NUTRIENTS FOR GLOWING SKIN
For glowing radiant skin, it’s just as important to pay attention to what's going in your body as it is to what you’re putting on it. Try focusing on including these specific nutrients in your diet to help promote clear, hydrated glowing skin:
Zinc
This powerful mineral is essential for so many processes in your body. It helps your skin heal and works to prevent infections, acne and other skin conditions, and it helps your body make new collagen. This makes zinc a key nutrient in the prevention of inflammation, wrinkles, stretch marks, sun damage and hair loss just to name a few. Foods rich in zinc are oysters, red meat, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cashews, pecans, macadamia nuts, seaweeds, coconuts, spinach and spirulina.
Antioxidants
By now, I think we all know that antioxidants are good for us. When it comes to skin health, antioxidant-rich vitamins like A, C and E are so important for fighting off oxidation and free-radicals in our bodies that would otherwise cause inflammation and premature ageing. Antioxidants will also hold help your skin hold on to moisture and support collagen production. There are so many plant foods that contain these nutrients, like carrots, spinach, dandelion, avocados, oranges, grapefruit, melon, kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, berries, pomegranate, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate and of course green tea AKA the antioxidant powerhouse.
Sulfur
This might sounds like a very un-sexy nutrient, but sulfur is fundamental for healthy hair, skin and nails. Sulfur is so great for detoxification, and low levels of the nutrient can contribute to acne, rosacea, weight gain among other health problems. You can find it in greens like arugula and kale, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts, radishes, blue-green algae, hemp seeds, maca, salmon, organic and pastured raised beef and poultry and in bee pollen.
Protein
Protein is synonymous with the word build, which makes perfect sense in this case; because protein is one of the building blocks for skin tissue. Making sure your diet includes healthy sources of protein is essential for healthy, plump skin and your body’s natural production of collagen. This doesn’t mean you have to eat animal sources of protein at every meal, just make sure you’re getting high quality sources of protein daily. Whether that be from organic and pasture-raised beef and poultry, wild-caught seafood, free-range eggs, organic dairy, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, organic tofu and tempeh, algae and even in small amounts from whole grains and vegetables.
Essential Fatty Acids
Hopefully we’re past the low-fat craze period in history, because healthy fats will seriously make you radiate like nothing else. A healthy dose of omega-3s protects against inflammation, and are the building blocks for healthy skin cells. When I say healthy fats, I mean things like wild-caught low-mercury fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines, pasture-raised meats, bone broth, grass-fed butter or ghee, avocado, coconut, olives and olive oil and nuts and seeds.
Julia Gibson is a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, functional foods recipe developer, and write currently based in Toronto. She hopes to inspire and empower others by creating nourishing foods, living a sustainable life, promoting holistic healing and sharing thoughtful writing.
photo by @samantheeyo