Eat your way to beautiful skin

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Wrinkles aren’t just about getting older. Wrinkles can be a sign of more serious inner issues, like dehydration or even a vitamin or mineral deficiency.

When your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs, your skin will suffer. In many cases, skin begins to wrinkle before its time because it’s starved for nutrition!

By focusing on your inner health, you can improve your appearance. Instead of searching for the perfect anti-aging product to transform your skin, eating fresh, nutritious, and delicious foods will improve your inner health and the quality of your skin at the same time.

Here are five good-for-you foods that can improve the look and feel of your skin:

1. Papaya: Sweet, juicy papaya is an excellent source of magnesium, which creates SOD - also known as superoxide dismutase. SOD is a natural enzyme that helps the body protect against free-radical damage by neutralizing excessive superoxides.
   
   SOD is a valuable antioxidant that will keep the cells in your body healthy and resistant to damage. This will benefit not only the quality of your skin to keep it youthful and soft, but it will also protect you from disease.

Oysters: Oysters are an excellent source of zinc to support wound healing. Zinc also helps trigger collagen production in the skin. Collagen is the substance in our skin that keeps it firm, springy, and soft - just like the skin of a teenager.

Although quite a few anti-aging products advertise to contain collagen, applying collagen to your skin isn’t going to do any good. Topical collagen molecules are too big to absorb into the skin. It’s much more effective to eat foods rich in zinc that will boost collagen from the inside out to smooth wrinkles.

Biotin helps keep skin moist and soft to prevent dryness and rashes, and it also supports thick, lustrous hair growth.

 

Brazil Nuts: Brazil nuts are an excellent source of the trace mineral selenium, which is essential for beautiful skin. The majority of us don’t get nearly enough selenium in our diets. But a single Brazil nut will pack a powerful punch with a hefty dose of selenium to neutralize outside free-radical damage that can cause wrinkles. Make it your beauty goal to eat one Brazil nut a day for youthful skin.

Olive Oil: Olive oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids at roughly 0.2 g per ounce.¹ The omega-3 fatty acids in olive oil will calm inflammation in the skin to reduce redness and dryness. This will keep your skin moist and hydrated to prevent wrinkles. Drizzle olive oil on salads, veggies, or grilled fish, but don’t fry with it! Frying with olive oil will damage its omega-3 content and negate any beauty benefits it could offer.

For a delicious, beautifying breakfast or afternoon snack, try a green tea, blueberry, and banana smoothie. Green tea is an antioxidant-rich beverage that prevents heart disease and boosts metabolism. On top of that, the antioxidants in green tea will help neutralize free radicals from sun damage that could cause skin cancer.
Blueberries contain more antioxidants than almost any other food! And bananas are an excellent source of vitamin B6 to promote a healthy immune system and protect your skin from disease and outside damage.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 green teabag
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 ½ cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 medium banana
• 3/4 cup skim milk

Steep the green tea in 3 tablespoons of hot water and brew for 3 minutes. Remove the teabag and stir honey into the tea until it is completely dissolved. Blend blueberries, banana, milk, and tea in a blender until smooth. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

via Kamila Fiore, ARNP, NP-C : http://www.alsearsmd.net/interspire/link.php?M=404993&N=1682&L=2634&F=H

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