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Tips For a Healthy looking skin
 EAT
A WELL-BALANCED DIET:
To remain healthy, your skin needs a regular
and well-balanced supply of nutrients. You may not need any
supplements, provided you look after your skin and you are generally
healthy. Try to eat at least five portions of fresh vegetables or
fruits every day: this should be quite easy if you have three pieces
of fruit as desserts or snacks, plus a salad or vegetable dish with
two meals.
Bad skin is not
generally caused by any one food, unless it is an allergic reaction,
but particular foods can aggravate poor skin.
The myth that chocolate, sweets
and other fatty and sugary foods cause spots is not entirely unfounded: an
eating pattern high in these foods and low in fresh, vegetables and other
constituents of a healthy diet means that your skin is unlikely to be getting
all the nutrients it needs. Women who would rather eat a bar of chocolate or a
bag of crisps than an orange, for example, may lack vitamin C. This can make
your immune system less able to fight infections, including those on the
skin-spots. In addition, women often eat more chocolate at times when they are
feeling down, whether emotionally, hormonally or physically, which also has a
negative effect on the skin. If you already have spots, a diet that is high in
sugar or fat may make your system even more susceptible to bacterial infections,
which may further aggravate spots and other skin conditions.
DRINK
PLENTY OF WATER:
In our society, where
many of us have central heating and lead active lives, one of the
commonest causes of tired-looking skin is dehydration, both on the
surface and throughout the body. Aim to re-hydrate your body by
drinking two to three litres ( four to five pints) of water a day.
This should
ideally be taken as plain or lightly flavoured, unsweetened
water and not tea, coffee or other caffeine-containing or sugary
drinks.
CUT
DOWN ON TEA AND COFFEE
Women
who drink a lot of tea, coffee, hot chocolate and cola-type drinks
are more likely to have tired-looking skin and to suffer from
conditions such as greasy skin and spots. This is because these
drinks contain caffeine, which prevents your body from making good
use of the vitamins and minerals from your food. Try to drink no
more than three cups of coffee, tea or other caffeine containing
drinks a day.
KEEP
YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE LOW
Excessive alcohol
intakes may lead to skin problems such as
split veins. Try not to drink more than the recommended 21 units
a week (a unit is the equivalent of a glass of wine, a standard
measure of spirits or half a pint of beer, larger or cider of
ordinary strength).
Some women have a skin allergy to
some alcoholic drinks, which usually manifests itself as hives. Hives are little
itchy red spots that appear under the surface of the skin and make it feel hot
and sensitive; they are sometimes known as nettle rash. The most common
allergic reaction is to Salicylates, substances that occur naturally in
some foods, such as grapes, banana, beans, strawberries and other berry fruits.
If you get, a rash after eating some of these foods, beers may affect you in the
same way, since they are often high in Salicylates. Instead, choose wine, gin,
vodka or whisky.
TRY
TO GIVE UP SMOKING
Nicotine does not help
you keep a healthy skin. It attacks the blood vessels that feed the
skin with nutrients and oxygen, as well as those that drain away the
waste products from the skin. Your skin therefore becomes poor at
ridding itself of unwanted substances and in severe cases also
starts to lack oxygen.
Other substances produced by smoke
can age the skin greatly and affect the nail beds and hair follicles,
which nestle in the epidermis. If you want to have a youthful, healthy
appearance, try to give up smoking.
SPECIFIC
NUTRIENTS FOR GOOD SKIN
Vitamins A and C and the mineral zinc are all strongly linked with
good skin. They are considered part of a healthy balanced diet, and
there is usually no need to take them in supplement form. Both
vitamins should be provided from your regular intake of fresh fruits
and vegetables. Foods rich in Vitamin A include carrots,
spinach, watercress, broccoli, yellow-fleshed sweet potato and
melons such as cantaloupe. Good sources of Vitamin C are
peppers, green leafy vegetables, strawberries, kiwi fruit, oranges
and grapefruit.
Zinc is excellent for
problem skin. It helps reduce the inflammatory processes within the body and
aids healing. The body is more efficient at absorbing the zinc from foods such
as beans and other pulses, shellfish and fish, wholegrain foods, nuts and dairy
foods, rather than from tablets. If you feel your diet does not include some of
these foods most days, you may wish to take a daily 15 mg supplement. Do not
exceed this dose as high zinc levels make your body more susceptible to
bacterial and viral infections.
Another nutrient that seems to be
perfect "skin food" is biotin, a member of the vitamin B complex
(although it is also known as vitamin H). It is mainly synthesized by bacteria
in your gut, but is also found in some foods. Women who are on long-term
antibiotics, which adversely affect the bacteria within the gut, or who suffer
from any sort of gut mal-absorption condition such as Cohn's disease or
severe irritable bowel syndrome, could be rather low in biotin. A
deficiency of this vitamin causes, dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), loss
of hair and, in my experience, brittle nails.
Biotin-rich foods include eggs,
peanut butter, wholegrain foods (especially oats) and liver. Note ,that raw eggs
bind biotin in the gut and therefore will not help if you are looking to boost
your biotin intake.
Warning Although some doctors
prescribe Vitamin A based creams for skin complaints such as acne, there is no
benefit to be gained from taking additional vitamin A in the form of a
supplement . It is potentially dangerous to take a Vitamin A in the form of a
supplement without the supervision of your doctor, as it is stored in the liver
and an excess can cause severe liver damage. Vitamin A supplements taken
while a woman is pregnant may lead to birth defects.
SUPPLEMENT
YOUR DIET WITH ACIDOPHILUS AND BIFIDUS
I suggest you eat a
small pot of 'live' yogurt containing bifidus and acidophilus
bacteria everyday. These will help to rebalance the bacteria in your
gut, and will particularly help those of you who take antibiotics to
control skin problems. I see many women who have been taking
antibiotics for anything from a few weeks to years. In doing so,
their bodies suffer from side effects such as thrush and
irritable bowels. The antibiotics kill the bacteria that exist
within the healthy gut, which under normal circumstances produce
anti-inflammatory substances, anti-cancer substances, vitamin K and
energy. A good balance of bacteria needs to be re-established in
order to protect the skin against inflammation and the body against
other problems. The yogurt can be eaten on its own, flavored with
chopped or pureed fruit, poured on to fruit or cereal, or swirled
into soup or casseroles.
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