Want healthy skin that glows? Want to prevent deterioration? Or to cure skin concerns?
Your skin will show you the truth (the good, the bad, and the ugly) about how you are looking after your most valuable asset: your body. Just as the food that we crave is a signal from our bodies, everything troublesome that occurs in our skin can be interpreted a sign of negligence, product overuse, internal disharmony or nutrient deficiency.
We live in a world where we research obsessively to try to decipher how to be the very best we can be. But honestly, the only information you need is within you. Our bodies are the most amazing machines we will ever have, and even today with our advanced technology we don’t understand it completely.
The body will send you signals when it requires something, or when you have created an internal imbalance. Much like the pain you might feel after eating gluten or a highly saturated meal, or the after pain of a workout, your body is telling you exactly what is happening inside- we just need to stop and listen.
Here’s the ABC’s of skin care you need to know:
Vitamin A
Essential for normal skin production. It’s the best vitamin to enhance skin cell renewal and normalise cells. This makes it perfect for all skin types, from Acneic skin to mature ageing skin. Be careful when using topical Vitamin A as there are many strengths and too much can cause certain unpleasant side affects (doctors prescribe this vitamin for certain conditions such as acne vulgaris).
Natural sources include: sweet potato, dark leafy greens (like kale and spinach) and carrots. Do you remember the old saying carrots will make you see in the dark? Well that may not be completely true but Vitamin A does help regenerate all cells, so eating foods rich in this vitamin may in fact improve eyesight.
Vitamin B
My absolute favourite- I actually call my liquid supplement “liquid gold”. Vitamin B is essential for energy production. This energy is more than just how you feel, it’s the metabolism of every system in our body, the processes we go through to function, and particularly the way we process food into energy. Vitamin B is actually a group of eight water soluble vitamins. This means it cannot be stored in the body so its important to add in Vitamin B through foods, or, like me, take a supplement. A sign you might be lacking is redness throughout the skin, particularly around the corners of the mouth or nostrils or a general flushing. Vitamin B3 is particularly brilliant for calming and restoring the skin whilst Vitamin B6 is being tested for use as a natural anti depressant. Vitamin B6 is required to make neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transfer signals from one cell to another and is needed for normal brain function including the development of the serotonin and norepinephrine hormones. If you are highly stressed, or extremely active I would recommend adding in foods high in Vitamin B to increase your energy levels from within.
Natural sources include: salmon, tuna, eggs, green leafy vegetables, and legumes.
Vitamin C
This vitamin is ESSENTIAL for collagen production (the natural stuff that keeps us looking beautiful and young). By adding more Vitamin C into your diet you can increase collagen production by up to eight times. The recommended daily intake of Vitamin C for men and women is 45mg per day…are you getting enough? Signs that you might be lacking can include: broken capillaries, the fine red lines that can criss cross predominately over the nose or the cheeks.
Natural sources include: camu camu, red peppers, guavas, kiwi fruit, goji berries, oranges and papaya.
Leave a Reply