Your skin is one of the first things people notice about you. If your skin doesn’t look good, you might look unhealthy in general. You can try to cover it up with makeup, but bad skin is still hard to miss.
If you want to try to change your skin, you have choices. One of the best moves you can make to improve your skin is to improve your diet. What you eat has a major impact on your skin.
Our providers at Orange Coast Dermatology explain more about the link between your diet and your skin.
Your skin may have one or more different types of problems. If your skin is chronically dry, for example, you may be prone to flaky patches of skin, especially around your nose and on your chin.
Acne is another very common problem. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always go away after the teenage years. If you’re plagued by acne even well into adulthood, you may have a hormone problem.
But what you eat also has a major impact on your skin and is linked to several types of skin problems, including dry skin and acne.
If you want to have beautiful, glowing skin, make sure your diet contains all the nutrients necessary.
In general, you should aim to have a well-rounded diet, in which you consume lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. These healthy, unprocessed foods are high in vitamins and nutrients your skin needs.
You can eat meat, but you should aim for lean cuts that are free of hormones.
You should also drink lots and lots of water. Your water intake is directly linked to the appearance of your skin. If you don’t drink enough water, you may notice your skin is drier. And your body can’t flush out toxins as effectively, which can contribute to acne.
Don’t take vitamin supplements to try to improve your skin; instead, aim to consume certain foods that are high in specific vitamins. These include the following:
Vitamin A is one of the main ingredients in the prescription acne medication called Accutane®. Your body needs vitamin A to regulate your skin’s cycle and prevent your skin from trapping oil and sebum under the surface.
Good food sources of vitamin A include broccoli, spinach, carrots, and salmon.
The medical community already knows that many people with acne have lower levels of zinc, so getting more zinc could reduce your likelihood of developing acne. Foods that contain zinc include almonds, Brazil nuts, turkey, and wheat germ.
Vitamins C and E seem to work together. You can get vitamin C from citrus foods like oranges, papaya, grapefruit, lemons, and tomatoes. Good sources of vitamin E include sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, avocados, leafy greens, and broccoli.
The mineral selenium seems to work with vitamin E to reduce damage from free radicals. Sources of selenium include tuna, salmon, garlic, eggs, and brown rice.
You may already know which foods are bad for your skin. Maybe you eat chocolate and notice that you break out a couple of days later, which makes the link obvious.
Not everyone reacts badly to chocolate, but many people do. Some of the other foods that you should avoid for the sake of your skin include:
In general, decrease your consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates in particular. These foods increase your insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which in turn increases your skin’s production of sebum, leading to more breakouts.
If your skin is not as healthy and glowing as you would like, change your diet to include more healthy foods that promote better skin. If you need more advice about your skin, contact our experts today at Orange Coast Dermatology in Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo, California.
