How to Change Your Diet Now for Better-Looking Skin
(from the October 2010 issue of ShopSmart.)
• Load up on antioxidant-rich produce: Think dark and leafy and colorful—kale, bell peppers, spinach, sweet potatoes, broccoli, berries, oranges, and pomegranates. They’re rich sources of vitamins A, C, and E and other health-promoting phytochemicals (plant-based compounds). Besides helping to reduce the harmful effects of free radicals, the unstable molecules that damage cells, antioxidants help keep the skin cells healthy and protect collagen and elastin from being degraded.
• Mind your minerals: Zinc, found in particularly high levels in oysters, crab, beef, poultry, kidney beans, and fortified cereals, has an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin, facilitates cell regeneration, and protects against collagen degradation. Selenium, plentiful in Brazil nuts, fish, poultry, couscous, and oat bran, has antioxidant properties that help protect the skin from wrinkles, sagging, and sun damage. Iron, found in clams, soybeans, lentils, spinach, beef liver, and fortified cereals, is important for skin repair.
• Get your omega-3s: Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseeds, and omega-3-fortified eggs, can bolster the skin barrier and decrease inflammation in the skin. Chronic, low-grade inflammation, which is invisible to the eye, can destroy collagen and elastin. So have fish for dinner tonight: stick with low-mercury, high-omega-3 species such as sardines, wild salmon, herring, and pollack.
• Eat less sugar: Downing lots of highly processed or sugary foods can cause a spike in blood sugar and insulin, which can trigger chronic, low-grade inflammation at the cellular level. You don’t have to give up sweets, just eat them in moderation. And if you crave something sweet, eat a small piece of dark chocolate, which is loaded with protective antioxidants.
• Choose the right proteins: The protein found in lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, and low-fat dairy products provides your body with essential amino acids, the building blocks for the maintenance and repair of skin tissue. Different amino acids help construct collagen, the scaffold that gives skin its structure, or create lubricating ceramides, which help the skin hold onto water.
• Think about your drinks: Staying optimally hydrated by drinking enough water so that your urine is light-colored is important. Since it’s not always easy to gulp down enough water every day, one strategy is to sip green tea. Research suggests that the epigallocatechin gallate green tea contains offers some protection against DNA damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays and triggers anti-tumor activity by the body’s immune system.
