BEAUTY: Eating for Healthy Skin

We all want perfect skin but for a lot of us this doesn’t come easy. Eventually we start to see the consequences of our previous skincare sins. Some of us have smoked (or maybe still do), some of us fell victim to the tanning craze (Don’t tell my grandmother!), and there are plenty of us that have suffered from acne at one point or another. Even if you are one of those lucky people that has perfect skin naturally, you can always take these four preventive measures to help assure your skin stays that way.

DRINK WATER

Yes! we know it is super simple but it is the foundation of having healthy skin. Adult bodies are made up of between 55% to 75% water so can you imagine what happens when we are depleted of it? Shriveling comes to mind. According to Dr. Catherine Price, staying hydrated with water helps keep your skin properly hydrated and can even reduce wrinkles by plumping the skin. So how much do we need to drink? The world-renowned nutritionist Dr. Frank Lipman agrees with the age old rule… 8 glasses a day will usually do.

EAT FAT!

If you’ve ever been on a diet, you may have been told to cut out fats, but any good Nutrionist or Dermatologist will cringe at the thought. If loosing weight is your goal, Dr. Frank Lipman recommends cutting sugar, bread, and other empty carbs, but he cautions to keep the organic, healthy fats like avocados and eggs (yes, with the yolk) in your meals. Furthermore, Professor of Dermatology, Leslie Baumann agrees that our diets play an important role in strengthening the skin’s capability of maintaining moisture. She says that foods rich in fatty acids, like those found in walnuts, flaxseeds, salmon, and uncooked olive oil can aid skin cells in staying properly hydrated. Lesson learned… don’t skim on the good fats!

GET ANTIOXIDATED

Eating organic, antioxidant rich foods like blueberries, carrots, yams, and especially green leafy vegetables can actually protect your skin according to the Mayo Clinic. On the flip side foods high in refined carbs and sugars have not only been linked with acne but actually cause skin to age prematurely. Drink green juices & low-sugar fruit smoothies to your palate’s content, but beware of eating junk food.

DETOXIFY

Since most of us can’t say we eat totally skin friendly, detoxifying can help remove cell damaging toxins in our systems and promote cell repair by supplying the body with what it actually needs. Dr Lipman recommends doing a 14 day detox at least twice a year. Although we do recommend visiting Dr Lipman yourself; a man rumored to be the nutritionist of many New York based celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kyra Sedgwick, & Maggie Gyllenhaal. For those of you unable to travel to NYC to see the guru in person, don’t despair, you can still get his advice about detoxing through his Master the Art of Detoxifying program available for everyone online.