Does your daily regimen include wash, toner and an $80 night cream? That doesn’t mean you’re on track for getting silky, smooth skin. Ingredients in food – including vitamins A, C and E, and less well-known chemicals such as lycopene and linoleic acid – create smooth skin and keep from sagging, fight pimples and rashes, and even offer natural sun protection.
“Our skin must contend against harsh aspects of the outside world – the sun, microorganisms, and toxins such as air pollutants,” says Wilhelm Stahl, a biochemist at Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany. “Nutrients from the diet travel to the skin, where they help cells fight off these assaults.”
Here’s what to eat and what to avoid for a complexion and smooth skin that radiates health.
Starve Acne With Foods You Eat
Doctors recently learned that acne culprits are sweet or starchy foods that are quickly digested, sending a jolt of sugar to the bloodstream. The body responds to the sugar high by making more insulin, which spurs skin glands to ooze their oily stuff. In 2007, an Australian team, led by nutritional biochemist Robyn Smith, became the first to show, in a small group of young men, that eating whole grains, fresh produce and lean meat and fish instead of processed carbs may help alleviate acne and contributes to smooth skin.
Tip: Trade baguettes for multi-grain bread, and pretzels for nuts.
Sunscreen You Swallow Helps Protect Your Skin from Cancer
Why do Italians love their spaghetti marinara? It’s delicious, but it may also shield Mediterraneans from the intensity of the sun’s rays. Eating fruits and vegetables containing vitamins C and E – along with a few other less well-known natural chemicals – reduces one’s susceptibility to sunburn. One of the most effective natural sunscreens is lycopene, which is found in tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit.
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Chemicals in cocoa, called flavanols, as well as polyphenols in green tea also grant UV protection, which leads to smooth skin. All this may sound weird until you consider that plants can’t duck for shade at high noon, so some have developed other protective strategies. Use sunscreen, by all means, but munch on these foods to enhance its benefits.
Tip: Trade diet soda for tomato juice, gummy bears for chocolate with high cocoa content.
Edible Botox To Keep Collagen In Your Skin
The key to looking younger? Skip cigarettes and the sun, and bring on fruits and veggies. Vitamin A – found in carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and kale – is essential for normal skin-functioning. Vitamin C – found in red and green peppers, citrus fruits and strawberries – helps make collagen, an elastic substance that plumps skin.
A 2007 study of more than 4,000 women (one of the first studies to examine how nutrient intake from foods as opposed to vitamin supplements affects skin) yielded surprising results. Epidemiologist Maeve C. Cosgrove and colleagues found that women who ate foods rich in vitamin C and linoleic acid – found in soybean oil, green leafy vegetables, and nuts – had fewer wrinkles and smoother skin as well as fuller, more youthful complexions.
Tip: Trade doughnuts for walnuts, and breakfast sausage for orange and strawberry slices.
Purge Eczema with Foods Rich in Gamma-Linolenic Acid, GLA
Eczema – a painful, itchy, scaly skin condition – is on the rise. No one knows why, but some doctors believe that an effective treatment includes eating foods rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a fatty acid found in some seed oils. Scientists suspect that lower levels of GLA in the blood make it harder for skin to hold on to water, so it becomes drier and eczema-prone. Some studies have shown that ingesting foods containing GLA, such as evening-primrose oil, blackcurrant-seed oil or borage oil, can help. Even consuming modest amounts of hempseed oil (1-2 tablespoons per day) can rid the irritable symptoms of eczema with smooth skin.
Tip: Supplement a diet rich in fish with evening-primrose, black currant seed, borage or hempseed oil.
Emily Laber-Warren was an executive editor at Popular Science and a special projects editor at Women’s Health before going freelance in 2007. She currently writes for Psychology Today, Scientific American Mind and Earth 3.0.
38 thoughts on “Beauty and the Feast: How to Get Gorgeous, Smooth Skin from Your Diet”
Always a great read! Thank you again and again. 👋😃
Thank you, Pam.
It gives an incentive to do more for you, my readers!
Yes, the food you eat actually affects your face too. I have a skincare routine that I follow and it’s important to wear sunscreen especially since the weather nowadays are so hot.
I take Vit C and E daily for my skin and health overall. I know my eating hasn’t been very good lately and I need to improve on it.
My skin definitely looks better when I cut out gluten. It is just way more smooth.
Yes, it’s so important what we eat. A good diet gives us the chance to have a better life. Thanks for these awesome hacks!
These are great tips about skincare. I didn’t know that there was such a thing as edible botox!
It always amazes me how much your diet can change things for you. Even your skin! This is so informative.
I forget that what we eat has an effect on our skin. I need to be more mindful of that, for sure!
These are some really good tips. I’m glad you were able to share this with us. I knew about some of them, but not all.
Every night, before bed I slather on jojoba oil on my arms and face. It is funny because you would think oils would clog the pores but they do not.
I am now 50 years young. When I hit my 30s I really paid more close attention to what I ate. I noticed it made a big difference in the texture and appearance in my skin. Great tips here.
Such great information. I like the acne tips, I never knew this. My teen daughter is starting to get acne so I’ll make sure her diet follows what you suggest.
Going natural for many health and beauty reasons is the best idea. It makes sense that the foods we eat can greatly affect our skin!
I eat very healthy and have good skin. So a healthy diet must be good for the skin.
This is a great informational post! I’ve tried to like sweet potatoes because I know it’s good for you but I really don’t like them. So I started putting them in my smoothies. Much more palatable.
I didn’t know you could heal your skin with foods. This is great, Thanks for Sharing.
I have noticed acne on my teenager. I definitely attribute it to sugar intake!
Great post, your diet is so important for good skin care!
very informative…never knew about some of these benefits =)
I didn’t know that lycopenes are also in pink grapefruits and watermelon! I eat lots of those 🙂
Great tips, thank you for sharing!
Will have to pop back to this as both boys have acne and eczema, thanks for the tips xx
My skin has become healthier since I stopped smoking. It’s been six year since I kicked the habit and I’m not looking and will never look back. 🙂
My little sister has Eczema and in the winter time it gets really bad! I will have to tell her to start eating food with certain oils to help 🙂
Food does so much more than feed our hunger! A well balanced, healthy diet can solve many problems.
I heard drinking a lot of water is good for the skin too.
I think diet is so much more important than some people give it credit for too. When I see people living off of McDonald’s I cringe!!
And that’s why people say, “You are what you eat.”
It’s really important to take care of one’s self not just by exercising, but by eating right. I’ve learned so much from this post.
Taking note of this food groups as they maybe better alternative to expensive creams and treatment.
Lots and lots of water is SO good for skin!
Aside from staying away from cigarettes and using sunscreen when you go out, the next best thing you can do for your skin’s health is to eat a diet rich in antioxidants. These are nutrients that work to defend your body’s cells — including skin cells — against the damage of oxidative stress. You’re probably familiar with some antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene). Others, which you may be less familiar with, are collectively known as phytochemicals (there are hundreds of them), and they are found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans
Wow I didn’t know you could heal your skin with food. Will be following some of those.
It’s always helpful to eat fresh greens and colorful food to make the skin healthy.
So informative. I will be taking this tips into practice!
I love this article. I do eat lots of sweet potatoes and have a youthful appearance. I don’t take vitamins as I like to get my nutrients with fruits and veggies. Great post to encourage one to eat healthier.
I love when there are natural remedies for things. That’s the best way to go when possible.
Just goes to show a healthy diet does more than one would ever think…although I think I’ll still wear sunscreen