How does your skin look? Does it have that soft glow that you’re looking for or is it more dry and flaky? Every year we spend millions of dollars on skin creams, lotions and other solutions that go on your skin, but most people forget that the most important factor in healthy skin may be your diet.
Eat Like A Mediterranean?
Did you ever notice how people from the Mediterranean typically have fantastic looking skin? Well that region is long known for eating a lot of fish (full of omega-3 fatty acids), olives and other fruits… things long proven to help skin smooth.
What’s more is an Italian study has shown that a proper diet may help protect your skin from melanoma, which is a very deadly form of skin cancer. To help protect your skin from UV rays a diet high in antioxidants can really help. Foods like olive oil or leafy greens, along with regular portions of fish can really help make a difference.
Best Foods for Healthy Skin
Not a fan of fish or olive oil? Don’t worry there are other foods you can eat and still get the same results. The key aspect of all of these foods is those rich in antioxidants. Some good examples are beans, spinach, nuts (especially almonds), and other veggies that are orange in color like carrots for example.
I know a lot of you don’t like fish (I’m one of them) but fish is great for your skin, so what can you do about it if you don’t like eating it? Personally I like fish oil capsules that give me all the omega 3 benefits, without the fishy taste (make sure you get the odorless capsules or you may get fish breath!)
Worst Foods for Healthy Skin
Ok, so you know what to eat. Perhaps what’s more important is what NOT to eat right? I mean after all you don’t want to accidentally eat foods that harm your skin if you’re taking the right steps otherwise right?
Sugars and candy are one of the worst things you can eat for your skin studies have shown. What happens is the increase in glucose in your blood stream (also known as a “sugar rush”) results in advanced glycation end products (commonly known as AGE’s) and they make the skin less flexible and weaker. Not worth the quick candy fix right?
Other foods like most spicy foods, milk and even dark chocolate can harm your skin for various reasons. Dark chocolate has been linked to acne, spicy foods can make your complexion blotchy and milk has been shown to make your skin oily which can lead to all sorts of problems for your skin. Eating these foods in moderation can definitely help improve your look.
Sources: CNN Health, Mayo Clinic, Self Magazine
