Food for Beautiful Skin

How many times have we seen someone with radiant beautiful skin and felt an ‘ah’ ring up inside our hearts and minds?!! After all, some things never go out of fashion – beautiful glowing skin is definitely one of those things! The truth is beautiful skin is not only a delight to look at but also a reflection of one’s physical, mental and emotional health. But beautiful skin can’t be attained by eating junk food, sleeping erratic hours and being eternally stressed. Instead, beautiful skin needs to be earned by eating a wholesome diet, while maintaining a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise, meditation and laughter!
Now, you must be wondering what food you must eat to achieve that inner glow from within to captivate the hearts of all those around you! The most important thing to remember when eating for beauty is to remove all processed food and food with additives and artificial colors colors. Also, steer clear of refined flour, white sugar, margarine and other animal fats. They are the greatest skin scavengers that cause free radical damage to skin cells; making the skin age faster.
It is also advisable to incorporate a vegetarian diet since meat and other animal products increase arachidonic acid levels in the body, thus, boosting wrinkle formation. And in case you are worried about consuming enough protein through a vegetarian diet, do not worry!!! Quite contrary to the popular myth, there are excellent plant-based sources of protein that are not only easy for the body to digest but also often contain higher levels of protein than is found in meat. As Michael A. Klaper says, “There is absolutely no nutrient, no protein, no vitamin, no mineral, that we know of that can’t be obtained from plant-based foods.”
In fact, consuming a handful of concentrated super foods like spirulina, chlorella and goji berries supplies one with a high dose of easily digestible protein. Another excellent source of high quality protein is mung beans. Mung beans have long been renowned for their therapeutic and health-giving benefits in the ancient Indian healing system of Ayurveda.
Moreover, if your aim is to attain healthy beautiful skin that lasts a lifetime, then it is important to make some important dietary changes to include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily meals. It is also important to note that organically grown fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other food items are much higher in vitamins and minerals. Conventionally grown food items have pesticide residue in them that infuse the body with high doses of toxic chemicals. On the other hand, organically grown food has a detoxifying and cleansing effect on the body by supplying it with ample nutrients minus any harmful chemical residues. Thus, it is advisable to consume organically grown food products as much as possible.
Now, let us discuss some beauty foods that have long been known for their beautifying and rejuvenating effects. When it comes to fruits, the most beautifying are apples, strawberries, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, figs, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, lemons, pineapple, pumpkin and melons. All these fruits are loaded with enzymes and anti-oxidants that aid in reversing free radical damage, thus, contributing to glowing and radiant skin. However, it is important to practice proper food combining. Fruits should always be eaten on an empty stomach and never after consuming any food with starch or protein in it. Doing so inhibits proper digestion leading to fermentation of food in the digestive tracts that leads to toxic build up in the body. Fruits are quick to digest and should always be eaten on their own and at least one hour before a meal.
Among vegetables, the most beautifying are asparagus, cabbage, arugula, watercress, avocado, bamboo shoots, beetroot, broccoli, celery cucumber, chicory and all sea vegetables. Consuming ample amounts of these vegetables supplies the body with important vitamins and minerals that accelerate skin cell renewal aiding in the maintenance of youthful looking skin.
Other excellent skin foods are coconut, old fashioned steel cut oats, barley, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, burdock root, dandelion, nettle, parsley and almonds (soaked and blanched). These food items have a purifying and nourishing effect on the skin. In fact, nettle leaves even aid in weight loss by boosting metabolism and thyroid function.
Armed with all this knowledge, now that you are ready to embark on your beauty diet, don’t forget the golden rule of at least eight glasses of water a day!
Soon everybody is going to be asking you the secret of your beautiful glowing skin!!!