ON 15-JUL-2020
9 Foods to Include in Your Diet for Healthy and Glowing Skin
Who wouldn’t desire a healthy-looking, glowing skin? While you will find plenty of cosmetic products that claim to nourish the skin, feeding your skin from within is equally if not more important.
It’s true that lotions and cleansers tend to offer a topical fix, but the journey to having gorgeous, hydrated skin often starts from within. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that “you are what you eat”.
Whether you are looking for a way to control premature ageing, treat acne, or reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, consuming a balanced diet is an absolute necessity.
When the skin doesn’t get the nutrition it deserves, its ability to withstand the damage caused by environmental stressors gets compromised. The sun’s UV rays, pollution, and other harmful elements are known to create free radicals that tend to damage the overall structure of the skin and cause issues, such as premature ageing, skin pigmentation, loose skin, wrinkles, dullness, and so on.
Researchers have concluded that certain healthy foods when added to the daily routine can help in fighting against common skin troubles to equip the body with proper tools that are necessary for building and strengthening healthy tissues.
In order to build the right diet, you must include food for glowing skin and hair in your grocery list. Let’s take a quick look at them –
1. Fish
Fish is rich in two essential nutrients that act as an elixir to your skin. Collagen is a specific type of protein that helps in forming the skin structure. As fish is a rich source of this protein, adding it to your diet will result in a smoother, firmer structure that has an increased ability to store water and remain hydrated.
Fishes, like salmon and tuna, are stocked with omega-3 fatty acids. These healthy fats are useful in reducing skin inflammation, which is the leading cause of several skin problems, such as acne, oily skin, etc. Omega-3 fatty acids tend to keep the cells healthy, allowing them to seal the water content in the skin to maintain hydration.
2. Avocados
If you are looking for a vegan source for omega-3 fatty acids, try having avocados. They also happen to be high in vitamin C and vitamin E. When both the vitamins work together, they offer long-lasting protection against free radical damage to make the skin look better. Vitamin C also helps in building new collagen.
3. Orange and Red Fruits and Vegetables
If there are categories of food for healthy skin in India, orange and red fruits and vegetables would top that list. Plants with yellow, orange and red pigments contain carotenoids. These are known for excellent antioxidant properties that help in neutralising free radicals to prevent skin damage.
A recent study suggested that people having higher levels of carotenoids were considered more attractive and healthier than others.
Carrots are orange because of the presence of beta-carotene. This ingredient changes into vitamin A after consumption, which is necessary for the growth and maintenance of oil glands and skin cells.
The red pigment is watermelons and tomatoes are caused by lycopene, which shields the uppermost layer of the skin from sun rays and neutralises free radicals. At the same time, other antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, can provide additional benefits to the skin.
4. Meat
Our skin is also blessed with a sticky protein named “hyaluronic acid,” which is useful for holding water and maintaining skin’s elasticity. When your skin received an abundance of collagen and hyaluronic acid, it moisturizes the skin and makes wrinkles less apparent.
Though these proteins are present in animals naturally, they can be mainly sourced from cartilage, bone, skin, and organs, and not from the muscle meat that we usually eat.
Therefore, instead of consuming ground beef, pork chops, and chicken breasts all the time, try having slow-cooked organ meat curries for collagen and hyaluronic acid every once in a while. However, you shouldn’t eat too much of it because it contains fat in high content.
5. Leafy Greens
Cruciferous vegetables are known to contain plant nutrients named glucosinolates, which is useful in fighting harmful bacteria and helping wounds heal. Additionally, these nutrients also have calcium that regulated the salt content in the skin’s water to avoid dehydration.
Dark green vegetables have magnesium that the skin cells need for making hyaluronic acid, which, as discussed earlier, keeps the skin smooth and moisturised. Apart from that, several green vegetables like asparagus and spinach are also excellent sources of vitamin E.
6. Citrus Fruits
It is no news that citrus fruits contain vitamin C, which is an essential ingredient for building collagen. Tomatoes, oranges, and grapefruit are also known to provide a particular kind of flavonoid named naringenin, which is necessary for breaking down of hyaluronic acid.
7. Root Vegetables and Legumes
Root vegetables and legumes are both highly rich in magnesium, which is often associated with youthful eyes, joints, and skin. Therefore, it is a great idea to include them in your regular diet.
8. Eggs
Eggs are known for being a rich source of essential amino acids. These amino acids are called ‘essential’ because our body cannot produce them, which means we need to source them from our diet. Essential amino acids have a key role to play in generating new skin proteins.
A single egg has the potential to provide about 6% of our vitamin A requirement daily, including some amount of vitamin D as well. Both these vitamins can work together to create new skin cells and is necessary for wound-healing.
9. Yoghurt
Yoghurt is a ‘probiotic’, which means that there would be live bacteria in it. These bacteria are good ones that ensure a healthy gut. Research has also suggested a strong correlation between skin problems and an unhealthy gut. When good bacteria are present in low quantities in the gut, certain toxins could get inside the bloodstream, which plays a role in breakouts.
Closing Thoughts
The bustle of modern life hasn’t been an advantage for our skin. Luckily, it continually keeps repairing and remodelling itself to make us look beautiful and healthy. While our skin does its job, it is our responsibility to feed it with the nutrients necessary for carrying out the process swiftly for the smoothest, healthiest, and glowing skin.