We spend a lot of time, energy and… money on beauty care. Meanwhile, just as important as cosmetics and beauty salon treatments is what we put on our plate. How do you eat to take care of yourself from the inside as well?
The skin is our largest organ. And we should care for its well-being as much as we care for… heart or thyroid! Its main task is to protect the body – all the more difficult because it is the first to come into contact with external factors that constantly cause it damage. That’s why we wrap it in clothes, moisturize it with creams and pamper it with massages. Let’s start feeding it well too! What is part of her favorite menu?
The skin, like all our organs, needs balance: a regular supply of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and water. However, there are some (macro)ingredients without which it can hardly hope to be beautiful, radiant and supple. And since, as an external organ, it takes nutrients from food last, when planning meals, let’s pay special attention to those items on our menu that it particularly needs.
A prerequisite for maintaining skin well-being is adequate hydration.
The skin loves to drink! Only properly hydrated is resilient, firm and radiant. One and a half liters of pure water a day is a popular recommendation, but remember that we should drink fluids approx. 30 ml for each kilogram of body weight. This balance also includes soups! Juices, coffee and tea, too, but when it comes to skin beauty, it’s better not to count them – of course, they do no harm, but pure water will do more good.
The basic building blocks of the skin, like every organ in our body, are proteins – in the skin it’s elastin and collagen. Unfortunately, their production declines with age. And while there is usually no shortage of protein on our menus, let’s make sure that the protein we take in is of good quality. Let’s eat moderate amounts of meat – as long as it’s not from factory farming! – and let’s not forget that fish, eggs from happy hens and legumes are also rich sources of protein. The latter are often worth diversifying the menu – each type of legume contains a different set of amino acids needed by the skin.
Fats are also among the most important ingredients for the skin.
The good ones – which are, I’ll tell you in one of my live shows on Instagram My Best Slim – have anti-inflammatory effects, retain water in cells, reduce the risk of psoriasis and imperfections, and delay aging. That’s why it’s a good idea to include larger amounts of flax and unrefined canola oil, avocados, nuts, almonds and flaxseed, as well as oily sea fish in your daily diet.
Let’s not forget about vitamins …
A superfood for the skin is vitamin C, responsible for the co-production of collagen and elastin. Unfortunately, it is unstable and is easily lost during heat treatment of foods, so eat as many of the fruits and vegetables rich in it raw as possible. Plenty of vitamin C awaits in black currants, pomegranates, cranberries, kiwi, parsley, broccoli or the obvious citrus.
While we’re on vitamins, let’s not forget the vitamin of youth – vitamin E. It prevents oxidation, leading to premature aging of the skin. It waits in grains, nuts, seeds, oils… and wholemeal and whole-grain bread. If only for that reason, it’s not worth crossing it off the menu (why else, I’ll tell you during the live show!)!
The most important vitamin from the point of view of the skin’s self-repair processes is vitamin A. It tonifies the secretion of the sebaceous glands and stimulates collagen synthesis, but most importantly it regulates the processes of epidermal keratinization, which makes the skin capable of rapid regeneration. Therefore, every day let’s reach for orange and green fruits, such as carrots, apples, mangoes, apricots, peaches, parsley, spinach, kale, broccoli… but also milk, eggs, liver, butter or cheese.
Our skin will also thank us for probiotics.
Why? Because they will not only support the body holistically, but also increase the assimilation of what we eat – so the skin gets something of a bonus as well. No need to supplement them – they are waiting in the pickles! Pickled cucumbers, cabbage, kimchi, miso or fermented dairy products eaten daily will work wonders.
A good menu is not enough. In order for the skin to become more beautiful with each passing day, vitamin D is absolutely necessary. Since there is very little of it in food, and it is formed under the influence of the sun’s rays, supplementation is mandatory in our climate from September to April. Unless otherwise advised by a doctor, 2,000 units a day will strengthen immunity, bones and collagen production, as well as reduce discoloration and wrinkles.
And what harm does beauty do?
First and foremost, of course, is sugar, which poses a threat to the scaffolding of the skin, destroying its collagen fibers. But also full of antibiotics, meat from factory farming, fish from unproven sources full of heavy metals – these are the ones that make not only the skin, but the whole body function worse – alcohol, highly processed products, fast food, salt… This is a topic for a whole other (sad…) story.
Ewa Bakota, MA
