The Secret to Beautiful, Healthy Skin!

Want Beautiful, Healthy Skin? Eat Your Vegetables!

Potions, paints and powder are no substitute for a healthy diet.

Have you ever noticed that the most coveted style for models and celebrities is a “no-makeup” look? Except for special occasions, like runway or awards shows, most strive to look natural, refreshed and flawless. In our culture, there is a huge emphasis placed on dewy complexions, smooth, glowing skin, clear eyes, and so on. But while a skilled makeup artist can mask many imperfections, there’s no getting away from the fact that what you look like on the outside is a direct reflection of your diet and lifestyle.

In short: if you want healthy skin, eat a healthy diet, limit mid-day sun exposure and use a safe, mineral sunscreen. This advice goes for your whole body, not just your face.

There are a surprising number of ways that the antioxidant phytochemicals in the food you eat do double-duty when it comes to your skin – not only in preventing or slowing down signs of aging, such as wrinkles and crow’s feet, but also in offering some protection from the sun’s UV rays.

For example, when you eat foods rich in carotenoids, such as carrots, beets, berries and dark, leafy greens, the carotenoids accumulate in your skin and oppose UV-induced oxidative stress. They also have photo-protective qualities that prevent or repair DNA damage to the skin caused by the sun. In addition, carotenoids are a safer way to enhance your skin’s appearance than a suntan. A diet rich in carotenoids gives a perceptible glow to Caucasian, African and Asian skin. In one study, people preferred the carotenoid skin coloration to that produced by a suntan.

Speaking of leafy greens, supplementation with lutein and zeaxanthin, found primarily in vegetables such as kale, collard greens and Swiss chard, was also found to provide photo-protection and improve several measures of skin quality, such as elasticity. This can improve the appearance of skin on the neck and the jawline, which tends to lose their firmness as the years go by.

Lycopene, which is found in tomato products, and in pink/red fruits such as watermelon, papaya and grapefruit, was shown in one 12-week study to enhance the skin’s resistance to UV-induced reddening. The same study demonstrated that supplementation with tomato paste also reduced the DNA damage caused by UV exposure.

In addition to carotenoids, another class of antioxidant nutrients called polyphenols has been investigated for photo-protective actions. Polyphenols are a large family of antioxidants that include subfamilies phenolic acids, flavonoids (abundant in berries), lignans (in flax, chia, and sesame seeds) and stilbenes (such as resveratrol, the signature antioxidant of grapes and red wine). There are hundreds of polyphenols, and they are present in most whole plant foods.Polyphenols from cocoa and green tea, for example, have been shown to counteract UV-induced skin damage in human studies.

Fewer wrinkles

It’s hard to escape wrinkles as we age, but there are some foods and preventive that can slow down their formation and even stop them from occurring in the first place.

Wrinkles and other signs of skin aging are related to chronological age but also strongly influenced by UV rays. It is estimated that 80% of the visible aging in a woman’s face is due to sun exposure. So the phytochemical-rich foods that offer sun protection also offer some protection against wrinkles. Studies on the polyphenols in green tea and cocoa showed that, in addition to providing some UV protection, these phytochemicals improved the skin’s elasticity, hydration and softness.

In one study of older adults, those who ate more vegetables and beans, and less dairy and sugar had less visible sun damage. Another study, focusing on middle-aged American women, found that higher dietary Vitamin C intake was associated with fewer wrinkles. And a study of Japanese women found that higher intake of green and yellow vegetables was associated with fewer “crow’s feet” wrinkles around the eyes.

Making sure your antioxidant levels are optimal

Each time the skin is exposed to the sun, some carotenoids are “used up” for their antioxidant properties. This means that they must be constantly replenished by the diet to maintain their protective effects. This becomes even more important if you smoke or use alcohol, which deplete additional carotenoids from the skin.

To build up stores of these protective phytochemicals in the skin, you need to consume a diet of antioxidant-rich plant foods on a consistent basis. My Nutritarian diet is designed to be rich in antioxidant phytochemicals and promotes health inside and out, protecting against chronic disease and sun damage while giving the skin a natural, healthy-looking glow.

To make sure that you are getting adequate levels of phytochemicals, you can quantify your skin carotenoid levels using a specialized scanner to confirm the accumulation of dietary carotenoids in your skin. I use one of these scanners in my medical practice to confirm absorption, and motivate patients to eat ideally to accumulate these beneficial phytochemicals in the skin as they increase their consumption of carotenoid-rich foods.

The result of the nutritarian lifestyle is you look good on the outside and have no cancer on the inside, that is the purpose.