Can You Eat Your Way to Healthier Skin?
Every day, our bodies naturally produce evidence of what we consume. However, the 
process is much more complicated than the old adage “you are what you eat.” Research shows that a cell-level battle is raging within each of us — a battle between the natural process of aging and the natural systems that help us resist that very process.
For instance, let’s look at oxygen. Oxygen is everywhere; it is in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and in the food we eat and unfortunately, oxygen has a natural tendency to combine with cellular processes in our skin to produce free radicals. Once produced, these agents become the enemy of our skin tissue. Much like the effects of oxygen on metal, which causes oxidation and eventually rust, our bodies experience inflammation, and this inflammation can take many forms. On the skin, inflammation can make your pores look bigger and complexion look duller. Discoloration, wrinkles, acne, and even eczema are also related to the damaging effects of oxidation-related inflammation.
What can we do? Well, consider the fact that Vitamins A, C, and E are “antioxidant rich” adversaries of the free radicals that hide in our cells and attack our skin. Consider that Selenium is a mineral that experts agree is critical to the production of glutathione, another enemy of free radicals. Consider that Thiamine is a B vitamin that helps skin cells function normally. Consider that Zinc assists epidermal cell growth, that protein is essential for skin repair, and finally, that Vitamin C helps the body naturally manufacture collagen, a protein that keeps the skin supple and tight. The truth is, research shows that vitamins and minerals are essential to skin health because they maintain a system of resistance to the processes commonly associated with aging, and those vitamins and minerals reside in the foods we eat.
In her article “Antioxidants: Nature’s Real Fountain of Youth,” Keecha Harris, Dr. PH., R.D., recommends a long list of antioxidant-rich foods that can help combat the natural processes that wear down our bodies in general and our skin in particular. She suggests that a broccoli-rich diet is a good choice for skin health, adding that carrots, berries, and whole-grain cereals should be on any skin-healthy shopping list. She is careful to point out that eating well is the key, rather than any specific diet.
The bottom line is this: most of these food-related issues are in our control, and the more we know, the more we can influence the natural processes that make us look older. But as usual, permanent lifestyle changes are the ones that work, not fads or gimmicks.
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Tags: antioxidants, nutrition
