Eating well helps your skin look its best from the inside out.
Your skin is your body's largest organ when you think about it. It serves as a barrier to protect you from the outside world while also being an elimination site for waste. One of the skin's primary functions is to get rid of toxins. Therefore, if you want clear skin and look healthy overall, it's essential to support your body's natural cleansing mechanisms by eating a well-balanced diet full of various foods that promote detoxification.
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Hippocrates
Drink at least eight glasses of water a day.
Water is an essential element for your health and clear skin. Your skin cells need water to maintain their hydration. Water also helps carry nutrients to your body's cells, including the skin ones.
Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day is a good guideline for staying healthy in general, and it will also keep your skin looking great. However, you may need more or less water depending on many factors, such as weight, activity level, and even what's in your genes (if you're sensitive to salt or have kidney problems, talk to your doctor). Waterworks better than juice or soda because it doesn't contain sugar or caffeine that can make you thirsty later.
Cut back on coffee, sodas, and alcohol.
Cut back on coffee, sodas, and alcohol. These beverages dehydrate your skin, but they also cause inflammation, which can aggravate issues like acne.
Limit your dairy intake. Dairy products contain hormones that may trigger breakouts in some people, so if you're having trouble with acne, it may be time to consider cutting out milk and other milk products to see if your skin improves.
Watch what you eat. Avoid fried foods and limit sugary foods or sugary drinks. Sugar causes inflammation and damages collagen, which is terrible news for the skin.
Eat more citrus fruits.
If you want to make your skin look younger and healthier, eating more citrus fruit is a great place to start. The vitamin C in orange juice, grapefruit juice, and lemonade helps boost collagen levels, while the antioxidants help fight free radicals. Citrus fruits are also anti-inflammatory: all of their vitamin C and flavonoids, which are found in the albedo (the white pith), have a calming effect on inflamed areas of the body.
Load up on veggies.
First thing's first: eat a lot of vegetables. It would help if you eat veggies at every meal and make sure they're a big part of whatever you're eating.
Vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E, which are essential for the health of your skin. Vitamin A helps to promote healthy cell turnover and can help reduce acne breakouts. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen production and may help to prevent sun damage. And vitamin E is an antioxidant that fights free radicals — also helping to minimize sun damage — and may also help with skin repair after sunburn or other kinds of injuries.
Dark green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, and chard are excellent sources of vitamins A and C; carrots and sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A; citrus fruits (along with their zest) contain loads of vitamin C; nuts, seeds, and avocados have vitamin E; dark chocolate has all three!
Get more omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.
Studies show that omega-3 fatty acids help regulate oil production, keep skin supple and hydrated, and reduce inflammation. These excellent fats are often found in oily fish like salmon and herring. Foods like flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts are another suitable sources of omega-3s. If you don't eat many fish or vegetarian protein sources that contain omega-3 fatty acids, talk to your doctor about taking supplements. Note: Always follow the recommended dosage if you use nutritional supplements.
Bonus: Omega-3 fatty acids are not just good for your skin; they also support healthy brain function and general well-being.
Foods for detoxification
Eating plenty of green leafy vegetables (dark ones like kale and spinach are especially beneficial) will help support liver health, keeping healthy skin. Some people may say that certain fruits like apples and citrus fruits are suitable for the liver because they contain pectin fiber—however, this isn't true as there's no scientific evidence supporting this claim.
Of course, all fruit contains vitamins and minerals—but keep in mind that fruit juices tend to raise insulin levels more than whole fruit does, so I recommend limiting these due to their increased sugar content.
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