Best Foods for Healthy Skin

What are the best foods for healthy skin, probably not your go to snacks found at the corner store like chips and cookies. Have you ever struggled with acne, unwanted wrinkles, dry and scaly skin? It can be difficult to properly care for healthy skin despite all the demands we place on our skin in our everyday lives surely don’t help. Luckily, we can help ourselves by choosing foods with huge benefits to work with our cells instead of against them. A large majority of the foods that will help your skin seem brighter, younger, clearer are all foods found in nature and at our local grocery store. Skin care is, of course, a holistic responsibility, and it includes proper hydration with a strong cleansing routine. We, however, can make it a lot easier to attain healthier skin by just simply eating the right foods.

By no means is this a complete list of the best foods for healthy skin. Foods with vitamins A, C, and E are powerful in their health benefits, and they are just not only beneficial for your skin. Antioxidants are important factors in a any diet keep clear up, tighten, and soften your skin. Ultimately, you want to look for foods that slow down the weathering and aging processes that are responsible for so many of our skin ailments. Our skin serves as our first defense against the outside world, and therefore must face (pun not intended) sun, wind, heat, bacteria, and other types of exposure. Skin care is important, and in addition to drinking water, washing our faces regularly, moisturizing, and exfoliating, we can all do ourselves a favor and eat more of the best foods for healthy skin.

Dark Chocolate 

Let’s be real here, we know chocolate isn’t the best food to eat in your diet and health food articles regarding it can often be a little discouraging. I mean how many of us have the perfect diet? However consuming dark chocolate in moderation of around 1 oz. portions a day, people are able to experience smoother and less scaliness of the skin. The cocoa flavanols, which are plant compounds and also antioxidants, help hydrate the skin, and can also improve circulation. The flavonols support your skin in protecting itself from UV damage which leads to wrinkles. And if that wasn’t good enough, the flavonols in dark chocolate also fight free radicals associated with developing sun spots. Finally, dark chocolate can be great for stress-relief (in moderation!), which will keep your stress hormones from producing a new zit in your t-zones.

Kale

These days, kale is such a buzzword. A few winters ago, the Whole Foods near me in Washington D.C. sold out of kale. There was a kale panic, literally. Currently kale is a popular fad and thanks to many health enthusiasts, kale’s health benefits have begun to emerge. Kale has always been know to be one of the best foods for healthy skin. Kale is a great source of lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which help neutralize those pesky free radicals created by hazardous UV light. Kale is also packed full of vitamins like vitamin C and A which have powerful skin firming activators. Just one cup of kale gives you 134 percent of your daily value requirements of both vitamins. Additionally, vitamin K in kale helps reduce inflammation, keeping your face puff-free. If eating raw kale isn’t your style, you can certainly find ways to incorporate kale into your morning smoothies. Try using great tasting fruit like blueberries or pineapple to mask kale’s bitter taste.

Carrots

We all know that carrots have huge benefits for your vision, but did you know it’s also great for your skin? Those who eat a higher amount of fruits and vegetables with carotenoids are more likely to have yellow tones in their skin, giving them a healthier looking glow. The beta-carotene found in carrots is an awesome antioxidant that converts to vitamin A inside the body. As mentioned above, vitamin A is important for your skin thanks to its firming action, by working to repair the skin tissue, and its ability to protect against the oh so harsh UV light rays. Baby carrots with ranch are a great way to add more orange into your life, especially if you’re looking for a crunch mid-afternoon.

Walnuts

Personally, I love walnuts, especially if they are in dark chocolate brownies. Walnuts are the only nut with a massive amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts help add moisture and nutrients to keep the skin looking plump and glowing. One of the important omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts is called alpha-linolenic acid. This acid plays a vital role in preventing eczema and is associated in preventing rough and dry skin. There is also a protein found in walnuts helps reproduce skin cells and repair damaged tissue. Walnuts are also a great alternative for those of you living the vegetarian lifestyles. They are a great source of protein.

Almond Milk

With continuing in the nut theme, another great food for healthy skin is almond milk. One of the greatest benefits of almond milk is that it’s not dairy, so people that are lactose intolerant can benefit from almonds as well. The treatments that dairy products go through often require hormone injections, which makes them inflammatory and puts them at a high risk factor for aggravating acne and rashes. Almond milk is also a power source for vitamin E, known for it’s benefits in protecting your skin against sun damage. Noticing a theme here? The best foods for your skin are those that help protect against daily wear and tear we face due to different exposures. Opt for almond milk in your cereal and morning cup of coffee.

Kiwi

What’s not to love about kiwi, they taste great and they are kind of a cute fruit! But whats even better about kiwi is that they’re great for your skin. One medium kiwi accounts for 120% of your daily value for vitamin C. Vitamin C stimulates the production of collagen which keeps skin taut and smooth. Additionally with the presence of vitamin E in kiwis, both vitamin C and E can help repair and heal cuts, leaving you with soft and smooth skin. Furthermore, kiwis are packed with antioxidants that work to slow down the aging process of your cells. Ongoing research also hints at the potential benefit of applying kiwi flesh to your skin. Maybe try it in your next skin care regiment.

Olive Oil

Olive oil is hands down one of the best foods for healthy skin, especially since it can be used to cook so many foods we eat. A study of olive oil consumption in women found that participants who consumed more than two tablespoons a day were less likely to show signs of aging. This is likely caused by the over abundance of monounsaturated fatty acids found in olive oil. The antioxidants in olive oil reign in harmful free radicals and decrease inflammation in the skin. If you’re not a huge Mediterranean diet fan, you can alternatively reap the benefits of olive oil by applying it directly to dry skin. Try searching online for some olive oil skin scrub home recipes. Your skin will thank you later.

Green Tea

Green tea is filled with those amazing antioxidants that fight inflammation and work to keep your body clean. Catechins, a type of antioxidant in green tea, works to boost blood flow and oxygen to the skin. It also help in fighting inflammation and keeping the flow of key nutrients you need to maintain a healthy complexion. For puffiness, especially around the eyes, you can chill damp tea bags for 15 minutes and then apply directly to your skin. In terms of drinking benefits, researchers suggest downing around 3 mugs a day, a hefty goal indeed, but studies show the results are quite telling. Green tea is also a great resource diet wise for pursuing weight loss goals.

Pumpkin

All fall lovers rejoice, we have another reason to love pumpkin. It’s great in pies, lattes, and it’s also one of the best foods for healthy skin. Remember the those beneficial carotenoids we talked about in carrots? Well, those are also present in pumpkin. Cheers for bright colored food! Carotenoids found in pumpkin prevent free radicals from prematurely aging skin cells. The vitamin A found in pumpkin is essential for skin cell growth and cell hydration, and keeps your skin feeling soft and smooth. Vitamins C and E are also present, in addition to enzymes that have a cleansing property when it comes to skin. In addition to pumpkins being beneficial to healthy skin, it is also great for digestion and maintaining healthier bowel movements. Pumpkins aren’t just for halloween and candles, they are also great for your skin, and also ensuring you have better bathroom breaks! (url)

Red Wine

Let’s end this list just like we started it, with one of our many favorites. The antioxidant resveratrol found in red wine is also one of the most active ingredients found in several over-the-counter acne medications. Resveratrol is important in the fight against free radicals that posses the same benefits we’ve talked about in several of the best foods for healthy skin so far. Research has found that drinking half a glass of red wine per day was shown to reduce the long term effects of sun damage by 28 percent. If that isn’t enough to convince you that you should be drinking some more red wine, resveratrol also possesses anti-tumor properties. Always drink in moderation though! Cheers!