica in your diet, like in oats and bananas, but the best source of silica is in the herb Horsetail. Water-soluble extracts of horsetail, which is found in the supplement FloraSil®, has a long history of use and lots of research that shows its form of silica is readily absorbed and used in the body.
Drink More Water
Being fully hydrated is one of the fastest ways to change the appearance of your skin. Coffee, alcohol, and refined processed food dehydrate your skin quickly, and can add 5 – 10 years to the look of your skin.
Just by drinking enough water each day you can quickly perk up your dehydrated skin and awaken all of your cells. Every cell in your body thrives when you’re hydrated!
Check your urine to know your hydration level. You’re fully hydrated when your urine is pale yellow to clear by mid-day. It’ll always be a bit dark in the morning and bright yellow after B Vitamins, so mid-day is your best view of your hydration.
Add Some Bioflavonoids
Sometimes, it’s not the skin on our face that can be a worry. Spider veins and varicose veins can be painful, heavy, and unsightly… especially in shorts (and summer dress) season.
CircuVein contains two naturally sourced (and powerful) bioflavonoids (diosmin and hesperidin, specifically) that have been clinically proven to reduce both the symptoms and visible signs of swollen veins. It’s a food-based supplement to the rescue!
Sleep
A good night’s sleep is a key ingredient for great skin. Not only will you look and feel more refreshed and bright-eyed, you’ll also benefit from reduced stress. Not enough sleep can wreak havoc on your skin by triggering a release of cortisol. Cortisol is one of our stress hormones, and it can increase inflammation in our body which affects our skin. It can even trigger a bout of eczema or psoriasis.
Getting to sleep can be easier for some than for others, but proper sleep hygiene is good for everyone. Stay away from brightly lit screens for a least an hour before bed, get in the dark by 10 pm, and make sure your bedroom is cool are 3 ways to get a deeper, more rejuvenating night’s sleep. Your skin will thank you :)
If you’re unhappy with the look and feel of your skin today, instead of spending tons of money on the latest creams and serums, look to your diet as skin food. Try a few of these ideas to help bring back your glowing, luxurious skin.
Flora is offering you a 15% savings on FloraSil and CircuVein right now, simply apply the code SKINFOOD at checkout.
Lisa Kilgour is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN), founder of LisaKilgour.com, and a faculty member at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition.
