Eating Tips for Great Skin Health

Remember when your mother told you to eat your vegetables in order to grow up big and strong? It turns out she was right, especially where your skin health is concerned. Beautiful skin may be helped along by genetics. But to have lasting, healthy skin, you have to eat well.

Following a well-rounded, healthy diet chock full of dark green, leafy vegetables, whole grains, beans and lentils, fatty fish like salmon or tuna and lots of naturally-sweetened fruits will definitely keep the blush in your cheeks. Not only will these foods give you the healthy glow of happy skin but you’ll do so much more for your heart health and overall longevity. In fact, most physicians and dermatologists agree that following the Mediterranean diet with its reliance on olive oil, tomatoes, greens, nuts, fish and other good things is one of the best things you can do for your body, overall. 

In the quest to source the best information about healthy diets for skin and within, many people leave themselves open to bad food and allergy advice on the Internet. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), it’s easy to get fooled by online “experts”. Sometimes, in order to drive traffic to a website, unscrupulous people will tout a vitamin supplement or medication that is unproven and may even be harmful.

When you’re browsing online, remember that you can’t get a skin diagnosis on the Internet. Whenever you have a question about a skin inflammation or an unfamiliar vitamin supplement, check with your doctor or dermatologist. For example, a host of products have popped up that advertise being “gluten-free”. But gluten may or may not be the source of any skin inflammation because gluten is not naturally inflammatory, according to the AAD guidelines.

We’ve already mentioned the foods that can do a body (including your skin) good. Bear in mind that a diet high in refined sugars, processed foods, trans fats and fatty carbs can also hurt your total body by clogging up your arteries, adding to weight gain and speeding up aging. Fried foods are among the worst culprits robbing your skin of vital nutrients. So, instead of picking up another fried chicken leg, eat a peach. Your skin will love you for it.