Our skin requires plenty of vitamins and nutrients to keep it looking and feeling its best. But what you may not know is that your skin is ‘last in line’ for nutrients, as it is more expendable than other organs in the body. Vitamins will go elsewhere before they get to your skin, so if your vitamin levels are lower than they should be, your skin will miss out. Therefore, you need to keep your levels of vitamins and nutrients up naturally by eating plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, good protein and good carbohydrates. You can also put vitamins back into your skin by using creams and lotions that contain healthy skin ingredients. I show you the best ingredients for your skin below.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an important healthy skin ingredient as it helps to fight against both free radical damage and damage from the sun. Lack of vitamin E will cause lackluster, dull skin that appears lifeless and without spark. You can put vitamin E back into your body by eating foods that are rich in the vitamin, including spinach, wheat germ and sunflower seeds, but you can also put it back into your body by using creams rich in vitamin E. Vitamin E creams are available from all good pharmacists at both a high end and low end price range.
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids are essential because they help to balance the skin, whether it is dry or greasy. These fatty acids help to form a barrier across your skin, stopping it from drying out or from being more susceptible to skin disorders like eczema, and they also help to prevent skin inflammation. You can take supplements to increase your levels of essential fatty acids, but you can also take them in by eating foods such as oily fish. Flaxseed oil capsules and evening primrose oil capsules are good supplemental choices.
Garlic
This may sound like a strange one, but new research has come to light that indicates that garlic could actually prolong the life cell of skin cells, helping them to maintain their shape, thus helping to combat some of the signs of aging. There is also evidence to suggest that a diet that includes garlic can help to increase your immunity levels, so that you can fight off infection and bacteria more easily. Take in garlic by including it in the preparation of your food (as it does give things a lovely flavor) or if you don’t like it, take it in in capsule form, available from all good health food shops.
Protein
Protein is literally the building block to healthy skin, making it essential to include in your diet. Unfortunately, many vegetarians and vegans can miss out on getting the right amount of protein they need as it isn’t found in particularly high levels in fruits and vegetables, and so they could miss out on some of the benefits that protein can offer. A diet rich in oily fish, non-oily fish, chicken, lean beef or game, tofu and Quorn is a diet rich in protein. Speak to your doctor for more ways to take in protein if you are a vegetarian or vegan.
Water
Your body is made up of up to 60% water – and it’s an essential part of keeping a healthy body and mind. Not having enough water in your body will cause illness and ultimately death if you go without for long enough, so it’s important to keep hydrated for both your health and your skin. Skin that isn’t hydrated will be dry, flaky and dull, so drink at least eight large glasses of water a day to keep your skin in tip top condition.
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