Skin: Although certain beauty routines are essential to achieve a radiant face, the real “elixir of youth” is closer to hand than you think: what you eat can be crucial for your skin to gain freshness and health.
The skin is a true reflection of what you eat. It is logical: your cells are renewed every 28 days, and for this regeneration to be carried out correctly, you need a series of nutrients.
Therefore, note that when you spend a few days eating poorly, it is immediately noticeable on your face, that it looks duller, sadder, and even blemishes such as pimples and redness appear.
And it is that the skin is susceptible to nutritional deficiencies of proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins A, C and group B, and minerals such as iron and zinc, which are precisely the raw materials used for its regeneration.
Table of Contents
1. Firming Proteins
They are the main component of collagen and elastin, the fibers that “support” the skin, preventing it from sagging and looking flaccid. That is why proteins are essential to keep skin young (in fact, cosmetic creams mimic their action by including collagen in their formulation).
You find them basically in meats (opt better for white because they have less saturated fat), fish, eggs, legumes, and dairy (better skimmed).
We recommend: take at least two protein servings a day.
2. Moisturizing Vitamin A and Beta-carotene
They are also essential for the formation of collagen, but they also have a powerful antioxidant action that protects the skin from the damaging effect of free radicals.
When you don’t take enough vitamin A or beta-carotene (provitamin A that transforms into vitamin A in the body), your skin becomes dry (roughness is more visible on the elbows and knees).
The sebaceous glands become clogged, causing pimples and pimples.
Good sources of vitamin A are whole dairy products and eggs; and beta carotene, yellow or orange vegetables (carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato ), and green leafy (watercress, spinach ).
We recommend: eat about 3000 IU a day (about 200 g of carrots). Do not exceed this amount because it can cause toxicity.
3. Vitamin C With Anti-wrinkle Effect
In addition to being an antioxidant, it is another of the nutrients necessary for your skin to generate collagen correctly and look younger for longer.
People who take little vitamin C are more prone to wrinkles, which is why it is another common ingredient in anti-aging cosmetics.
All vegetables provide it, although its best source is citrus, kiwi, and pineapple. We recommend consuming about 90 mg a day, which is equivalent to a juice of two oranges and a mixed salad.
4. Essential Fatty Acids, the Best Nutritious “Cream”
These good fats are essential for a correct cell regeneration of the skin, thus preventing it from drying out.
We recommend taking 3 or 4 times a week bluefish, cooking and dressing with extra virgin olive oil (first cold pressing), and consuming 25 g of nuts a day.
5. Vitamins of Group B and Goodbye to Shine!
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is essential to keep your skin healthy and smooth. If you are missing, more fat accumulates on the forehead, nose, and chin; the hair is greasier, redness appears in the sebaceous follicles (the place where the fat of the skin is produced) and cracks often appear in the mouth.
You find it in brewer’s yeast, meats, green leafy vegetables, eggs, legumes, whole grains, dairy products, and nuts.
Something similar happens if you lack vitamin B3 and B6 (in fact, they are found in the same foods). Excessive consumption of sweets and refined products (these vitamins disappear when the cereal husk is removed) can cause this deficiency.
We recommend: having a skimmed yogurt with a handful of nuts or also with a teaspoon of brewer’s yeast.
6. Iron, the Secret of a Right Face Color
This mineral is essential for the formation of hemoglobin, a component of the blood responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body. When it is missing, the skin becomes very pale, and the hair falls out more.
We recommend foods rich in IronIron (meat, eggs, fish, and green leafy vegetables) in your menus combined with vitamin C to promote its absorption.
7. Zinc to Restore Balance to the Skin
Most of the body’s zinc is found in the skin, hair, and nails and is essential for the regeneration of tissues.
We recommend: eat whole grains, fish, and seafood and supplement your diet with a teaspoon of wheat germ.
8. 3 Keys to Healthy Skin
The nutrients that we have recommended are those necessary for a correct regeneration of the dermis and to keep it young and healthy.
Also, keep these recommendations in mind:
a. Fight Wrinkles With 5 Servings of Vegetables a Day
Your skin fights daily against free radicals. On the one hand, it has to face those generated by your own body (metabolic processes or stress “manufacture” these substances).
On the other, it also battles with those who come from outside: pollution, tobacco, too much sun, drugs, or a diet rich in bad fats and sugars.
And to fight against all that it has no more defense than antioxidants. It is true that your body already generates a reasonable amount, but it is insufficient (and more taking into account the pollution surrounding us).
Vitamins like C, along with proteins, are crucial to generating collagen and giving firmness.
That is why you have to “arm yourself” well by taking vegetables, which provide more antioxidants (vitamin C, E, beta-carotene, flavonoids …) that block free radicals and help prevent aging.
b. Nourish Thoroughly by Taking Good Fats
People who make very restrictive diets can lose weight quickly, but in a short time, their skin also appears drier and fragile, as if it had lost thickness.
And it is that these diets are deficient in essential fatty acids since they restrict foods such as olive oil, oily fish, or nuts because they are caloric. Big mistake, because these good fats are part of the structure of cell membranes.
Olive oil is one of the best “cosmetics” that exist because it nourishes your skin.
For this reason, dry and eczematous skin with a reduced wound healing capacity may be indicating that you are not taking enough essential fatty acids.
c. Eliminate Toxins and Gain Luminosity by Purifying Yourself
When your body accumulates toxins (harmful substances that accumulate in the blood and reaches all corners of the body, including the skin), it is immediately noticeable on your face: it looks duller, and it is easier for imperfections such as pimples to appear. And to cleanse you inside:
The first step is to reduce the consumption of fried foods, bad fats, sugars, and precooked foods.
The second step, drink between 6 and 8 glasses of water every day that, in addition to helping you eliminate toxins, will keep your skin hydrated and moisturized.
And the third, take foods with a cleansing effect that coincidentally are the same ones that provide you with a large number of antioxidants: vegetables.
You can complete your water intake by taking vegetable smoothies that include, for example, celery. Green tea, horsetail, or sarsaparilla infusions also help you purify yourself.
