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Healthy, young-looking skin doesn’t necessarily come in a bottle. Many of us spend more than we care to admit on those expensive lotions and creams, hoping it will be the cure-all for whatever imperfections we might have. However, the food we put into our body can be making more of an impact on the skin than we realize.
Lurking behind the labels are ingredients that can wreak havoc on our bodies. Registered Dietician Joy Musselman says our bodies change, depending on our what we eat: “Our body is made up of components and those components rely on the nutrients in our food," she said.
One of the biggest offenders, sugar, sometimes is hidden in products while other times it's staring us right in the face. Excess sugar in the body attaches to collagen, causing the skin to lose elasticity, making skin look old and wrinkled.
Next on the list — trans fats. “If we eat a poor diet high in trans-fats and processed foods, than can certainly help us to age more quickly,” Musselman said.
Like sugar, trans fats make the skin appear stiff and old by contributing to the breakdown of collagen.
Last, but definitely not least — salt. Sodium can cause you to retain water as well as dehydrate the body. Dehydrated skin tends to look dull and tired.
Musselman said, “for anti-aging, the foods that are really going to give you a big boost are what we call super foods.”
For skin, some of the best super foods are blueberries, cucumbers and romaine lettuce. Full of antioxidants, they help revitalize the skin, encourage new cell growth and fight the free radicals that cause wrinkles. Sunflower seeds prevent the breakdown of collagen, while red peppers and Brussels sprouts help to rebuild.
If you want long, thick hair, try adding beans to your diet. Carrots and spinach add a healthy shine. To add moisture to those dry locks eat salmon.
Musselman suggests “looking at small ways that we can make changes in our life that would improve or make our habits more healthy” and you'll soon find those little changes will pay off, and that proves that it's not what's outside, but what's inside that counts.
