Five Food Fixes for Healthier Skin

While it's fantastic to have a brilliant skin routine, if you don’t feed it well from the inside, this could well be in vain. The quote "what you put into life, you get out of it" comes to mind when discussing this topic. What we put into our bodies reflects in our health and appearance. Although we are well aware that often acne is genetic and hormonal, sometimes acne and breakouts can be due to a poor diet or lifestyle. So I have decided to tackle the top 5 ways to get perfect skin, from the inside out!

1. DRINK MORE WATER

You’ve most likely heard this one a million times before. The idea behind this is that increasing your fluid intake will help remove and toxins and bacteria present in body. Unfortunately the research in this area is uncertain and limited, with some studies showing an improvement in kidney function while others reported the short term effects are inefficient. I personally feel that drinking more water can be nothing but beneficial to our bodies, so this should be a point adhered to by every individual.

2. ANTIOXIDANTS

Vitamins A, C and E are antioxidants which protect our body from developing free radicals. These are nasty molecules involved in cell damage and death caused by oxidation (if you’ve even seen a peeled apple turn brown, that’s oxidation in action) obviously not ideal if we’re aiming for bright and healthy skin). Vitamin E in particular is known to help protect the body from harmful UV rays. Fellow antioxidant vitamin C also aids the mechanisms which reduce UV skin damage. Sources of vitamin E include: nuts, seeds and cereal produces. Vitamin C: citrus fruits, peppers, strawberries and blueberries etc.

3. OILY FISH

Fish in their own right have been called a superfood, helping to protect against cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, age-related vision loss and dementia. This is all down to the wonderful omega fatty acids which exist in oily fish – Omegas 3, 6 and 9. Their benefits don’t end there, we are interested in their beneficial effects on the skin. Omega 3 specifically is known to combat inflammation which should help to reduce the red and puffy appearance of spots. So plenty of mackerel, salmon and herring will do your skin the world of good!

4. REDUCE SUGARY SNACKS

Spots and acne have in the past, been associated with hormonal imbalances, which is why it is thought so many adolescents suffer from it. Apparently 85% of us will suffer from acne at some point in our lives, so fear not, you’re not alone! Usually this will happen during our teens when our hormones are going crazy and as well as affecting every other part of our bodies, it can play havoc with our skin. Unfortunately often there is not a lot that diet or skincare routines can do for this type of acne, but it definitely does no harm to have a good diet and skincare routine. If your acne is getting you down I would definitely recommend going to see your GP to see what the best course of action is to take! :)

Sorry about that little rant..where was I??

So recently it has been reported that foods which have a high glycaemic index (GI) (high sugar foods which are absorbed quickly into the blood steam causing blood sugars to spike) can have an effect on our hormones. Basically, our insulin levels increase when we consume the high GI foods (often high in sugar) which causes an increase in sebum production (this combined with dead skin cells and bacteria causes spots to form). So eating foods with a lower GI for example porridge, seeded breads, carrots and peppers, and avoiding our high GI foods white bread, doughnuts, chips etc. can help the reduce the risk of breakouts.

5.  STOP SMOKING!!

This one should really go without saying. 2014 may already be well underway but do not use that as an excuse to avoid taking on another resolution. Apart from all the obvious health risks associated with smoking (why would you willingly put your body through that??), it is also associated with premature ageing and discolouration of the skin. Oxygen intake is reduced when inhaling cigarette smoke because of the increased levels of carbon monoxide (one of 250 identified poisonous gases in cigarette smoke..consider that!), as well as nicotine which reduces blood flow leaving the skin looking grey, discoloured and prone to more wrinkles. Smoking also depletes vital nutrients such as vitamin C which is involved in the reduction of free radicals which mentioned earlier.

The basic message I want to leave you with is EAT CLEAN. Following a healthy balanced diet will not only benefit your overall health but do wonders for your skin!

Ps, all our recommendations and advice are evidence based, but we don’t want to bore you with all the references in text. If you are keen to check the articles and research papers out for yourself let us know and we’ll happily include these in future posts! :)