As we age, we’re encouraged to look after our health in general and skin in particular by not smoking, actively exercising, hydrating, moderating alcohol intake and eating a balanced diet.
In addition, the skin care industry encourages us to buy products designed specifically to help with anti-aging, but which are often expensive. So, as eating and drinking are two things that we’re going to do anyway, which foods can we eat to really benefit the skin?
- We’re encouraged to look after our health and skin through positive lifestyle habits and choices.
- Skin care products can be very expensive.
- Which foods really benefit the skin as we age?
We know that a seemingly endless amount of serums, creams, and treatments are all designed and marketed for us to attempt to hold back the years, but the old saying ‘you are what you eat’ might be even more relevant today with our ongoing interest in aging and health.
So, what can we put on our plates that will genuinely help skin to remain as youthful as possible for as long as possible by boosting collagen and moisture from the inside out?
The benefit of trying to eat between 5 and 10 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables per day is something we’re all familiar with, and the received wisdom is that eating them raw or lightly cooked makes them even more beneficial because cooking can reduce the amount or potency of the vitamins and enzymes they contain.
However, although research suggests that some fruit and veg certainly provide more benefit when eaten raw, some are actually healthier and of more benefit to the skin when cooked.
Roasting brightly coloured vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash and red peppers, besides being great for general health, may benefit the skin and boost collagen which diminishes in production as we get older. Cooking makes the veg more easily digestible and can increase their antioxidant value.
A compound called carotenoids is what gives these vegetables their bright colours and research suggests that they boost the skin’s moisture and collagen levels with a subsequent positive effect on the appearance of wrinkles and skin texture.
It seems that carotenoids (among other compounds) found in brightly coloured vegetables and fruits such as mango and melons are extremely important for skin when it comes to anti-aging – which suggests that mindful choices in the weekly food shop really could improve the appearance of wrinkles and enhance skin texture.
In fact, carotenoids found in fruit and vegetables are chemically linked to the retinol found in anti-aging serums and both provide effective antioxidants to protect the skin.
So next time you go shopping, stock up on the brightly coloured fruit and veg and you’ll be doing your skin a favour from the inside.