Superfoods and your skin

Beauty and skin care is not all about spending a ton of money on fancy lotions and exotic creams or getting yourself pampered at an expensive spa. Beauty is something that comes from within and your diet and lifestyle happen to play a very important part in your skin care routine. Undoubtedly, some foods are very skin friendly; moderate consumption of these foods will help improve the health of your entire body and this in turn will reflect on your skin. However, balance is the key word. No single food is responsible for building up or maintaining your skin or body;  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.


Take for instance the baby food diet. It's one of the latest fad diets which celebrities such as Jennifer Anniston, Lady Gaga and Reese Witherspoon have taken fancy to as it helps to lose weight quickly and easily. (By the way, this diet has nothing to do with skin care or anti-aging.) The drawback of this diet is that it's extremely low in calories which is one of the worst ways to try and lose weight, as it will result in water loss and possibly muscle loss and with harmful side effects such as gallstones and damaged muscles. Other fad diets where you have to eat strange combinations of foods (eg.  cabbage soup diet, ice-cream diet, grape fruit diet etc.) on a regular basis in order to drop those unwanted pounds  do not have enough carbs or protein to keep you feeling satisfied. Some, like the cabbage soup diet can cause gas (flatulence) and bad breath. You may  also experience hunger pangs, headache and dizziness due to severe calorie restriction by following these diets and in most cases the weight lost is mostly water weight and will be gained back quickly. So instead of resorting to quick fixes like this it's more healthy to lose weight by exercising and restricting one's calorie intake.



Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon have taken to Baby Food diet to lose weight

Incidentally, there are a lot of myths about the effect of certain foods on your skin and your body. For the most part they are false. It is false for instance; that eating chocolates, sugary sweets, cakes or greasy food will give you acne  It is also false that eating greasy, fried foods will make your skin oily and your hair greasy, although eating very greasy & oil-laden foods will ruin your health and can have adverse effects on your skin in the long run.Also there is no guarantee that if you fill yourself with cucumbers, blueberries, grapes, carrot juice, green tea or lettuce you will acquire a beautiful, flawless complexion. It's also an exaggeration to say that to develop a perfect skin you must take vitamin and mineral supplements exclusively or that if you consume salads regularly, it will dramatically change your appearance or that antioxidants can erase your wrinkles. These are all extraordinary claims, with no solid basis. No adequate studies have shown that if you eat fibre-rich and antioxidant rich food, you will be cancer-free, disease-free, defy ageing and live long.
Filling yourself with nutritious stuff won't guarantee flawless skin
 



In fact, stuffing yourself with too much of these superfoods and food supplements can work against you. For example, it has been found that eating too much fibre could prevent women becoming pregnant. Researchers from across the U.S. after a  2 year study on 250 women of childbearing age  found that not only hormones vital for the reproduction process dropped with high fibre intake, but that there was an increase in something called anovulation, that is, when a woman goes through a menstrual cycle but her ovaries fail to release an egg. Anovulation also occurs when hormone levels drop due to extreme exercise, anxiety or stress. Eating fibre (insoluble fibre such as bran) has also been found to exacerbate unpleasant symptoms for many people with Irritable-Bowel-Syndrome (IBS). On the other hand, surprisingly, ice cream and pasta on a regular basis could help women get pregnant. A research from Harvard Nurses' Health study has shown that two servings of ice-cream a week reduces a woman's risk of infertility by about 38%. Ice cream is a high calorie food, often shunned by women who are trying to lose their weight but amazingly it ups a woman's chances of conceiving; probably the fat in an ice cream makes ovaries work better, say scientists. Another study has also found that women who got their daily iron from pasta had lower infertility risks. How far to believe in such studies and whether they are adequate or not is another question.

Overdosing on antioxidants is also harmful; scientists say that the delicate balance of nutrients required by the body could be affected by stuffing it full of the antioxidants contained in the foods. A study by Kansas State University in the U.S has found that too much of antioxidants also results in impaired muscle function and this especially could affect older people as they could get out of breath more quickly, which in turn would prevent them from exercise and keeping fit.  Antioxidant supplements in pill form are even worse. High doses of vitamin E has been found to significantly increase the risk of death. As per the article published by Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, studies conducted have shown that supplements of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E, whether given in combination or by themselves, actually increased people's risk of death, regardless of whether the study was on those who were already ill or on those who were healthy.The study concludes saying that antioxidant pills are harmful and it's best to have a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables rather than trying to get your health from antioxidant pills. 

To conclude, though a nutritious diet is vital for overall health and vibrant skin, one mustn't go overboard. There is no one way or answer to good skin. While certain foods do have healing properties and therapeutic effects and helping yourself to just the right foods that contain adequate amount of vitamins, minerals and proteins help improve the quality of  skin, have realistic goals and hopes.  Eat foods that you love along with nutritious stuff. Also don't feel guilty to binge on oily and fried stuff and high-calorie food sometimes. Remember that to have beautiful skin a myriad of factors are involved. Having wonderful looking skin is often a combination of factors both under your control and more out of your control. Whether you like it or not, the single most important factor in determining the beauty of your complexion is heredity. That being said then one should embark on a healthy lifestyle that includes, rest, healthy food, exercise, water, good sleep, high quality supplements like omega-3 fatty acids. It would be great to get a leg up on what foods have some of the highest benefit for your skin. You can begin your path to healthy skin from here:

* Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables each day - colorful fruits and vegetables, garlic, and onions are essential for clear, healthy skin. Eat your veggies raw. Here's a quick salad you can put together - toss bean sprouts, 1 celery, lettuce and cucumber, with a twist of lemon, ginger and honey. Add salt and pepper to taste.
* Try to consume one or two fruits at least each day. Fresh fruits are a direct source of vitamins, and contain ample of water, vitamins, minerals, and fibre; they can benefit your skin and your health immensely.
* Try and consume tender coconut water at least thrice a week. Coconut water can cleanse your system better than normal water. Coconut water is full of electrolytes and vital nutrients and is very beneficial for those who want to reduce occurrence of acne and pimples. Consuming coconut water works wonders if you want to improve your complexion and also for your general skin health.
* Include fibre-rich foods like wholegrains, bajra, jowar, brown rice and wheat in your diet. Fibers aid the digestion process and helps to remove toxins from the body. Build-up of toxins are the main cause of acne and other skin problems. Other foods rich in fibres include oatmeals, whole grains, beans and lentils.
* All fat is not bad. For your skin to remain plump and supple, taking healthy fats into your system can have a deeper, healthier effect on your skin. Flax, olive and fish oils, as well as expeller-pressed cooking oils like safflower or canola, should be incorporated into the diet. Also fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon and seafood at least once a week. Olive oil and coconut oil, full of omega-3 fatty acids and coconut oil, which are heart-healthy EFAs or Essential fatty Acids, help to improve your circulation and maintain supple, smooth skin.
* Nuts and seeds include important blood-building nutrients like iron, and healthy circulation and blood are key to good skin health. Nuts and seeds also contain healthy fats, which, as noted above, keep the skin smooth and glowing. Almonds are one of the best sources of vitamin-E. Vitamin E has for long been known to assist in cellular regeneration and reducing the signs of aging. Moreover, this nutrient is also responsible for keeping your skin moisturized and hydrated.
(Guest Post by Smitha)
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