Unknown to many people, the food you eat can have a dramatic effect on your skin, with some foods being key to achieving that healthy glow.
We have teamed up with Frida Harju-Westman, in-house nutritionist at leading health app, Lifesum, a Stockholm-based digital health company with over 20 million users. Using tech and psychology, it creates a tailored plan to help people live happier, more balanced lives. Whether the goal is to lose weight, build muscle, or just live a healthier life, Lifesum shows how changing small, everyday habits can transform your life.
Working together, Frida let us in on the 10 foods you should eat if you want glowing skin, ready for the holiday period.
Avocado
A key ingredient listed in natural facemasks is often avocado and there is a good reason for this. As well as being packed with high amounts of fibre, protein, magnesium, vitamin B6, E and K, avocados also possess biotin. Not only is biotin essential for helping prevent brittle hair and nails, it also helps combat dry skin. Unlike other fruits, avocados also contain Omega-9 fats which can help repair damaged skin by reducing irritation and redness.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potato skin contains high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene. When the body receives beta-carotene it converts it into active vitamin A, which is important for maintaining healthy skin, hair and teeth. Not only this, an additional benefit has been found in the fact that eating fruit and vegetables rich in beta-carotene can improve your skin’s colour and provide a natural tan.
Tangerines
Tangerines are a great source of vitamin A and C, which helps your skin battle acne and speeds up the rebuilding process of your skin. Fine lines and wrinkles are much easier to manage with plenty of vitamin A, as it has wonderful anti-aging properties, while vitamin C helps you produce collagen, which keeps the skin supple.
Spinach
Just like sweet potato, dark leafy greens such as spinach are full of beta-carotenes which help rejuvenate your skin cells. Spinach is also full of vitamin A, C and B6 which, when combined, help prevent the appearance of wrinkles and limit damage to the surface of the skin from the environment.
Mackerel
Mackerel is rich in EFAs – essential fatty acids which are the important nutrients for helping your cells to retain water and flush out toxins. By helping your cells retain their water balance, the EFAs help your skin look plump and hydrated. Not only this, EFAs can help to counter dryness in the skin, perfect if you suffer from mild eczema.
Garlic
Garlic is a great ingredient to use in most dishes for its distinctive flavour, but it is also known for its ability to kill many harmful bacteria and viruses within your body. Few people realise that these effects also apply to your skin. Garlic cloves are full of a natural chemical called allicin, which, when digested, reacts with the blood to kill off harmful bacteria, including that which causes acne and other skin infections.
Grapefruit
Grapefruits contain high levels of vitamin C, which helps to stimulate collagen production, which in turn helps to reduce wrinkles and give your skin an overall smoother texture. Grapefruits are also rich in beta carotene, known for its antioxidant qualities. Eating just one red grapefruit contains over 100% of your recommended daily intake for vitamin C, making this the perfect fruit to eat for glowing skin.
Eggs
Eggs contain both lutein and choline, two nutrients which are key to having great skin. Lutein is an antioxidant that helps to protect against skin damage and improves the elasticity of your skin, whilst choline helps to regulate the vitamins in our bodies which are needed to produce the proteins elastin and collagen, which help keep our skin smooth. Eggs also contain amino acids which help to generate new skin cells.
Strawberries
Strawberries contain great anti-ageing properties due to their high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C, which is known to boost the production of collagen, keeping the skin supple and young looking. Strawberries also contain ellagic acid, which helps to prevent wrinkles.
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds contain very high levels of vitamin E which helps to improve the skin tone, as well as vitamin A which helps to repair existing skin problems and generate the production of new skin cells. Not only this, but pumpkin seeds contain zinc and selenium, which help to protect your skin against environmental pollution and UV rays, whilst the essential fatty acids contained in the seeds, help to maintain the moisture levels of your skin.
