The 5 Essential Nutrients for Healthy Glowing Skin
Eat your way to glowing skin you say? Now that sounds like my kind of diet!
Over the past month I have attended a number of training courses, seminars & workshops all about skin! The thing that stood out to me the most was the huge emphasis that was placed on properly nourishing your body from the inside out in order to achieve the healthy, radiant & youthful skin that we all want. This holistic view of treating skin is something I talk about with all of my skin clients on a daily basis, particularly those suffering with skin concerns such as acne, dermatitis, eczema & rosacea. I truly believe that great skin begins within!
So please grab a cuppa (or herbal tea) & read on for my top 5 essential nutrients for glowing skin & how to include them into your daily diet!
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for the skin as it helps support collagen production, controls Keratin production (Keratin is the substance that makes up most of our skin cells) & it helps keep skin strong. Like many essential nutrients out body needs them to function however it relies on our diet to source them. Vitamin A very rarely needs to be supplemented & is readily available in a wide range of food sources including pumpkin, sweet potato, eggs, leafy greens & paw paw.
Top Tip – Avoid boiling these foods to get the most Vitamin A out of them!
2. Vitamin B Complex
When we talk about Vitamin B Complex we are talking about a number of different forms of Vitamin B, many of which are essential for healthy skin. Vitamin B Complex will include Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-5 & Vitamin B-6, just to name a few!
Vitamin B Complex is needed for the skin to be able to regulate cell turnover & sebum production as well as efficiently utilise Essential Fatty Acids. Vitamin B can be found in meat, eggs, seafood, nuts & seeds & can be tricky to get from diet along & often needs to be supplemented - my favourite is the Ethical Nutrients Super B Daily Stress.
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C holds a special place in my heart! Vitamin C is essential for supporting collagen production & wound healing in the skin & it is also an antioxidant that is responsible for fighting against free radical damage a.k.a the nasty little guys that cause premature ageing (free radicals are EVERYWHERE & impossible to escape so we need all the help we can get to fight them!).
Vitamin C is EASY to get from a balanced diet alone & should rarely need to be supplemented because it is found in a number of fresh fruits & vegetables, including berries, oranges, lemons, broccoli, cauliflower & squash.
4. Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral for optimal skin health, it is crucial to the transportation of Vitamin A, wound healing, sebum regulation & enzymatic activity (this will impact the skin’s ability to shed old skin cells). The levels of Zinc our food contains all comes down to the soil that it is grown in & unfortunately more often than not in the modern world, our soil is zinc deficient. I would recommend everyone start taking a Zinc supplement especially people suffering with acne, eczema or any other inflammatory skin condition. I like Bioceutical Zinc Drops.
5. Essential Fatty Acids
Essential Fatty Acids, or EFA’s, are exactly that, ESSENTIAL for skin (& brain) health! The skin needs EFA’s to be able to create an effective barrier to keep out different microbes & bacteria & keep your skin healthy, strong & hydrated. In the western world, EFA’s are the nutrient we are most commonly deficient in. Essential fatty acids can be found in nuts, avocados & oily fish, although you would need to eat a large amount of any of these to receive the amount we need for optimal skin health.
EFA supplements are something that I recommend to almost all of my client & there is no surprises that my favourite is the Bestow Beauty: Beauty Plus Oil, which I proudly stock Mee & You Beauty. In my humble opinion, Essential Fatty Acids are non-negotiable for healthy, radiant skin.
I hope this resource provided some helpful information & of course, if you have any questions or want to know more, please don’t hesitate to ask myself or the Mee & You Beauty team at your next appointment. See you in the salon soon!