How Eating Fruits and Veggies Rejuvenates Your Skin
It’s common knowledge that fruits and vegetables are beneficial to your health. This powerful produce can do amazing things, from offering protection against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease to giving you more than enough vitamins and minerals to keep you energized and healthy. What we don’t hear about as often is how fruits and vegetables are also really good for your skin. As a matter of fact, eating fruits and vegetables is imperative to skin health, and without it, your skin is sure to deteriorate over time.
What to Know About Fruits and Your Skin
What’s in Fruits and Veggies?
Fruits and vegetables contain a large number of vitamins. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K can all be found in fruits and veggies. Vitamins D, C, E, and K, in particular, are good for the skin. Beyond a multitude of vitamins, fruits and veggies contain antioxidants which are essential for good skin health.
How Do They Affect The Skin?
Powerful antioxidants have the most positive effects on the skin. Antioxidants are compounds that prevent oxidation in the body. Oxidation creates free radicals, which are basically atoms that run amok, causing damage to cells. These damaged cells, specifically skin cells, is what leads to wrinkles, sagging skin, and other signs of aging. Eating foods high in antioxidants can stop this process and help you keep healthy, youthful skin when you’re past your prime.
Vitamin C is concentrated in high levels within both the first and second layer of our skin. Being that it is an antioxidant, it plays a large role in the body’s use of collagen. Collagen is the main building block of proteins that helps the body repair damaged cells and regenerate wounded or scarred skin (think acne scars and breakouts).
Vitamin E is also a powerful vitamin. It too is an antioxidant, but this vitamin focuses more on fighting sun damaged skin by being able to absorb some of the sun’s harmful UV rays. It can even treat inflammation while providing necessary moisture to the skin.
Which Foods Work Best?
Oranges
Oranges are chock-full of Vitamin C. It’s the perfect (and delicious) way to up your intake of the healthy vitamin.
Avocados
Talk about a healthy dose of antioxidants! Avocados have what we consider to be healthy fats. This includes omega 3 fatty acids that act as a natural skin moisturizer.
Carrots
Similar to spinach, kale, pumpkin, and more, carrots have beta carotene in them. Beta carotene is also an antioxidant and, in true antioxidant fashion, it eliminates free radicals from the skin and essentially slows down the aging process.
These are just a few power-foods that can help you achieve glowing, healthy skin. But the truth is, having a large variety of fruits and vegetables as a part of your daily meals will give you flawless skin.
If you want to learn more, wish to try a cosmetic alternative to getting glowing skin, and are in Cincinnati, Ohio, our experts at The Dermatology Group can offer advice and resources. Give us a call today!