Foods that help your skin get a healthier glow

By Jaimie Lee, Monagiza

The skin is the largest organ in the human body. This makes it very important that it is always kept healthy if you want to enjoy great health overall. The fact that it’s also the part that’s most exposed to external elements means that it should be given as much care as possible to prevent damage.

The market today is flooded with skin care products, each promising younger, healthier, and rejuvenated skin. While some of these topically applied products do deliver as promised, it’s of great importance to make sure that your skin is well taken care of by feeding it important minerals and nutrients. The good thing about taking care of your skin with your diet is that there are no side effects as with beauty products, and it’s a much cheaper way of getting glowing, healthy skin.

There are several foods that will help keep your skin supple with a healthy glow, and below we’ll look at some of them.

1. 

Sweet potatoes

Of the compounds that help keep your skin healthy, carotenoids are some of the most important. This is because they act as a natural sunblock, protecting the skin from harmful UV rays from the sun. Beta-carotene is a carotenoid found in sweet potatoes. It is a provitamin A, meaning that it gets turned into to vitamin A in the body on ingestion. A sweet potato serving of 100g is enough to give you the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. As an antioxidant, beta-carotene is incorporated into the skin, where it acts as a protective barrier on skin cells against sun exposure. This in turn prevents sunburn, cell death, and as a result prevents dry, wrinkled skin. High intake of beta-carotene will leave you with healthier skin that has a warm, natural orange glow.

2. 

Avocados

Avocados contain healthy fats that are needed for a number of body functions. A direct effect of these fats on your skin is that they keep it well moisturized, which keeps away wrinkles and fine lines. Vitamin C found in these fruits helps in the creation of collagen, a protein that keeps the skin strong and healthy, preventing sagging skin. It also acts as an antioxidant, and along with the vitamin E also found in avocados, protects the skin from oxidative damage. A steady intake of avocados will leave your skin healthy and glowing naturally.

3. 

Walnuts

These nuts have a high content of Omega-3 fatty acids. These are vital fatty acids that the body needs but cannot produce itself. For the skin, they strengthen the cell membranes, making them stronger. As a result, they’re able to keep out destructive agents, take in useful nutrients easily and flush out waste as well. With a strong membrane, cells are also able to retain more water, which in turn means a well moisturized, smoother, and healthier skin. Walnuts also contain some amounts of antioxidants that keep the skin free from oxidative damage.

4. 

Broccoli

Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Zinc are just some of the many minerals and vitamins present in broccoli that makes it a vital food for sustained healthy skin. Broccoli also contains lutein, a carotenoid that works much in the same way as Beta-carotene. There’s also a compound called Sulforaphane which is a protective agent against damage by the sun. By subduing harmful free radicals and activating other protective agents in the body, it enables the skin to maintain its collagen levels and keep looking healthy.

With a diet that includes these foods, you’ll never need to use 101 skin care products to get a glow, because you’ll already have a natural one.

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