How Is Your Diet Impacting Your Skin?

When it comes to looking after our skin, we typically turn to skin care products due to the endless supply on the shelves. Because of this reason we tend to forget that our skin is an organ, it is the largest organ you have and in order to look after this organ we need to understand what’s happening beyond the surface.  

Skin cells, like every other cell in our body, are constantly undergoing a renewal process. It uses vitamins, mineral, and amino acids from foods to repair and rebuild. Overexposure to the sun, chemicals, varieties of soaps and poor nutrition can all cause damage to skin cells.

Ensuring new skin cells are well nourished is the key to healthy glowing skin. Therefore, a diet rich in nutrients is crucial to support the growth and repair required for great skin.

DID YOU KNOW? -- If you don’t eat enough protein, you are depriving your skin of the amino acids that go into making collagen which makes your skin strong.

PROTEIN

Collagen is the key protein that exists in the section of the skin called the dermis (the thick layer of living tissue which forms the true skin). Skin lacking collagen can cause wrinkles and sag. In order to produce collagen, you must consume good sources of dietary protein.



Fats

Whilst fats are often shunned because of their high calorie content they are in fact one of the most important elements in skin health. 

Essential fatty acids like omega-3s and omega-6s are the building blocks of healthy cell membranes. These polyunsaturated fats also help produce the skin's natural oil barrier, critical in keeping the skin hydrated, plump, and youthful. If you're not getting enough essential fatty acids in your diet, your skin may be dry, inflamed, and prone to whiteheads and blackheads.



ANTIOXIDANTS

Antioxidants are chemicals that are able to “fill the gap” in free radicals (damaged cells) without harming themselves. They stop the chain of events that has caused your cells to become dysfunctional. This will ensure that your skin is hydrated, plump, and youthful.



DID YOU KNOW? -- Skin cells, like any other cell in the body, are made up of water. 


WATER

Drinking an adequate amount of water every day is essential for overall good health because it aids in digestion, circulation, absorption and even excretion. If your skin is not getting enough water, the lack of hydration will make it appear dry and flaky.

Drinking water is probably the easiest change you can make, so start drinking more water.



I hope this article has given you a greater understanding of the relationship between diet and the skin. Although there are many other factors that contribute to your skin, I believe diet is the most important and critical to healthier looking skin.