8 Superfoods for Glowing Skin

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Glowing Skin
A good diet, with the right foods will provide an abundance of building blocks for sexy, glowing skin, plus natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds can help protect the skin against stressors and environmental damage caused by pollution and even UV rays from the sun!

Your skin is a direct result of the diet you feed it.  If you want glowing skin, you better be chowing down on plenty of fresh superfoods, healthy fats and high quality protein.  Eating a diet full of processed crappy food, including a diet high in sugar and man-made fats, will result in dull, dry and lack lustre skin at best.  Bad diet habits, can lead to weak skin structures, the breakdown of collagen and the appearance of wrinkles and cellulite.

A good diet, with the right foods will provide an abundance of building blocks for sexy, glowing skin, plus natural antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds can help protect the skin against stressors and environmental damage caused by pollution and even UV rays.

Don’t know what makes up a good diet? Not to worry, here’s a list of the best foods to eat for glowing skin.  Be sure to pick these up on your next grocery-shopping trip.  Start eating these foods on the regular, to help fuel your body and get some serious sexy glowing skin.

8 Super Foods For Glowing Skin

  1. Beets:

If you want glowing skin, this is your go to food.  Beets are loaded in nitrates and vitamin C.  Nitrates increase vasodilation of blood vessels, which in turn increases blood flow and oxygenation of the tissues.  This is helpful for reducing inflammation, removing stagnating liquids and improving circulation in tissues preventing the formation of cellulite.

As for its vitamin C content, this vitamin is an important component of the skin, it’s found in both the outer layer of the skin – the epidermis and the layer underneath – called the dermis!  Vitamin C is also involved in collagen production and has anti-inflammatory properties too.

How to Eat Them:  Roast it, chop it, put it on a salad, or eat it with other veggies like sweet potato, white potato, pumpkin and or squash.  You can also mash it, mix it with hummus or blend it into a smoothie too.

  1. Berries:

Berries including blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries have the highest concentration of antioxidants including anthocyanins, ellagic acid and resveratrol.  Ellagic acid can block enzymes that break down collagen in sun-damaged skin.

Berries anthocyanin concentration increases microcirculation in the capillaries and small blood vessels, thereby reducing swelling and improving skin appearance and texture.  Several studies conducted on women suffering from varicose veins show that blueberry extract can counteract swelling, reduce pain, and improve skin appearance.

Antioxidants in berries can also help reduce inflammation and help protect the body against oxidative stress.  In addition, berries tend to have a high concentration of vitamin C, which can help in the production of collagen.

How to Eat Them:  Blend them in your smoothies and juices.  Drop a few on your salad; have them for breakfast with your oats or mixed with coco yogurt, or just eat them as a snack.

  1. Salmon:

Salmon is high in Omega-3 fats, fat is an essential part of the skin.   It also acts to protect the skin and retain moisture and stay hydrated.  Hydration is important to help reduce wrinkles and the appearance of fine lines.   Omega-3 can also help reduce inflammation, and therefore help prevent breakdown of collagen and elastin, helping the skin to maintain it’s elasticity and softness.

Salmon also contains vitamin D, which can have photo-protective effects, which means it can help protect the skin against the negative effects of UV rays.  Vitamin D is also good for skin repair and protects against oxidative damage.

Lastly, salmon contains the antioxidant astaxanthin, which has anti-inflammatory action, which can in turn promote the production of collagen.  One study showed that astaxanthin helped improve the look of wrinkles, age spots and skin texture!

How to Eat it:  Eat freshly caught wild salmon and avoid eating farm-raised salmon, which could contain other chemical compounds.   Roast it, bake it or grill it!  Don’t over cook it, or you’ll be sorry!  Serve it with a side of veggies or salad.

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  1. Sweet Potato:

This root veggie contains high amounts of beta-carotene, which is a precursor for vitamin A. In the body, beta-carotene gets converted to an active form of vitamin A, perhaps you heard of it by its popular name in many skin care products – retinol!

Vitamin A works as an antioxidant, helping to neutralize any free radical damage to collagen. Vitamin A is needed for cell production and growth, increasing your up-take can help increase healthy skin cell production, protect against photo damage and prevent premature aging.

Although not as effective as a strong retinol cream you’d apply on your skin; just one cup of baked sweet potato yields 122% of the daily value of vitamin A, and 7X the amount of beta-carotene you need daily!  In addition, you’ll also get a healthy dose of vitamin C – essential for collagen production. 

How to Eat it: Roast them, chop them and eat them as a side or add to a salad. Mash them on their own, or blend with pumpkin, white potato, carrot or even beetroot mash.  Slice and bake them as fries.

GLOWING SKIN

  1. Spinach

Spinach is a leafy green that packs a powerful antioxidant punch, providing vitamin C, E, K and A.  All of which are great for protecting your skin.  These antioxidants can help protect the collagen in your skin and can even help promote its production.  Without these vitamins, you can experience dry skin, lose elasticity, experience dark circles and increase the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Spinach also provides iron, an important part of hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen throughout the body, helping increase oxygenation and circulation throughout the body, including the skin.  Lastly, spinach, like other leafy greens are full of water!  Hydration is essential to keeping your skin supple and soft.

How to Eat it: Spinach can be sautéed, eaten as a side or added to sauces to increase the veggie content!  You can also blend it into a green juice or smoothie. Have a spinach salad, or mix it with other leafy greens.

  1. Avocado

This delicious high fat fruit contains antioxidants that can help protect your skin from sun damage and inflammation, including lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamins C and E.  Avocados also contain the super antioxidant glutathionine, which helps protect cells against free radical damage.

In addition, avocados high monounsaturated fat content, also have benefits when it comes to your skin.  A study on the relationship between skin condition and the intake of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants showed that the women who had a higher fat diet, experienced increases in skin elasticity and reduced the appearance of wrinkles.

One study showed that adding avocado to salad, increased absorption of beta-carotene by 15 times higher, than the average amount of absorption without avocado.  This is due to its fat content.  As mentioned, beta-carotene gets converted to vitamin A – which helps protect collagen from breakdown.

And if that wasn’t enough, avocados also contain a sugar compound called d-mano-heptulose found in avocados that improve the skin by boosting collagen formation.

How to Eat it:  Eat it with a spoon, chop it and throw it into a salad, smash it and put it on toast for breakfast, blend it into a smoothie, or make guacamole!  You can also use it as a fat replacement in baked recipes like brownies, or as a base for puddings!

  1. Citrus Fruit 

Citrus fruit is full of vitamin C, along with bioactive compounds including Hesperidin.  This natural compound, has vaso-protective properties that can help improve microcirculation and improve the tone of veins, strengthening capillaries, thus helping reduce the on-set of varicose veins.

Additionally, citrus fruit’s high vitamin C content can help support the production of collagen.  Collagen is essential part of firm skin.  As we get older, collagen breakdown occurs – causing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, as well as the appearance of cellulite on the legs and butt.  Collagen works to support the skin structure, as this breaks down the fat underneath can begin to break through resulting in appearance of rippling and pitting of the skin.

How to Eat it:  Eat oranges or grapefruit with your breakfast or as a snack.  Chop them and put on salad, or drop into yoghurt.  Slice oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit and drop into water for an infused water blend.  Juice them, add to smoothies, or make a vinaigrette to add to your salad.

  1. Egg Whites

As any high quality protein, egg whites provide a protein boost that helps keep our muscles and skin firm and tight.  Eating high protein diets can also help repair the muscles and skin.

Egg whites are considered to be highly bioactive because they provide all the essential amino acids, including two amino acids that are needed for the production of collagen – lysine and proline.   These aminos are the precursors to hydroxylysine and hydroxyproline two constituents of collagen.

How to Eat:  Have an egg white omelette with spinach. You can bake with egg whites, add them to recipes, and if you purchase pasteurized egg whites, you can even add them to smoothies.

Until Next Time,

Be Fierce & Rule the World!

Lauren Jacobsen

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