At this time of year with the sun shining, holidays being booked and the shedding of those warmer winter layers, many of us feel our skin lacking in hydration, dry, spotty, oily and not being able to achieve a natural glow. I’m personally not a fan of slathering my face with lotions and potions and prefer to enhance my skin from the inside… with diet and good hydration. Here’s my guide to eating for healthy glowing skin.
Vegetables and fruit to eat for healthy skin
Apple
Apples are rich in vitamin C, which is fantastic for skin firming and collagen production. Apples also help to prevent free radical damage, so may help keep those wrinkles at bay and delay premature skin ageing. Simply eating an apple a day or including in a daily smoothie can do so much good.
Beetroot
Not everyone loves the earthy taste of beetroot but it’s a rich source of anthocynanins – a powerful antioxidant that prevents the appearance of wrinkles! One of my favourite ways to eat it is sprinkled with lemon juice and mixed into a luscious green salad. It’s also fabulous in a smoothie with apple, ginger and carrot, plus a handful of zinc rich pumpkin seeds… a potent skin boosting drink!
Carrots
Carrots don’t just help you to see in the dark! As they are high in beta carotene (which is converted by the body to vitamin A) this makes it a must-eat vegetable in your daily diet for keeping skin healthy and glowing. You can eat carrots as a healthy lunch snack, batoned with hummus, grated into a salad, or for an extra boost drink it in a smoothie with its fibre intact!
You can add carrots to your salad or cook it to make a dish. Drinking carrot, apple and ginger smoothie with the fibre intact is also a great way to boost your beauty. I also have a great carrot and orange muffin recipe!
Lemon and lemon water
This fruit has a high content of vitamin C, which is needed for the synthesis of collagen – helping to keep dullness at bay and skin bright and plump. We all know hydration is also a key way to keeping skin fresh and spot free, so I recommend a squeeze of lemon in a glass of warm water and have it first thing in the morning (also great for kick starting your metabolism and you liver… so vital for that healthy glow!) You can add a spoonful of raw honey also in the mixture. Or, simply add a dash of lemon juice on your salad. The lemon really is a mighty yellow fruit!
Pumpkin seeds
How about trying pumpkin seeds to brighten your complexion. Packed with zinc, which is vital in the creation of new skin cells. They may also help to improve skin tone and control oil production in your skin, so fantastic for anyone suffering with oily skin. These are so easy to incorporate into your diet and have the added benefit of being an easy to travel snack for a 3pm craving! Simply have handful of pumpkin seeds as a snack, add to salads, soups, curries and more for an extra layer of texture and taste. You can also toast them in a dry pan, and add a sprinkle of tamari or soya sauce for a healthy, savoury snack. See my recipe here.
Spinach
Popeye recommended it for strength, but I love spinach because its super packed with antioxidants and so really skin protective. Spinach also contains compounds which may help strengthen skin tissue and anti-inflammatory properties to help flush out toxins, giving clear, glowing skin.
Spinach is super versatile and can be eaten raw in salads, boiled and eaten with everything and anything and added in big handfuls to a morning smoothie it can make it more palatable for those who aren’t so keen! Get organic where you can, so you’re not loading in the pesticides.
Strawberry
It’s strawberry season so here’s a good reason to support a local farm shop or PYO by purchasing delicious in season food. Strawberries have energy boosting and antioxidant properties so pop in your morning smoothie and for an extra skin boost you could look at making a strawberry face mask by mashing together with honey and natural yogurt!
Sweet potato
My beloved sweet potato! Being anti-inflammatory in nature, sweet potato has high vitamin A content which helps fight acne-causing bacteria. The presence of vitamin C further improves skin tone and can help to heal scars. I love them on their own in their skins with hummus, or cut into wedges, sprinkled with paprika and roasted.
Tomato
Tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant called lycopene which has anti-ageing properties and acts as a sunscreen from within (this does not mean you can stop using sunscreen with 5star UVA rating though!). Since tomato is acidic in nature, its pulp helps tighten pores and prevent spots – so another facemask opportunity!
Tomatoes are hugely versatile and delicious raw and on their own or cooked and as the base for so many delicious stews and pasta sauces!
So there you have it – my favourite vegetables and fruit for beautiful glowing skin!