Top Foods for Beautiful, Healthy Skin

It’s no coincidence that the same plant food that we need to stay healthy also keeps our skin youthful and beautiful. The right diet can keep your skin moisturized, radiant, and wrinkle-free.

Your skin develops wrinkles when it loses elastin, collagen, and Hyaluronic acid (HA) which is found in connective tissue and synovial fluid.

Unfortunately, once you develop deep wrinkles, they’re impossible to get rid of naturally.

Prevent Wrinkles by Eating Healthy Foods

The best way to deal with wrinkles is to prevent them in the first place. In addition to using sunblock, eat skin-loving foods, like healthy soy foods, and foods rich in antioxidants and omega–3 fatty acids.

Healthy Skin Foods No. 1: Fermented Soy 

Animal studies show that soy isoflavones may increase the production of hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in the body and supports the collagen and elastin fibers that make your skin firm and youthful.

Stick with healthy fermented soy foods, like tempeh, miso, and Natto.

Healthy Skin Foods No. 2: Antioxidant–Rich Foods

Antioxidants are well known for fighting free radicals that cause cell damage, including the sun’s ultraviolet rays, pollution, and toxins. 

Excellent sources of antioxidants include red grapes, dark green and orange vegetables, acai, pomegranates, and tomatoes.

Antioxidant Vitamins

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant.

The best food sources are boiled mustard greens, boiled Swiss chard, boiled spinach, raw sunflower seeds, and dry roasted almonds.

Vitamin C is not only a great antioxidant, but it also helps your body to produce collagen.

Excellent sources of vitamin C include red bell peppers (raw), parsley, steamed broccoli, boiled cauliflower, strawberries, fresh lemon juice, romaine lettuce, boiled mustard greens, boiled Brussel sprouts, papaya, boiled kale, cooked turnip greens, grapefruit, kiwifruit, and cantaloupe.

Beta Carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body, is another antioxidant critical for skin health.

It’s involved in the growth and repair of skin tissue and may protect against sun damage.

Great sources include raw carrots, boiled spinach, cooked turnip greens, boiled kale, fresh parsley, red bell peppers (raw), boiled mustard greens, romaine lettuce, baked sweet potato with skin, and steamed broccoli.

Healthy Skin Foods No. 3: Foods High in Omega–3 Fatty Acids

Fatty acids, especially omega–3, help your skin in several ways. They . . 

• help maintain cell membranes to keep toxins out and allow water and nutrients in
• replenish lipids to the skin and hair
• help your skin hold onto water
• and, as an anti-inflammatory, they help reduce acne and facial redness

Excellent plant sources of omega–3 include flaxseeds, walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, soybeans, broccoli, and cabbage.

If you eat fish, great. Fatty fish, including salmon, contain the highest amount of omega-3 fatty acids of any food.

Healthy Skin Foods No. 4: Foods Rich in Selenium

Selenium is a trace mineral. Foods rich in selenium are an important part of an anti-aging diet. It helps to safeguard the skin from sun damage and delays aging by protecting skin quality and elasticity.

The best vegetarian sources are raw crimini mushrooms; mustard seeds; boiled, whole eggs; cooked, whole grains; raw tofu; uncooked, whole grain rye; Brazil nuts; raw sunflower seeds; and garlic. 

Say ‘Goodbye’ to Sugar

Sugar can do a lot of damage to your body and skin (in fact, it’s been directly linked to cancer). It triggers a process in your body called glycation — the same process that turns meat brown when it’s cooked.

When there’s glycation, the sugars bind with tissues to form molecules known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs damage elastin and collagen, which leads to tougher, wrinkled skin. 

But, it’s not just candies, cakes, and sodas that are bad. AGEs are also caused by foods with a high glycemic index, such as white bread, pasta, and potatoes. These foods are quickly converted to sugar in the bloodstream and trigger the glycation process.

AGEs can also make your skin more prone to sun damage. And sun damage accelerates the glycation process.

Healthy skin that’s radiant and beautiful is a byproduct of a healthy vegetarian diet. It’s also a reflection of your good health within. Get as many of these healthy foods into your diet and eliminate sugar. Before long, you’ll see a noticeable difference in your skin’s appearance.

Sources

Leslie Baumann, M.D., Too Much Sugar Causes Wrinkles, Yahoo Health

Joy Bauer, M.S., R.D., Today show nutritionist and author of Joy Bauer’s Food Cures

Glycemic Index Lookup Tool

The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.org

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