Eat yourself flawless!

You are what you eat. So one should take care of their body, as it is the only place you have to live.  Healthy eating does not mean eating bland foods or eating less. It instead means eating nutritious food and eating the right quantities in the right way. A mix and match of all types of food are essential for the body for good physical and mental development as well as eating yourself flawless.

The relation between beauty and food

Nutrition is a very important factor for health. And beautiful skin starts by nourishing it from within. Therefore, by eating healthy food items you are able to promote skin cell turnover, youthfulness, moist & supple skin, damaged cell repair and collagen production. And to enjoy these benefits here are some the foods that you can add to eating plan..

• Vitamin C: an antioxidant which fights free radicals, known to support collagen production, which keeps your skin strong and healthy. It help by giving your skin a glow and promoting healing to blemish prone skin. Skin that is lacking in vitamin c would present as rough, dry and flaky. We are talking cauliflower, broccoli, citrus fruits, brussel sprouts, papaya, strawberries etc..

• Vitamin A: has immune enhancing and antioxidant properties. Maintains and repairs skin cells. Lack of vitamin a can present as breakouts, dry, scaly skin. Found in foods like liver, dairy products, eggs, fish, prawns, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potato, butternut, pumpkin, leafy green vegetables etc..

Quick tip: when choosing the best tomato go for the one that is darker and brighter in colour, they tend to contain more nutrients.

• Omega 3: not produced in our bodies and therefore needs to ingested as part of our diet. It helps to guard against sun damage, plays a part in the condition of the cell membrane, as well as contributes to the skin's lipid barrier which functions by preventing moisture loss and bacteria activity on the skin. Lack of Omega 3 could present as dry hair, peeling nails, breakouts, wrinkles etc.. Food sources include flaxeeds, salmon, Tuna, sardines, walnuts, chia seeds etc.

• Zinc: known to protect the skin from sun damage, it also has anti-inflammatory properties which are extremely handy when it comes to acne flares, increases cell turnover and wound healing. Lack of zinc can present as thinning hair , skin rashes and breakouts. Eat more beef, oysters, pumpkin, dark chocolate 70%+, shellfish and cashew nuts.

• Collagen: meaning collagen inducing foods. We know collagen is the antiaging factor responsible for the tight, smooth, youthful looking skin. Lack of collagen presents as loose, sagging, sallow skin. You can increase your collagen simulation by eating foods like dark green leafy vegetables, beef bone broth, garlic, avocado, citrus fruit etc…

Quick tip: the highest  concentration of collagen is found in ligaments, tendons, skin, bones and cartilage of animals

These are just a few elements that are essential to skin health, Vitamin E and water being some of the obvious and left out because we all know the benefits by now.

I’m always keen to know some of the foods or supplements you take on a daily basis to aid your hair skin and nails health, so please let me know in the comments below.