CosBeauty Magazine #102

FEATURE
YOU ARE
WHAT
YOU EAT
When it comes to taking care of your skin,
what you eat matters just as much as what
you put on it.
Your skin is a living, breathing organ of the
body and it needs to be properly nourished
and hydrated to look and feel its best. When
your skin is deprived of necessary vitamins,
minerals and nutrients, it is unable to function
at optimal levels and its structure slowly
begins to break down. In order to avoid this
breakdown and keep a healthy-looking glow,
you need to feed your skin a mix of nutrients
each day.
Healthy skin starts from the inside and
works its way out. The first step: eliminate
refined sugar and fatty junk foods. Load up
on fruits and vegetables which are packed
with the best-known antioxidants – Vitamins
C, E and beta-carotene (converted to Vitamin
A once in the body). Your skin also needs a
good supply of protein, iron, zinc, copper
and folic acid. Essential beauty boosters in
your daily diet should include at least two
serves of fruit, five serves of vegetables,
healthy carbohydrates such as wholegrain
bread or rice as well as fish, lean meat,
chicken and eggs.
Good skin also needs fat, such as essential
fatty acids and omega fats, to keep it looking
its best. Good sources are liquid oils (such as
rice bran, olive and grapeseed oils), almonds,
walnuts, pine nuts, avocado and seeds such
as sunflower, sesame, poppy and linseeds.
They make great summer snacks or the
perfect dressing over salads.
Dehydration also causes skin ageing, so
drink plenty of water every day. This will not
only hydrate the skin but will help to remove
waste from the kidneys and detoxify the liver.