Foods for Beautiful Skin
If you want to have beautiful skin, skin care products are not enough. Skin care products only help improve the health of your skin from the outside. You also need to get right nutrients to have healthy skin from the inside.
Antioxidants fight free radicals that damage cells, prevent wrinkles and keep your skin youthful. Antioxidant vitamins are A, C, and E.
– Vitamin A helps repair body tissue, reduce fine lines in the skin and fade age spots.
Sources of vitamin A: liver, cheese, milk, eggs, carrots, squash, broccoli, tomatoes, kale, and other bright-colored fruits and vegetables.
If you want to take vitamin A supplement, limit the supplementation to 10,000 IU. Vitamin A is fat-soluble so overtaking vitamin A can be toxic.
– Vitamin C is essential for the synthesis of collagen and reduces skin damage caused by free radicals.
Sources of Vitamin C: orange, kiwi, and lemon, green peppers, broccoli, and strawberry.
Vitamin C is water-soluble so you can take it daily. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C is 60 mg per day but this amount will only prevent you from picking up scurvy. Recent studies suggest that an intake between 200-500 mg per day may be the most beneficial for healthy people.
– Vitamin E helps protect skin cells from ultra violate light and pollution and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Sources of Vitamin E: nuts, seeds, whole grains, and avocado.
The RDA for vitamin E is 15-20 IU per day but many research studies show that 100 to 200 IU per day provides more benefits and that any dosage in excess of this amount provides little additional value.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids help promote healthy skin. Omega-3 fatty acids also prevent sagging skin by regulating cellular function and maintaining elasticity and suppleness in the skin.
Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acid: flaxseeds, walnuts, tofu, soybeans, and cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines.
There is no RDA for Omega-3 Fatty Acid but the American Heart Association suggests that “taking EPA+DHA ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces deaths from heart disease and all causes.” So for healthy people, .5 to 1.8 grams of EPA and DHA a day is sufficient.
Zinc helps heal wounds and improve skin conditions such as acne and eczema.
Sources of Zinc: oysters, beef, lamb, pork, crabmeat, turkey, chicken, lobster, clams, and salmon.
The RDA for zinc is 11 mg for males and 8 mg for females.
Green tea helps fight free radicals, neutralize UV light, rejuvenate skin cells, and reduce inflammation.
Many studies recommend drinking 4 cups of green tea a day.
Food You Should Avoid
Sugar-based food. Sugar causes skin inflammation and speeds the aging process, causing wrinkles.