The foods you consume have a significant impact on how you appear. A well-balanced diet is a necessary prescription for glowing, healthy skin. The good news is that foods that are advantageous to your skin are advantageous to your general health as well. One of the biggest worries for many individuals regarding their appearance is the signs of aging skin, such as wrinkles, thickness, discoloration, and diminished suppleness. While genetics mostly controls when and how much of these indicators of aging appear on your skin, environmental harm to your skin, as well as harm you inflict on yourself via lifestyle decisions, may significantly speed up this process.

Oxidation, a chemical process in which unstable molecules known as free radicals steal electrons from healthy cells, causes skin damage. Smoking and exposure to sunlight are the oxidative stressors that do the greatest harm to our bodies. Thus, eating a diet high in antioxidants is the next greatest thing you can do for the health of your skin after avoiding cigarettes and wearing sunscreen while you're outside. Antioxidants including vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin A are nutrients that protect the cells in your body, particularly the skin cells, from the harm caused by oxidative stress. Others, which you might be less acquainted with, are referred to as phytochemicals and are present in foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans. There are hundreds of phytochemicals.

The creation of collagen, which keeps skin tight, depends on vitamin C, which also shields cells from free radical damage. According to scientific research, lab animals' skin is better equipped to counteract oxidative damage when they consume food that has been enriched with vitamin C. Therefore, it's critical to regularly replace your skin's vitamin C reserves by consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables. Red, green, and yellow bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, mangoes, oranges, pineapple, snow peas, strawberries, tomatoes, and watermelon are all excellent sources.

Additionally, cell membranes are supported by vitamin E, which also shields your skin from UV radiation harm. According to some studies, vitamin E and vitamin C may function together to prevent the skin from aging to an even greater extent. Vitamin E should come from your food, not high-dose tablets, as recent research has raised some concerns regarding the safety of vitamin E supplementation. The finest sources of vitamin E are foods like wheat germ, fortified whole-grain cereals, nuts and seeds, olive oil, Swiss chard, spinach, and trace amounts of multivitamins.

Another antioxidant that is vital for skin health is beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A and uses for tissue growth and repair. Additionally, it might shield your skin from sun damage. However, pure vitamin A from supplements can be dangerous in excessively high levels, so make careful to avoid them unless a doctor has approved of them and is constantly monitoring you. Your skin can get enough and is completely safe from beta-carotene found in foods like apricots, cantaloupe, carrots, red bell peppers, mangoes, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes.

Selenium is a mineral antioxidant that helps the skin stay tight and elastic while defending it against UV damage. It has been demonstrated that selenium from the diet can lessen UV damage and even stop some animal skin malignancies. But make careful to stay away from selenium pills. According to the Nutritional Prevention of Cancer Trial, those who used selenium supplements and had a high risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer also had a 25% higher chance of developing squamous cell carcinoma. Brazil nuts are the best food sources for selenium, but because they are so concentrated, limit yourself to just one or two per day. Other excellent sources of selenium include light canned tuna, crab, oysters, whole-wheat pasta, lean beef, shrimp, whole-wheat bread, turkey, wheat germ, chicken breast, mushrooms, and eggs.

Your diet has a big impact on how healthy your skin is. Be careful to consume enough necessary nutrients to safeguard your skin.

PDO I Ayesa Gay A. Bejerano, RND

References:

The 12 Best Foods for Healthy Skin

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-foods-for-healthy-skin#The-bottom-line

Minerals and Skin Health

https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease/skin-health/minerals#:~:text=Selenium%20is%20thought%20to%20protect,(TDR)%20(13).