Clear Skin from Within; Foods that Nourish your Skin

Sweet Potato

I love love sweet potatoes, and it just so happens they are your skins best friend! I mean you can make so many delicious and diverse recipes with them and they are so yum! They are so incredible for you and your skin! They are very high in beta-carotene, which is what gives it the beautiful orange colour! Our bodies convert Beta-carotene into Vitamin A when we eat it, which supports healthy vision, skin health, and over all immune health. Vitamin A is great at fighting off acne, wrinkles, aging, and keeps your complexion looking youthful and bright. These sweetie potatoes are also very rich in both Vitamin E and C! Vitamin C helps us boost collagen which is basically a natural skin tightener, yes please!! They are also very helpful to our skin health because they are rich in antioxidants! So basically sweet potatoes love our skin, and I know this to be true because they are a staple in my cooking! To benefit from their full nutritional value, slice then boil them in water until just soft, or slice them length wise and place them orange side down in the oven until just soft! (450 for 15-20 min) . Just keep in mind that over cooking or tampering with them too much before eating means you will lose some of their health benefits!

Healthy Fats & Oils

Healthy fats such as Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Omega-6 Fatty Acids are essential to a natural skin care diet! This can include avocados, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and if you eat fresh fish like salmon that’s a great one too, as well as eggs! These fatty acids are the crucial building blocks to our healthy cell membrane, and helps produce our skins natural oil barrier. These fatty acids are going to keep your skin looking more youthful, bright and moisturized from the inside out. Healthy oils such as olive oil, avocado oil, and almond oil, are also going to be amazing for your skin. These oils specifically are packed full of nutrients that can benefit our skin, I put almond oil directly onto my face and neck every night before bed and my skin has never been better! I like to cook with olive oil and avocado oil, because they are also high in essential fatty acids as well as vitamin E.

Green Tea

The health and beauty benefits of green tea have been used and taught in some cultures for centuries! One of the main miracle properties green tea has is its ability to help potentially slow down DNA damage in the skins cells. Green tea works by replenishing and protecting the skins cells against the sun and other toxins or hazards. Green tea is a common ingredient in a lot of cosmetic products and there is a reason for this. You will receive and gain more of the benefits of green tea by drinking it directly or by using a green tea topical on your skin. This is going to be so much more beneficial to your skin than a product that contains green tea along with 20 other ingredients you don’t really need! Green tea is also known for it’s ability to help maintain youthfulness in your skin and appearance!

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens, one of my favourites!! There are just so many delicious ways you can incorporate leafy greens into your diet so there is no excuse why you shouldn’t! Smoothies, kale salads, lettuce wraps, buddah bowls, the list goes on! Especially considering the health benefits leafy greens give us, we have to be utilizing them! Whether it be kale, spinach, micro-greens, or collared greens, these leafy colourful greens have amazing impacts on our skin. They are full of so many vitamins, minerals and fibres that give us numerous health benefits. Kale, one of my favourites is considered one of the most nutrient dense vegetables on the planet because it is so high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Endless salads and smoothies are the two main ways I incorporate these greens into my diet, and it’s deliciousness trust me! With all the vitamins and minerals leafy greens store, such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C and E, they are going to be so helpful to your skins ability to stay replenished and rejuvenated day after day.

Zinc (Nuts & Seeds)

Zinc is an amazing mineral for your skin and thankfully there are great sources we can get this from, such as nuts and seeds! Zinc holds important nutrients for the skin, it is an immune system booster and helps inflammation and cellular damage within your skin cells! This means zinc can help with scaring, acne damage, and evening out your skin tone because of its ability to help repair and replenish your cells. So basically when you have a stressed out immune system, which is induced by stress, it’s going to show in your complexion and skin health. Zinc can help combat this with its ability to boost your immune system giving extra care to your cells during stressful periods, overall enhancing your skin health at the same time! Almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, cashews, pecans, and brazil nuts are all excellent ways to increase your dose of zinc! I add the seeds to my smoothie everyday, and snack on the nuts throughout the day!

Berries

How lucky are we that berries help promote clear and radiant skin! They are one of the most delicious, wholesome, nourishing foods on the planet! Blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, blueberries, and one of my favourite super foods ever, goji berries! Oh my gosh and cherries! I love berries, and so does our skin! Berries are loaded with so many incredible antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. These help the skin replenish itself, and help by protecting and reducing further damage to the skin. Amazing! I love how beautiful fruit and berries are too, I mean it’s no wonder they have such magical healing properties! Berries, especially raspberries, also contain a high amount of ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant that helps decrease wrinkles, aging and spots by helping eliminate inflammation and creasing. I mean if I can reverse aging and create clear skin from within from eating berries, I’m all for it!

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits are not only incredibly delicious and refreshing, they’re also really high in vitamin C, which you must know is so crucial when it comes to our skin care! Vitamin C helps keep our skin looking youthful and smooth due to its ability to help our skin boost its collagen production, which keeps our skin tight and firm. So basically Vitamin C, like I mentioned before, is a natural skin tightener! I love that! Vitamin C is also a very powerful antioxidant that helps protect your cells from damage and helps rid them of toxins. Oranges might be one of my favourite things to eat on the planet, and it just so happens they are the highest when it comes to Vitamin C, and I just know when I eat them how much good its doing to my skin from the inside out! I am going to try and test out Dried Orange Peel Powder and use it for skin care, I’ll share that as soon as I try it! Orange Peels themselves carry healing remedies for the skin as well, and have been used for a long time!

Sauerkraut

You may or may not know this one, but it is definitely one you will want to make note of! Sauerkraut is a fermented food, which is what gives it so many amazing health benefits, including why it’s great for our skin health. Sauerkraut is full of healthy bacteria which actually helps your digestive tract, which we know is the second brain. This healthy bacteria can help with inflamed skin and keep our skin looking clear from within. The fermented process that makes sauerkraut actually creates probiotics that keep your gut full of beneficial bacteria! So good bacteria in your gut is quite literally going to make your skin shine! I can definitely say I have noticed a huge difference in my gut and skin health from incorporating more fermented foods into my everyday! I add sauerkraut to so many of my meals like avocado toast, salads, and pretty much any bowl! My favourite is this Beautiful Buddah Bowl you can make here! It’s so good! My favourite sauerkraut I get is from Natures Fare!

Beautiful Buddha Bowl