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Tips for Healthy Skin
When it comes to nourishing and protecting your skin, what you eat is as important—if not more so—than what you put on it.
Assuming you don’t smoke, a well-rounded, healthy diet that steers clear of many of the staples in the Standard American Diet should repay you with a fresh, glowing complexion that makes you look years younger than you are!
Controlling Free Radicals and Acne
Antioxidant-rich foods have the capacity of seeking out and destroying free radicals, which are unstable molecules that make their way through the body, stealing from our healthy cells in an effort to become complete.
While they are naturally occurring in the body to some extent, environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke and herbicides can also spawn free radicals.
Normally, the body can handle free radicals, but if your diet is lacking antioxidants, or free-radical production becomes excessive, damage can occur.
Free radical damage accumulates with age and is a major contributor to wrinkles. By making sure your diet is chock full of the nutrients below, you can provide optimal support of healthy skin. If acne is something you struggle with, you may also benefit by cutting out high-glycemic foods like refined grains and processed sugar, as well as milk and vegetable oil since they can bring on blemishes.
Nutrients Needed for Healthy Skin
Omega 3s — Cold-water oily fish are loaded with anti-inflammatory EPA and DHA; look to mackerel, salmon, anchovies, and sardines for the best complexion benefits.
Vitamin A — Antioxidant-rich vitamin A is abundant in dark leafy vegetables and dark orange vegetables. Dark leafy greens are also high in fiber, which slows blood sugar production.
Vitamin C — Antioxidant-rich vitamin C is found in papaya, bell peppers, strawberries, broccoli, pineapple, Brussels sprouts, and of course, oranges and grapefruit.
Vitamin E — Antioxidant-rich vitamin E is found in sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, Swiss chard, dark leafy greens, papaya, asparagus, and bell peppers.
Selenium — Critical in the production of a glutathione, a substance that combats free radicals, you can find selenium in tuna, cod, halibut, shrimp, salmon, and turkey, barley, and lamb.
Antioxidants — You can’t go wrong by loading up on berries, green tea, and such purple and deep red foods as acai, pomegranates, purple carrots, black grapes, and beets. The latter contain anthocyanins, which help promote blood flow to the skin.
Fiber — Whole grains help combat inflammatory responses in your body that can trigger a breakout.
Zinc — Found in oysters, crab, lean meats, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds, zinc helps reduce oil production that can lead to acne.
Natural Skin Care
As always, it’s important to pay close attention to the personal care products you’re putting on your skin. Your skin is your largest organ and using products ridden with chemicals, is not only bad for your skin, but bad for your overall health. Those chemicals (which are toxins) seep through your pores and get into your body and bloodstream within minutes.
Many of these chemicals are endocrine disruptors, which are linked to tumors, birth defects, early puberty, developmental disorders, and behavioral issues in children. And in adults, they can interfere with reproduction, increase cancer risk, and disturb the nervous and immune system.
Like many things, in the good ole U.S. we think that the government is regulating products on the shelves of our favorite stores. When it comes to personal care products, this is not true. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t need to approve what ingredients are added to personal care products. If a company says an ingredient is safe, that’s basically deemed good enough.
This is why I recommend natural skin care. Your body is meant for plant-based skin care. Not chemicals.
doTERRA Skin Care
My favorites are the Spa and Veráge lines from doTERRA. Not only are all of their body products natural, they also contain doTERRA’s Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® (CPTG) essential oils, which create an amazing aromatic experience (without any chemical fragrance).
doTERRA also carries an Essential Skin Care line, Salon Essentials Hair Care, body products, and HD Clear Skin Care (for clear complexion and to reduce breakouts).
They have way too many products to share, but here are some of my absolute favs:
Veráge Moisturizer – contains Jasmine, Geranium, Sea Buckthorn Berry, and Juniper Berry with plant extracts, which are designed to hydrate and nourish skin while reducing appearances of fine lines and wrinkles.
Anti-Aging Eye Cream – helps reduce the signs of aging, as well as the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Combines natural ingredients with Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, and Blue Tansy oils.
Brightening Gel – combines natural extracts and vitamins with innovative ingredient technologies and CPTG essential oils (Bergamot, Juniper Berry, and Melissa) to brighten and even skin tone.
Natural Deodorant – fight odor throughout the day without parabens and aluminum. Designed for both men and women, it contains Cypress, Melaleuca (Tea Tree), Cedarwood, and Bergamot oils.
*doTERRA is a wholesale company like Costco. You pay just $35 for a wholesale membership then all products are 25% off.
Resources
Good Skin Foods: Healthy Recipes for Glowing Skin
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.
