Carefully selected nutrients and an abundance of liquids are a prerequisite for health and beauty. Beautiful skin is an external sign of our beauty, but also an indicator of our dietary habits. With a proper diet, characterized by a multitude of nutrients, especially vitamins, minerals, herbal chemicals, and a careful selection of fats, there is a lot you can do to improve the first impression you leave on others – your exterior appearance.
Food supplements that are designed to preserve the health and beauty of the skin are increasingly being recommended. A nutritive therapy, or the internal skin care, involves consuming the food supplements that will improve your health and skin appearance from the inside. During the past few decades, certain food ingredients that have a positive effect on the skin have been identified – for example, coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene, astaxanthin, lycopene, vitamin B complex, some amino acids, polyphenols, phytoestrogens, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and probiotics. In the scientific “slang”, these nutrients are often called nutraceuticals, and their use is recommended in a combination with cosmeceuticals, or the cosmetic products that are applied on the skin.
An especially difficult challenge in the future will lie in determining how to the strategically combine the use of cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals in order to interfere with the biological processes of skin aging and other degenerative skin changes.
Importance of hydration
To begin with, you should drink about 1.5 – 2 liters of liquid – spring and mineral water are the best, herbal teas, fruit and vegetable juices, and isotonic beverages. More and more often, mineral and thermal waters are being studied and used as effective cosmetic components, which further stresses the importance of our daily spring and mineral water intake. Namely, water is the medium that plays a crucial role in liberating our bodies from poisons.
Food for beautiful skin
The condition of our skin is a reflection of the processes that occur inside our bodies and every change it shows, whether it is skin aging, acne, or simply an unhealthy skin appearance, represents the manifestation of the nutritive unbalance within our bodies. A carefully composed menu, whose base consists of whole meal cereal, fruit and vegetables, pulses and fish, is our best ally when it comes to regenerating the skin and achieving a healthy skin appearance. This kind of diet will provide our body with all the necessary nutrients that will literally feed every layer of our skin and help us to achieve a more youthful look.
Diet rich in dietary fibers and good bacteria or probiotics leads to better bowel movements and organism detoxification, prevents the accumulation of toxins in tissues, and, finally, keeps our skin beautiful and healthy. Therefore, a daily intake of fruit and vegetables rich in fibers, as well as the fermented dairy products that contain probiotics, is extremely important.
The essential fatty acids play a crucial role in creating the lipid skin barrier. Also, they keep the skin hydrated and soothe the skin irritations. Lack of the essential fatty acids is manifested through a dry and an infection-prone skin. This is why it is necessary to ensure their adequate intake through diet, and a menu, whose main components are herbal oils, seeds, nuts, and fish, will contribute to a healthy and youthful skin appearance. Today, various food supplements that contain the precious argan, borage, and olive oils, as well as some other oils rich in antioxidants and fatty acids, are available.
Fruit and vegetables, especially the ones rich in antioxidants such as dark, berry fruits, citrus fruits, and kiwi, also play an important role in keeping your skin youthful and healthy. A famous author of books about how to fight the effects of aging through our dietary habits, Dr. Nicholas Perricone, recommends a rich intake of berries (such as blueberries and blackcurrant), wild salmon, nuts, and the abundance of spring water, in order to give ourselves a ‘dietary facelift’.
In order to encourage the exchange of substances and prevent the retention of liquids in your body, you should increase the intake of nutrients rich in vitamin C (colorful fruit and vegetables, natural fruit juices), potassium (bananas, apricots, peaches, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes), and sulfur (i.e. asparagus, bitter vegetables), because these foods encourage the removal of harmful substances from the body. Avoid overly salty and spicy foods. Salt tends to retain water, which is why the amount of salt intake in our diet should be limited.
Vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals
Antioxidants (beta carotene, vitamins C and E, selenium, copper, manganese, and zinc) provide good protection from the free radicals, and they are also believed to have the ability of slowing down the aging process. The newest studies have shown that the correct intake of antioxidants, which work together, can significantly contribute to a healthy dermis and epidermis. The precious anti-wrinkle cremes often base their effectiveness upon the strong antioxidants that originate from fruit and herbs.
The vitamin B complex is necessary for maintaining a healthy skin. They will, along with protein as their support, help your skin to keep its natural glow and elasticity, and by avoiding the vitamin B complex deficit, we can postpone dryness, redness, skin irritation, cracked lips, and the appearance of small wounds around the mouth and nose.
Besides the well-known vitamins, the herbal world contains a multitude of herbal chemicals with antioxidant properties, which have a positive effect when used from the ‘inside’, as well as the ‘outside’. Perhaps the best example is beta carotene, which has a confirmed protective effect against acute and chronic manifestations of skin damage caused by sun exposure. According to some studies, beta carotene reduces the damaging of DNA molecules and prevents the development f many degenerative diseases. Lycopene, another molecule from the carotenoid family with strong antioxidant properties, is a clinically proven substance that effectively fights against skin aging, because it helps the epidermis to regenerate and encourages the synthesis of collagen. Similar positive effects are also attributed to coenzyme Q10, a well-known ingredient of many cosmetic products, which also has a positive effect when taken orally.
The area of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals is extremely interesting and will surely bring us many more new discoveries in the future. Until then, we should eat healthy; take food supplements, and drink mineral water. With a positive attitude towards life, this strategy will surely help us in keeping our skin luminous and youthful.