They say that inner beauty radiates to the surface. But without a warm complexion, smooth textured skin and fewer wrinkles, many of us find it difficult to feel our beauty glow.
From ancient Egyptian times women have used cosmetics to beautify themselves and through the ages creams and lotions have been the key to youthful skin.
But the problem is skin care treatments generally do not penetrate deep enough to continuously generate healthy skin. While healthy glowing skin may improve your physical attractiveness and help you feel good about yourself, skin plays a larger role than you may be aware of.
The role of skin
In fact, skin being the largest organ in the body, protects the underlying tissues within the body. If it was not for our skin we would not be able to interact with the outside world.
Keeping us in "touch" with the world we live in means regulating temperature, creating physical sensations such as touch, providing an immunity barrier and eliminating toxins from the body.
Nutrients skin deep
Nutrition plays a key role in not only helping to protect the skin against damaging external factors, but also to enhance the functioning capabilities of the skin.
We have known for some time that our skin is a reflection of our nutritional status. Many signs and symptoms of nutritional deficiency are exacerbated by dry, flaky skin as well as skin lesions.
There is now both scientific and clinical evidence to suggest that enhancing the diet with the deficient vitamins, minerals or essential fatty acids improves skin conditions in these situations
What is very exciting is that we are beginning to understand much more about the best foods we need to consume to actually improve the health, functioning and beauty of our skin.
Stay tuned for specialist beauty juices and dairy products and other hot, new beauty foods. My approach is to go for a healthy diet full of foods naturally nutrient rich and close to the source as possible.
Top foods to include in your diet are carrots (help protect against skin cancer), citrus fruits (keeps skin elastic), fish (calms inflammation), wholegrain cereals (eliminates toxins), dark green vegetables (rich in antioxidants) and healthy plant oils with essential fatty acids.
For a healthy glow it also pays to drink plenty of water and green tea, go easy on the alcohol and caffeine, stay active and get a great nights sleep!
Your say: What's your skincare secret? Tell us below...
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