Don’t have money for a facelift or weekly facials? Well ladies, you can change your diet and eat your way to a more beautiful and glowing complexion. Here are the top five foods to eat every day in order to help keep your skin supple. And get an added bonus with overall good health!
Seafood
Salmon: Add luster and softness to your complexion by feasting on salmon, a fish with one of the richest concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids and zinc. These healthy fats and mineral nourish the skin by reducing the body’s production of inflammatory substances, decreasing clogged pores, improving circulation, and averting fine lines and wrinkles.
- Serving size: 3-4 ounces and Calories: about 150
Snapper: Like salmon, is also sky-high in anti-inflammatory fats, and it harbors another beautiful skin booster: the mineral selenium. Selenium reduces the risk of sunburn and promotes an even skin tone.
- Serving size: 3-4 ounces and Calories: about 110
Citrus
Mangoes: have more than 80% of your daily requirements for vitamin A. Vitamin A, an antioxidant, fights free radical damage, and maintains and repairs damaged skin cells.
- Serving size: one Mango and Calories: less than 70 calories per serving
Acerola Cherries: Just one of these cherries supplies 100% of your daily allowance for vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and fights skin damage and wrinkles as well as playing a central role in the production of collagen, the structural protein in your skin.
- Serving Size: 1 cup and Calories: about 30
Avocados: This creamy, green fruit is abundant in essential oils and B-complex vitamins including Niacin. Niacin is an anti-inflammatory and soothes irritated skin, red, blotchy skin.
- Serving Size: ½ of a med. avocado and Calories: 140
Red and Green Vegetables
Peppers: Contains vitamin A and beta-carotene another antioxidant for bright and smooth skin. Vitamin A is a component in Retin-A.
- Serving Size: 1 cup chopped and Calories: 46
Sweet Potatoes: Contain large amounts of beta-carotene which defends the skin against sun exposure and its damage.
- Serving size: 1 medium size potato and Calories: 117
Spinach & Other Green, Leafy Vegies: another excellent source of vitamin A to help produce more cells, eliminate old cells and reduces skin dryness.
- Serving Size: 1 cup and Calories: 7-10
Nuts
Sunflower Seeds: slows down the development of saggy, wrinkled skin by replenishing vitamin E — a powerful antioxidant that decelerates the aging of skin cells, keeping us looking younger longer. Vitamin E is also known for its ability to diminish the appearance of scars.
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons and Calories: 324
Almonds: another great antioxidant snack with vitamin E to combat skin-aging free radicals, especially protecting skin from sun damage due to UV-sunlight-generated free radicals. Vitamin E also tends to help skin hold in moisture, relieving dryness and making skin look younger.
- Serving Size: 24 nuts and Calories: 163
Whole Grains
Buckwheat: contains rutin and B-vitamins for antioxidants to help fight inflammation and skin damage.
- Serving Size: ¼ cup and Calories: 100
Wheat germ: provides the B-vitamin biotin which assists cells in processing fats and prevents skin dryness.
- Serving Size: 3 tablespoons and Calories: 60
Now that you know what to eat, add some exercise and get a good night’s sleep to increase your metabolism and restore depleted nutrients. I would love to have my readers share some good recipes for us all to enjoy!
