Foods that Nourish Dry Skin
Your biggest organ is your skin. It's the integrity and appearance of your skin that can make or break your looks. When it looks great, you are full of confidence, but when it is angry and looks dull, blotchy, broken out, etc., you generally don’t feel your best. Your skin is the first thing people see and it tells a story of your health and wellness. You can cover it with makeup, but to keep it naturally strong and healthy you should also nourish it inside and out. When skin is worn and tired it can be lackluster and dry.
To keep it full of bounce and looking nourished, a routine of quality topicals to soothe and condition it along with foods to keep it strong and healthy from the inside is necessary. According to nutritionists, dermatologists, and medical experts alike, there are foods that can give your dry skin a boost.
What Causes Wrinkles and Dry Skin?
As we age we lose collagen, elastin, and naturally occurring hyaluronic acid. When these vital components decrease in our skin’s structure, the results are dulling, creating wrinkles and a less youthful appearance. A diet full of flavenoids helps to strengthen the collagen. Flavenoids are the biggest group of phytonutrients, or plant-based chemicals, that provide powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and immune-boosting powers. Of the many healthful benefits, they offer the human body blood sugar regulation, proper brain functioning, blood pressure control, and are a particularly influential tool for skin protection.
Dry skin results from our environment-dry climates, not drinking enough water, lack of sleep, and poor nutrition. As dry skin increases, the look of fine wrinkles is more apparent and certainly deeper set wrinkles are also much more visualized.
What Foods Heal Dry Skin
What should you eat to see an improvement in your skin? Check it out below:
Green Tea and Red Wine
Taking in 2-4 cups of green tea each day provides your body with a super boost of flavonoid/catechins in addition to the amino acid theanine which helps control cortisol levels. Red wine in moderation does the same thing, as it has a solid flavonoid/collagen-boosting response while also promoting healthy blood flow.
Water
Always ensure that you up your water intake if you have also consumed caffeine and alcohol, which will dehydrate your body and thus dry out the skin. The ability for your skin to retain the hydration water offers is really where intake amounts can show. Not all skin is going to absorb all the water that you take in so if you are drinking more to help with hydration, ensure that you can soak up as much as possible. Having the right amount of fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol in your diet helps the water you take in to stay put and get to work on keeping the epidermis moisturized.
Some of the foods listed below not only have their own skin-saving properties but they also are high in these water-absorbing compounds that aid the skin in taking in that beneficial H20.
Sweet Potatoes
These root veggies have tons of Vitamin A which provides active retinal, retinol, as well as retinoic acid. Together, these active forms of the compound vitamin A protect the skin. Vitamin A is essential to protect from sun damage and slowing aging, it promotes healthy skin cell production and growth, and strengthens against infection. Orange veggies like sweet potatoes, which also has beta-carotene that strengthens against environmental woes, along with eggs, dairy, carrots, cantaloupes, and green leafy veggies are full of this skin-loving compound.
Nuts and Seeds
Tons of antioxidant powers and vitamin E combined with essential fatty acids repair the skin and protect against free-radical damage. Additionally, these compounds promote cell regeneration. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps the body retain more water and keep the skin smooth and soft. Vitamin E is found concentrated in the sebum of oil glands and in skin cell membranes which keeps your epidermis flexible and velvety smooth.
Spinach
Spinach is jam-packed with iron, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C. Vitamin C is the most important component for collagen production responsible for cellular growth and strong blood vessels which are vital to skin repair. These functions also help increase firmness and strength in the skin. Additionally, the leaves are full of water which is another way to up your water intake which promotes increased hydration.
Avocados
So creamy smooth, cutting these up and adding them to anything or spreading them across bread like butter makes this delightful food not only healthy but very enjoyable to one’s pallet. Rich in antioxidants, betacarotene, folate, omega-3 fatty acids, as well as Vitamin C and E. Folate is part of the B-complex group, and it is essential for RNA and DNA synthesis which is especially necessary for growth. This is why it is so important for pregnant women who are literally growing new humans in their bodies. The growth of tissues helps the skin maintain firmness, promotes a youthful glow by reducing fine lines and wrinkle formation and boosting skin moisture.
Fish
A source that contains one of the very richest sources of omega-3 which is a powerful anti-inflammatory, amazing at restoring fats in the skin that reduce dryness, and repairing damaged cell membranes which make skin resilient and promotes strong defenses against destruction. Salmon, mackerel, and sardines are excellent choices.
Resources— Skin Benefits of Vitamin A, The Skin Benefits of Vitamin E, Skin Benefits of Omega-3
About The Author
