Nutrition for Skin

Eat Your way to Fabulous skin

What you eat will significantly impact on your skin health. So make sure you eat healthy food and let your skin breathe and shine with enough essential nutrients. With foods, natural remedies, skin care regimes and therapies we can take good care  of it naturally and without any side effects.

Everyone has a favorite face cream or treatment, but beautiful skin starts with nourishment from within. Older cells are constantly shed and replaced by younger ones and a steady supply of key nutrients is essential to support this rapid growth. Eat the correct balance of foods and you'll feel your skin the vital nutrients it needs to help it stay soft. supple and blemish free.

Introduction

If you want a glowing skin, the old adage :

                                                                     "You are what you eat."

 Our natural foods with its active components play a functional role in maintenance of good skin within the body as well as with topical application. The great research work on the quality and efficiency of  nutrients present in our foods will definitely formulate the basic steps to understand the concept of sensible eating behavior and creates nutritional awareness for avoiding unhealthy foods in our daily diet. The promotion of large ideas on introduction of new food products in market should educate people to choose wisely for health status and allow them to practice regularly for the inclusion of  nutritionally good food. In case of skin care, many of us try to explore more of beauty products than that of healthy foods.

Whether we are improving our skills to  satisfy our emotional needs or we are ignoring the signs and symptoms of underlying deficiency conditions of our body or we are planning the daily meal without nutrition knowledge? These question should arise for every individual to understand our body for skin care. The maintenance of good gut health, hydration and elimination of waste from  our body, sound sleep and rest, mental peace with stress free life, exercise. opting for increased physical activity rather then sedentary life and good choice of food and regular basis will enhance the way to nourish the skin.

There are various uses of foods to assist in skin care ;

1. Keep your self well hydrated at least 8-10 glasses of water per day.
2. Using oil effectively for  external applications
3. Making use of natural food ingredients for face masks and scrubs
4. Healthy meal.

Water

The best way to get glowing with less effort and time is drinking water. Drinking less amount of water can under hydrate your skin, reducing the level of oxygen on the skin and tissues. Your skin cannot function at its best without water. This result in dry, rough and dull looking skin. So, to avoid that, drink an adequate amount of water daily. You need to drink at least8-10 full glasses of water a day. It keeps your skin clear, soft and glowing and helps combat many skin issues like Psoriasis and Eczema.

Cucumber

Best Cucumber variety in India

Cucumber also known as Kheera is highly beneficial for the skin as it is a water based fruit. It helps keep us hydrated and helps keep the skin cool, moist and firm. It fights acne, protects skin from harmful UV rays, makes skin tone even, prevents wrinkles and fine lines, heals scars, offers a cooling effect on the skin, tones and tightens the skin and repair the damaged skin cells. You can consume cucumber in many ways. you can have it in yogurt, raita, salad. You can drink cucumber juice or apply it directly to the face and eyes.

Fresh Fruits

• Papaya

1. Papain hydrates skin

• Orange

1. Best source of Vitamin C
2. Skin hydration
3. Build natural collagen
4. Reduce premature ageing

• Apple 

1. Peels are loaded with antioxidants
2. Clear skin

• Lemon

1. Reduce dark spots. acne
2. Intense hydration
3. Tightens skin

• Watermelon

1. Source of vitamin C,A AND B1
2. Prevents skin damage
3. Reduce inflammation

• Mangoes

1. Best source of active components like flavonoids, Xanthophyll, beta carotene
2. Improve skin texture
3. Provides vitamin A,E.C.K

• Pomegranate

1. Loaded with antioxidants
2. Reduce UV damage
3. Controls pollutant attack on skin.

• Bananas

1. Prevents dryness of skin.
2. Source of Potassium

• Strawberries

1. Fights acne
2. Anti-bacterial property

• Avocado

1. Biotin source
2. Control dermatitis and Psoriasis.

Vegetables

• Cucumber

1. Hydrates & rejuvenates dry skin
2. Provides vitamin A, B, C, E, K

• Spinach

1. Best source of vitamin A,C,K
2. Rich in antioxidants
3. Delays ageing
4. Heals dark spot

• Carrots

1. Vitamin A richness
2. Less dead cells production

• Sweet Potato

1. Provides vitamin A vitamin and C
2. Helps in collagen production

• Bell Pepper

1. Firm skin, 
2. wrinkle reduction
3. Enhances Beta-carotene utility.

• Broccoli

1. Reduces risk of skin cancer
2. Glow skin

• Tomato

1. Lycopene and lutein protect skin from sun damage
2. Eliminate skin ageing free radicles.

Benefit of Salads

• Cuts calorie consumption
• Provide water
• Gives fiber for gut health
• Smooth skin
• Good source of vitamin C and E
• Collagen synthesis
• Protects against wrinkling
• Best choice for healthy weight
• Increase utility of  vitamins and minerals.

Nuts and Seeds

• Pumpkin Seeds- contain selenium and Zinc for skin nourishment
• Almonds- works good for dark spots, reduces eczema
• Walnuts- Healthy fat for good skin
• Prevents fine lines / wrinkles
• Vitamin E & C source
• Cashew helps in skin growth.
• Chia Seeds-Gut health assistance, heals pimples and rashes. 
• Sunflower seeds- contains essential fatty acids, maintain skin elasticity.

Neem Leaves

Chewing Neem leaves every morning is  considered a treatment for acne as it helps in purifying blood. It also help in reducing the appearance of dark spots and scars. However, intake of large number of neem leaves for a long time  can cause side effects.

Recipes for glowing skin

• Try a blend

Mix the given ingredients (do not strain the juice), use juicer.

2 cups of water, one lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoonful honey, 2 slices of cucumber.

• Cool red mix

Mix the given ingredients in the blender, serve chill. 

One carrot, 

Beetroot 1/2 

apple1/2 

honey 1 tsp. Blend them and mix 2 tbsp of soaked chia seeds before serving.

• Pine juice with melon

1 cup watermelon, 

1/2 cup Pineapple

Blend them and add in half of squeezed lemon

• Smoothie

1 banana

1/2 cup strawberry

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 cup milk

2 cup honey

A pinch of cinnamon powder

Blend them all with little ice cubes.

• Orange & Turmeric Blend

1 cup orange

Pinch turmeric

1/2 inch ginger

1/2 Cup carrot

1/2 squeezed lemon

Blend them and serve it  with little frozen pineapple pieces.