How To Eat Your Way To Glowing, Youthful Skin

Prevention is the best and most effective way to work against skin ageing and adds years to your life from the outside. We can’t stop the ageing process; however, it’s proven that what we eat and drink can play a major role in how we age, both on the inside and outside. Just as putting premium fuel in your car helps to maximise performance and improve the longevity of your car, food can do the same for your body. The appropriate nutrition choices and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can keep you youthful at any age. All of our tips below give you younger looking skin, although can improve your day-to-day energy levels, helping you to feel as young as you look!

Choose anti-inflammatory foods

Inflammation is a key body process in immunity and body tissue repair, however during ageing it becomes more chronic, meaning it lasts longer than it should. It is found certain foods have a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effect.

Pro-inflammatory foods increase the risk of wrinkles and increase the chance of storing body fat. These foods include refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, processed cereal and products, processed meats and trans fats.

Anti-inflammatory foods are mostly in their original state, helping to nourish your body from the inside. Many anti-inflammatory foods include components like antioxidants that reduce skin damage. Anti-inflammatory foods include:

• All vegetables
• All fruits
• All herbs and spices (fresh or dried)
• Legumes – chickpeas, lentils, beans
• Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel) and seafood
• Healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil and avocado
• Nuts and seeds
• Wholegrain products and unrefined cereals

These foods can help prevent disease and slow down the ageing process, by giving your body the nutrients it needs to function at its best. Majority of ‘anti-inflammatory’ foods include necessary components to reduce skin damage and ageing, such as fine lines and wrinkles.

It must be noted that the intake of a single food to achieve anti-inflammatory effects is not possible due to the high dose that must be taken. However, it is the combination of foods with anti-inflammatory effects that could reduce the effects of ageing by feeling older than you are.

Check out our blog about how the healthiest populations in the world that follow an anti-inflammatory diet.

Eat plenty of protein

Protein is one of the most important factors in repairing the skin tissue, maintaining the muscles underneath the skin to reduce the appearance of ageing, and keeping skin thickness. It is shown protein intake is the most important component to maintain normal tissue renewal and repair, including with skin. The skin renewal cycle is 28 days, highlighting the importance of consistent daily protein intake for skin health, due to its process of renewing once per month. See our recent blog on how to reach your daily protein goal.

Eating adequate fats (Omega 3s)

Omega 3s are healthy fats that cannot be produced by the human body and must be consumed daily through the diet. They may also have an anti-inflammatory effect for the body. Fats are an important part of the skin structure and to repair skin damage.

Omega 3s are found in oily fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackeral, herring, anchovies and trout) and in plants (linseeds/flaxseeds, chia seeds and walnuts). Aim for 2-3 servings of fish each week or aim for a daily handful (30g) of the nuts and seeds listed.

See our Sesame Crusted Salmon as an example of a serve of fish for the week.

Drink more water!

Enough water intake maintains keeping the skin tissue functioning therefore reducing the
appearance of fine lines. The lack of water in the diet can cause skin dehydration, inflammation, and ageing. Studies show drinking more than 2 litres of water per day significantly impacts the hydration of the skin (Cao, C. 2020). To be hydrated also keeps you well-energised for the day.

Overall, beat the dull and lifeless skin by fuelling your body with the right nutrients! Not only do all of these factors just improve the health of your skin, they improve the quality of your day-to-day life, making you feel energised and feel as young as you look.

References

Cao, C. et al. (2020) Diet and skin aging-from the perspective of Food Nutrition, Nutrients. MDPI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7146365/
(Accessed: October 25, 2022).

Stromsnes, K. et al. (2021) Anti-inflammatory properties of diet: Role in Healthy Aging,
Biomedicines. MDPI. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8389628/
(Accessed: October 25, 2022).

Home | the heart foundation (2022). Available at: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/'
(Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Schagen, S.K. et al. (2012) Discovering the link between nutrition and Skin Aging, Dermato-endocrinology. Landes Bioscience. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583891/
(Accessed: October 25, 2022).

Cutter, T. (no date) Your anti-ageing nutrition plan, The Healthy Chef. Available at: https://thehealthychef.com/blogs/wellbeing/your-anti-ageing-nutrition-plan
(Accessed: October 25, 2022).