You’re probably aware of how important a balanced diet is for the health of every part of your body. This includes your body’s largest organ; your skin. With diet and skin being so intricately linked, the food that you eat can directly influence your complexion, both positively and negatively.
It’s common knowledge that plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, combined with lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats, will set you on the path to good health, as well as good skin. However, there are certain foods in particular that are renowned for how they can quickly transform the complexion, making it worth adding copious amounts of these to your meals!
Wondering what you should be eating more of? Read on as Lavelier explores the connection between diet and skin by sharing some of the most skin-loving foods out there!
Green Tea
Although, technically, you would drink green tea rather than eat it, this ingredient deserves the top spot on this list because of its numerous complexion-boosting properties. Green tea, which is one of the least processed teas available, contains potent phytochemicals in levels much higher than that of any other food.
EGCG is one, with numerous studies pointing to how this compound is capable of reducing the appearance of aging and UV damage in the skin. The other catechins within green tea have similar effects.
With green tea being such a powerhouse, it’s worth giving your skin as much of it as you can. In addition to adding the beverage to your daily routine, seek out skincare products that contain green tea extract, just like the Lavelier Nano Gold Serum. In this formula, green tea is combined with several other antioxidant-rich ingredients. This creates a blend that will quickly smooth, tighten, and brighten the look of your skin.
Berries
If you want to keep things simple when it comes to learning about the link between diet and skin, then it’s important to know that every single fruit out there will benefit your skin in some way. However, some fruits are more beneficial than others, with berries being some of the best for the complexion.
Why berries? Because studies show that they contain four times the number of antioxidants than other fruits and ten times more than vegetables. When it comes to keeping your skin looking healthy, antioxidants are everything. They counter the visibility of free radical damage, meaning that the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots can be held off for decades if you give your skin the antioxidants it needs.
Again, just like green tea, berries can be added to your skincare routine too. You’ll find several of them in the Lavelier Seagrass Cymosilk Masque. With the likes of goji berry, bilberry, acai berry, and more, this mask is brimming with some incredible antioxidants.
Seaweed
Unlike many of the other foods on this list, seaweed can be an acquired taste. Many aren’t immediately fond of its salty and fishy flavor. As a result, it’s an ingredient that many avoid rather than seek out.
However, if you want to focus on boosting the connection between a good diet and skin health, seaweed is a food worth eating more of. It’s not technically a vegetable but it’s usually classed as one, even though, ounce for ounce, it’s more nutritious than most of the land-grown vegetables out there.
Since seaweed can be consumed in many forms, make an effort to try the ingredient in different ways. You’ll likely find a form of it that you’ll come to enjoy!
Of course, if your taste buds are refusing to acknowledge seaweed and its many benefits, you can always apply it directly to your skin instead. At Lavelier, red coral seaweed is our signature ingredient. You’ll find it in all of our products, meaning that your skin will reap the rewards of this marine ingredient no matter which Lavelier formula you use!
Foods Rich in Carotenoids
Just like with fruits, every vegetable out there will do your skin good in some way. However, those that are rich in carotenoids are particularly beneficial.
Carotenoids are antioxidants. They function as provitamin A, which means that once consumed, the body converts them into vitamin A. As you probably know, vitamin A is an ingredient that can be a game-changer for the complexion. Retinol, a form of vitamin A, is one of the most-studied and most popular skincare ingredients around!
How do you know if a food is high in carotenoids? It will be yellow or orange in color. Sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, and papayas are all packed with carotenoids. Add more yellow and orange foods to your diet and your skin will look better as a result!
Seeds
Seeds are a fantastic source of nutrients. They’re full of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and antioxidants, all of which bolster the link between diet and skin health.
If seeds don’t already feature in your diet, sunflower seeds are a great place to start. They have a mild nutty flavor, one that is enhanced by roasting. When eaten, they feel more substantial than many other seeds, and the fact that they’re jam-packed with skin-loving nutrients makes them taste even more satisfying!
Flax seeds are also exceptionally beneficial. They’re full of fatty acids that keep the skin feeling soft and supple. If you have sensitive skin, flax seeds are well worth adding to your diet. Research confirms that it can help with the appearance of everything from sensitivities and inflammation to roughness and dehydration.
Fatty Fish
When it comes to the connection between diet and skin health, some fats are bad but others can be extremely advantageous. The fats found in cold-water fatty fish, for example, provide a substantial amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Not only do these fatty acids keep the skin moisturized and conditioned but they also reduce the look of inflammation and UV damage.
Fatty fish also contain vitamin E. It’s an ingredient that you’ll find in numerous skincare products, including the Lavelier Marine Evening Repair Cream. It keeps the skin barrier feeling supported while its antioxidant properties maintain a healthy complexion.
So, which fish should you be eating more of? Some of the most beneficial fatty fish to consume are herring, salmon, and sardines.
Walnuts
If you follow a plant-based diet, then does this mean that your skin will be missing out on all of those omega fatty acids provided by fatty fish? Not if you add walnuts to your diet!
While all nuts contain essential fatty acids, walnuts provide them in a much larger quantity. Better yet, they’re a great source of zinc too. This is a nutrient that your skin barrier depends on. Without enough of it, barrier function declines, making it important to keep your zinc levels topped up.
Walnuts also offer up vitamin E and protein. Again, both of these nutrients will help to leave your skin looking smoother and stronger.
Dark Chocolate
We’ve mentioned antioxidants quite a few times now. If you want a clear complexion, the best way forward would be to add plenty of antioxidants to your diet. However, while fruits and vegetables are often seen as the best providers of antioxidants around, dark chocolate is another amazing source of these compounds.
Dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cocoa is what you want to be eating. It’s the cocoa that’s beneficial, with studies finding that eating 20 grams of dark chocolate per day can help to keep the complexion safer from UV damage.
Water-Rich Foods
It goes without saying that water should be an essential part of your diet. It’s utilized by every single part of your body, including your skin cells. Without enough water, your skin will soon end up dehydrated. This causes a rough, dull, and wrinkled complexion.
However, in addition to drinking plenty of water, you can also bump up your body’s hydration levels by consuming more water-rich foods. Melons are among the best, as are strawberries, tomatoes, celery, and cucumber. In fact, the latter can be added to your skincare routine too with the Lavelier Marine Facial Toner. It features cucumber fruit extract, which hydrates the skin while also providing antioxidants. It has a soothing effect on the complexion too, leaving the skin looking bright and balanced.
Fermented Foods
One of the reasons why diet and skin are so closely linked is down to the gut. Your diet affects the health of your gut, which, in turn, influences the health of your skin.
If you’ve been struggling with inflammatory skin problems, such as acne or eczema, poor gut health could be the culprit. One way to improve the health of your gut is by consuming more fermented foods. They’ve been shown to boost gut microbiome, which leaves both the gut and the skin feeling healthier.
If fermented foods are currently missing from your diet, there are plenty out there for you to try. Kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and kombucha are among the most popular. However, even natural yogurt, sourdough bread, and certain cheeses can be classed as fermented foods too, with these being particularly beginner-friendly.
Leafy Greens
Let’s round off our list by talking about antioxidants once again! This time, from leafy greens. From kale to spinach, these green vegetables are chockfull of nutrients that benefit the skin. Not only will they keep your skin looking youthful and healthy but they’ll also calm the feeling of inflammation and irritation.
The darker the greens, the more nutrients they’ll contain. If you find it difficult to incorporate enough greens into your diet, consider green smoothies instead. Spinach tends to be the leafy green of choice for these as it has a mild taste. However, once your taste buds adapt to green smoothies, you’ll be able to add in a greater variety of greens while still enjoying the flavor of your smoothies.
Diet and Skin Health: Getting It Right
Getting your diet in balance is key to achieving healthy-looking skin. If this seems overwhelming to you, start by consuming more of some of the foods that we’ve featured above. Make small changes to begin with and then gradually improve on this, until you’re satisfied that your diet is as healthy as can be. The fact that your skin will start to look better and better as you do so will be enough motivation to convince you to continue on with your new healthy eating lifestyle!
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