Showing posts with label Best Foods For Skin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Best Foods For Skin. Show all posts

Saturday, December 12, 2009

5 Nutritious Tips for Healthy Skin …

1. Sweet potatoes.

One of the best natural sources of beta-carotene, which your body turns into vitamin A to nourish your skin, sweet potatoes provide pack a healthy-skin wallop. Up to 262% of your daily Vitamin A needs can come from one single baked sweet potato. Bake sweet potatoes with the skin on to preserve the nutrients and taste. Sweet potatoes also have anti-inflammatory properties that can help sooth skin battered by the chilly winter wind.

2. Turnip greens.

People shy away from eating turnip greens simply because they don’t know how to prepare them – but it’s a trick worth knowing. Turnip greens contain over 158% of your daily Vitamin A, plus a variety of other skin-healthy vitamins and nutrients. To prepare turnip greens, rinse them well, remove the center stem, and then add them to veggie lasagna instead of spinach, or sauté the leaves with olive oil, salt, and lemon juice .

3. Walnuts.

The anti-oxidants found in walnuts are essential to skin regeneration and elasticity, but walnuts also include chemicals that help boost circulation, bringing oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells quickly. Just four walnuts a day will provide you with all their skin-protecting benefits. Try adding walnuts to salads or cooked vegetables, or roast them at low heat for just 160 degrees for a tasty, nutrient-packed snack.

4. Acai Berries.

The acai berry a fruit from the Amazon rainforest, is one of the best sources of antioxidants you can get. Try frozen acai berry pulp, found in your grocer’s freezer section. The thick, rich, almost chocolaty-tasting paste can be mixed into smoothies or yogurt for a delicious treat that will make your skin radiate health.

5. Hemp.

The single best source of vegetarian Omega fatty acids, ground hempseed is a guaranteed win for your body and skin this winter. Omega fatty acids strengthen the membranes of your skin cells, making it stronger and allowing your skin to hold in all the moisture and nutrients you’re offering. Adding just two tablespoons of ground hemp seed – which contains 300 mg of Omega-3 and 850 mg of Omega-6 with GLA – to your diet can even help restore your skin and repair sun damage. Add this light, nutty powder to smoothies or salads for a warm, all-over glow.

Diet And Your Skin

If you want a healthy skin, it is important for you to have a healthy diet- a diet which contains adequate amount of vitamins, minerals and proteins.Balance is the key word.No single diet is responsible for building up or maintaining the skin- so fad diets, which over-emphasize one food in preference to others can actually deprive you of essential nutrients and so may even harm your body and skin.

Moreover, there are a lot of misconceptions about the effect of certain foods on your skin.It is not true, for instance, that eating chocolates, sweets or rich cakes will give you spots.Neither is it true that eating greasy, fried foods will give you a greasy skin or make your hair greasy.Nor can it be guaranteed, that if you fill yourself with cucumbers, grapes, carrot juice or lettuce you will acquire a beautiful, flawless complexion.Some people have even come out with extraordinary claims, suggesting, for example, that salads will dramatically change your appearance and to develop a perfect skin you must take vitamin and mineral supplements.All this to my mind is humbug.Although there is no denying that you must take a varied and a balanced diet, it is equally important to remember, that the single most important factor in determining the beauty of your complexion is heredity and that your eating habits play only a very small prt in it.

However, if your diet is grossly deficient in certain elements, then the skin can develop problems.In people taking normal balanced diets this does not happen.But after severe illness, surgery and in people who are on crash diets, problems might occur.

With gross nutritional deficiencies, as occurs in severe illness of any type, the skin becomes dry and dark.The lips become sore, the hair falls, and the nails develop ridges and may even get discoloured.The feet becomes edematous.

Vitamin A is very important for the health of your skin and eyes.The richest sources of this vitamin are cod-liver oil, liver, carrots, spinach, milk and egg-yolk.If the diet is lacking in this vitamin, the skin becomes excessively dry and develops pimples.Vision at night becomes defective.But remember, neither should you overdose yourself with Vitamin A, because this can cause dryness and roughness of the skin, falling of the hair and soreness of lips.Cracking and soreness of lips also develop in vitamin B deficiencies.Liver, meat, milk, greens, pulses and cereals are rich sources of vitamin B, Vitamin C, found in all citrus fruits, is also needed for the health of your skin.

Apart from vitamins, your diet should also include minerals.Iron makes the blood healthy-consequently it imparts a healthy pink glow to your skin.Iron is found in several green vegetables, in fruits and in meats.Zinc is also very important for the health of your skin.

Beverages And Skin:Many beverages can actually harm the skin.Alcohol and coffee cause the small blood vessels, under the skin surface to widen.This results in the familiar flushed look.Though, the effects of both alcohol and coffee are initially only temporary, excessive drinking will cause permanent widening of blood vessels making them apparent as thread veins.There are also several other causes of trhread veins: heredity, effects of the sun, a highly spiced diet and extremes of temperature.You can't help inheriting your genes, but you can certainly avoid the other factors to retard the appearance of thread veins.

Food Allergies And Skin Problems:Foods often play an important role in causing, at least, two types of skin problems-hives and eczemas.Although, there are several types of eczemas which are not due to food allergies, "atopic eczema" is frequently its resultant.Certain food stuffs, such as milk, eggs and preserved foods are most likely to cause allergies.A person may also be allergic to more than one food stuff.Often a number of hours elapse before the reaction occurs; so it is quite a problem to identify the culprit.Luckily, most people outgrow their food allergies and it is really not always necessary to look very carefully for the causative agent.

9 Best Foods for Your Skin …

1. Low fat yogurt …

Low fat dairy products are full of vitamin A. This essential vitamin does wonders for our skin. If you have a thyroid problem or diabetes that’s another reason for you to stock up on organic law fat yogurts!

2. Berries …

I am talking about plums, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries (No, not the phone!). These berries have a great antioxidant capacity which means – the more of these we have, the longer our skin will look youthful and healthy!

3. Salmon …

Our skin needs essential fatty acids. If fish isn’t your thing, try walnuts, flax seed or canola oil. All these will give you an amazing result! Omega 3 and Omega 6 may sound like a Sci-fi flick, but these fatty acids are a must for a beautiful, well moisturized skin.

4. Green tea …

This drink contains polyphenols which have anti-inflammatory characteristics. And despite what they say, a good tea will not dehydrate your body, it will only work as an anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent that’ll keep bacteria at bay and will fight off those free radicals that make our skin age early.

5. Water …

Did I even need to mention it? :) Good hydration is our skin’s best friend, right? And I’m talking about good bottled or filtered water in its purest form and not sodas or energy drinks. So ensure that you’re getting at least 8 glasses of water a day for your beautiful skin.

6. Avocados …

Avocado is rich in B-complex vitamins and essential oils and works like an anti-inflammatory agent. It also soothes skin that is red, irritated or blotchy. You can even mix it with yogurt and berries to add some flavor!

7. Mangoes …

Yum! I’m glad this one’s on the list. Lots of vitamin A is in store with this skin do-gooder! This fruit will repair your skin cells so that your skin doesn’t look flaky. It has only 70 calories per serving so it’s ideal for your weight loss program as well.

8. Almonds …

Vitamin E helps to moisturize your skin from within. It also protects your skin from damage and premature aging. Eating almonds can help your facial tissue stay in its best shape for years!

9. Cottage cheese …

Apart from calcium, cottage cheese is great for selenium and it’s an essential mineral for a youthful, glowing skin, Ladies!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Healthy Skin using Foods

1. Almond Oil
Almond oil is good for dryness of the skin and for removing scars of old pimples. Ground the outer cover of 3-5 almonds in with water and apply over the face daily.

2. Apples
Apply or drink juice of pineapple for body and facial pains.
Apply juice of green apples for fine wrinkles, cracked skin, itching and inflammations.

3. Apricots
Apply fresh juice of apricots on face good for sunburn, itching, and eczema.

4. Bengal Gram Flour
Apply a paste of Bengal Gram flour with yogurt for the treatment of pimples and other skin allergies.
Apply green gram flour mixed in water or glycerine for improving complexion.

5. Cucumber
Apply cucumber juice or grated cucumber or cucumber juice mixed with juices of carrot, lettuce or alfalfa over the face for skin eruptions.

6. Drumsticks
Apply a paste of ground drumstick pods and leaves with fresh lime juice for the treatment of pimples, black spots and blackheads.

7. Fenugreek
Apply a paste of fresh fenugreek leaves in water over the face every night and washed with warm water in the morning for preventing pimples, blackheads, dryness, and wrinkles.
Apply a decoction on the face, made by boiling 1 tsp fenugreek seeds in 1 liter water for a few of minutes for preventing pimples, blackheads, dryness, and wrinkles.

8. Garlic
Rub raw garlic on the face for persistent pimples. The pimples will disappear without scars with repeated applications.
Mix 3-4 raw, skinned garlic, finely cut garlic with puffed rice, and swallow with water to clear skin infections quickly.

9. Groundnut Oil
Mix 1 tsp groundnut oil with 1 tsp fresh lime juice to prevent formation of blackheads and pimples .

10. Honey
Apply honey (1 tsp) mixed with water for all skin blemishes. This will turn your skin glowing.
Apply honey mixed with milk, yogurt, and ground sesame seeds in equal proportions for fair complexion and lovely skin.

11. Lime Juice
Apply fresh lime juice mixed to a glass of boiled milk as a face wash for pimples blackheads, and cracked skin.

12. Mangoes
Boil mango leaves and skin in water and apply for skin infection.

13. Mint
Apply fresh mint juice over the face every night for the treatment of pimples, insect stings, eczema, scabies, & other skin infections.

14. Neem Leaves
Swallow 10 fresh ground neem leaves with water to clear the skin.
Chew fresh neem leaves and then swallow with water to remove bad odor from the mouth.

15. Orange
Apply a paste of ground orange peel (dried) with water for acne/pimples.

16. Papaya or Paw Paw
Apply and drink the juice of raw papaya including the skin and seed for treatment of swelling pimples, acne, or any abnormal growth of the skin. It also removes whiteheads, boils, and spots.
Rub raw or ripe papaya on your face to get a smooth and glowing skin.

17. Pineapples
Apply or drink juice of pineapple for body and facial pains.
For removing fine wrinkles, rub the core of pineapple for a few minutes and leave for 15 minutes
Apply juice of pineapples for fine wrinkles, cracked skin, itching and inflammations.

18. Pomegranate
Make a paste of roasted & powdered pomegranate skin with fresh lime juice and apply over boils, pimple, blackheads and whiteheads.

19. Potatoes
Apply grated potatoes as poultice to treat skin blemishes, wrinkles, boils, pimples, blackheads, whiteheads , etc.

20. Radish
Make a paste of ground radish seeds with water and apply on face to remove blackheads.
Apply grated white radish or its juice for fairer complexion.

21. Rice
Apply a paste of rice powder with water as a poultice for soothing bleeding pimples and skin inflammations.

22. Sesame Seeds
Apply a paste of ground sesame seeds with water as poultice for inflammation of the skin due to allergies, skin rashes, and pimples.

23. Tomatoes
Apply red tomatoes pulp on your face for treatment of pimples for 1 hour, then wash thoroughly.

24. Turmeric
Apply a paste of turmeric powder with pineapple juice for dark circles under the eyes.
Apply a paste of turmeric powder with gram flour or whole wheat flour for minor skin blemishes.
Apply a paste of turmeric powder with sugarcane juice to remove wrinkles and to prevent skin ageing.

25.Wheat Flour
Apply a paste of whole wheat flour with vinegar to remove dark spots.

26.Yogurt
Apply a paste of yogurt with wheat flour as a cleanser.heat flour as a cleanser.

The Best Foods for Your Skin

1. Antioxidants

Vitamin A, vital for hair and eyes, helps the skin remain supple. It can be found in dairy-produces, eggs and oil fish.

Vitamin B complex helps the skin metabolism by releasing energy from food. Best sources for it are red meat, poultry, oily fish, soya beans, wheatgerm, bananas, breakfast cereals.

Vitamin C has a main role in collagen production. If you smoke too much, if you have prolonged sun exposure sessions, then you have to make sure that you have in your diet products rich in vitamin C: peppers, potatoes, peas, kiwi fruit, strawberries and tomatoes.

Vitamin E works well with selenium to prevent the damage made by free radicals. Nuts, seeds, wheatgerm, wholegrains, avocados and sweet potatoes are rich in it.

Iron is found in liver, red meat, seafood, eggs. When there is a lack of iron in the organism, the skin is pale and circles under the eyes can formed.

Zinc accelerate healing and when there is a deficiency of zinc dandruff can appear, the complexion is pale, white spots on the nails can be seen. Nuts, mushrooms, seafood, red meat, turkey, eggs, cheese are rich in Zinc.

2. Essential Fatty Acids

Our body cannot produce Omega-3 and Omega-6 (the two classes of Essential Fatty Acids - EFAs) so you have to gain them by a proper nourishment (sardines, tuna and salmon, soya beans, nuts, sesame, walnut).

And while you are trying to eat the best foods for your skin, don't forget to drink plenty of water, reduce the alcohol, rest/sleep enough and exercise your body as often as you can. Maybe it seems hard at the beginning, but once you get used to such a diet, you'll see that all your efforts are worth the final result: a good complexion, a vivid, brighten skin.