Your skin is your largest organ in the body and is on constant visible display. Therefore, it is very important to take extra care of your skin to keep it healthy and looking its best.
A healthy diet is important for keeping your body in its best condition, including your skin's dermal layer; and your whole body overall health. As a result of your skin being on constant display, it's one of the first areas where sun damage, unhealthy eating and sleeping habits and other less-than-healthy lifestyle factors show their effects.
Over time, consuming highly processed foods, ready meals, and refined carbohydrates can cause mild inflammation of the body and aggravate skin conditions including acne, reactive skin and premature aging
Despite knowing that a poor diet damages our skin, good diets can also help us to fight UV damage and enhance our skin's radiance.
By exposing our skin to UV light, we can create free radicals, which can damage the elastin and collagen that give our skin its structure and firmness.
Studies have shown that antioxidant-rich foods, such as colorful fruits and vegetables, can fight free radicals and improve the texture of the skin.
There are key food groups to be aware of that will improve your skin and foods which you shouldn't try to avoid.
Omega-3 fatty acids in fish promote skin health and reduce inflammation in addition to providing a good source of protein (vital for collagen and elastin production and keeping your skin supple).
The Omega-3 fatty acid are loaded with Vitamin C, needed for collagen synthesis. Carotenoids and Vitamin C also protect the skin from free radicals.
Your body needs vitamin C to produce collagen.
Vitamin C might help protect collagen from breakdown and fighting free radicals.
Unless we consume foods or take supplements that contain enough vitamin C, we cannot produce vitamin C naturally.
For cellular renewal, antioxidants are vital. They also help to form collagen.
Because vitamin C is also water soluble, it protects fat soluble vitamins A and E, as well as fatty acids, from oxidation. Oxidation damages vital molecules in our cells, including DNA and proteins that are responsible for many body functions. ...Free radicals form within the cells of the prostate and start destroying cellular structures.
Vitamin C-containing foods include:
Oranges, red capsican, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, grapefruit, and guava. There are many other foods that can help you boost your Vitamin C intake; however, these suggestions seem to pack the strongest punch when it comes to improving your Vitamin C nutrition.
The synthesis of collagen requires vitamin C. Vitamin C is the cofactor for two enzymes vital to collagen synthesis: prolyl hydroxylase, which stabilizes collagen molecules, and lysyl hydroxylase, which provides structural strength cross linkage.
Compounds called carotenoids give orange and red fruit and vegetables their color, and some of these can be converted into Vitamin A, which:
Is crucial for healthy skin and cell renewal.
Animals and plants produce this vitamin, so carotenoids are the plant sources and retinoids are the animal sources.
The retinoids found in vitamin A support the reconstruction of collagen and assist with the removal of dead skin cells from the epidermis to reveal younger and healthier skin underneath.
Foods that contain vitamin A include:
Sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, winter squashes, lettuce, dried apricots, cantaloupe, Capsicum , fish, liver, and tropical fruits.
As a result, vitamin A strengthens, heals and regulates the skin, ensuring a healthy, balanced complexion. Combining a powerful blend of vitamin A like DMK’s Revitosin, it helps to regulate cell proliferation, oil flow, and encourages RNA synthesis, prevents cell degeneration. A very versatile formulation, Revitosin is suitable for acne, pigmentation, ageing, scarring and stretch marks.
How Vitamin E Benefits the Skin
Vitamin E may protect your skin from the damage caused by premature aging caused by UV exposure and environmental pollutants.
In conjunction with vitamin C, they work well to help rebuild collagen.
Vitamin E supports cell health, the immune system, and the health of the skin. Since it is an antioxidant, it is effective in reducing free radicals that are produced by the metabolism of food and toxins in the environment. Vitamin E may also reduce the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays on the skin.
The Best Vitamin E Foods for the Skin
To boost your vitamin E intake, you can eat foods such as nuts, avocados, spinach, whole grains, and seafood if you're not allergic to them.
Zinc is one of the many essential nutrients that your body needs. It mainly works to enhance your immune system by fighting off bacteria and viruses. A zinc supplement, are often sold as a way to prevent colds or shorten illnesses.
When it comes to treating skin conditions, zinc has anti-inflammatory properties. Acne sufferers may find it helps to relieve some of the redness and irritation. The treatment may even reduce the appearance of acne scars
Foods that contain Zinc:
Oysters
Beef
Chicken
Pork
Legumes - chickpeas, lentils and beans
Seeds - Pumpkin, sesame and squash
Nuts - pine, peanuts, cashews and almonds
Avoid refined carbohydrates and sugars, such as sweets, white bread, pastries, white rice, sugary drinks and many kinds of breakfast cereals. By replacing these foods with healthier carbohydrate sources like vegetables, whole grains, and fruits that are antioxidant-rich
When you consume refined and processed carbs regularly, your blood sugar levels are likely to increase rapidly, therefore signaling the pancreas to release insulin, resulting in your body producing more oil, which then leads to acne.
A high sugar diet could damage collagen, which is the protein that makes the skin strong and may even promote skin elasticity and hydration.
Whey and casein, two of the main proteins in milk, stimulate growth hormones in calves. Milk may also produce the same effect in humans. When our bodies try to break down these proteins, a hormone called IGF-1 is released, which causes skin inflammation. Interesting enough, skim milk seems to be the biggest culprit for breakouts.
The consumption of too much alcohol, especially beer, which contains the most carbs of any alcohol, can cause health complications in the long term, however, it may dry out your skin right away. Drinking alcohol routinely and not drinking enough water can even cause your skin to prematurely age.
For reactive skins, like eczema or psoriasis, There’s is a theory that some foods can trigger your cells to release histamine. These conditions have some form of a histamine reaction and you may experience hives, itchy or flushed skin, red eyes, facial swelling, runny nose and congestion, headaches, or asthma attacks. It is generally said that fermented foods contain the most histamine. However, unprocessed fresh foods contain the lowest level of histamine.
Foods containing higher levels of histamine include:
Dairy products that are fermented, such as cheese (especially aged cheese), yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, and kefir
The fermentation of vegetables, such as kimchi
pickles or pickled veggies
kombucha
Fermented or cured meats, such as ham, salami, and sausages
Alcohol - Champagne, beer, and wine
fermented soy products such as, miso, soy sauce, and natto
fermented grains, such as sourdough bread
tomatoes
eggplant
spinach
frozen, salted, or canned fish, such as sardines and tuna
vinegar
tomato ketchup
DMK’s EFA Ultra
This powerful supplement, which contains omega 3, 6, 7 and 9, is made up of more than 190 nutrients and bioactive substances, all derived from plant sources. DMK's EFAs have the advantage of containing omega-7, making them one of the best on the market. Similar supplements lack omega-7. A blend of coconut oil, mekabu seaweed, sea buckthorn, and evening primrose soothes and nourishes the skin, helps maintain its moisture levels, and improves its barrier function. Skin conditions such as acne, reactive skin, pigmentation, hormonal imbalances, and even fine lines and wrinkles can be greatly improved with EFA Ultra.
DMK’s Digestive Tune-Up
The gut is the first step to a healthy lifestyle, as it houses 70 % of our immune system. It is not surprising that it is also the site where skin growth originates. There are a variety of symptoms associated with gut health issues, including fatigue, constipation, bloating, bad breath, headaches, weight gain, hormonal imbalances, sluggishness, and auto-immune problems. A healthy gut and skin are closely connected, and imbalances inside the gut can show up as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and rosacea.
Things you can do to help maintain a healthy gut:
Make sure you drink enough water, at least eight glasses a day.
Avoiding sugar, which feeds harmful bacteria and creates toxins in the body.
You can aid the excretion process by including fibre in your diet. Eventually, the skin will have to excrete what it can, which can cause skin problems if substances are left in the body for too long.
By exercising regularly, your body functions will become more efficient and your organs will operate more effectively.
Avoid drinking alcohol because it can harm the levels of good gut bacteria.
Replace coffee with herbal teas like green tea. In addition to containing antioxidants, it also reduces inflammation and aids in sleep.
There is evidence that ingesting certain probiotics can improve the skin's barrier as well as affect its hydration and moisture loss. In a similar way to the gut microbiome, our skin also has good and bad bacteria and finding a balance could lead to improved skin health. It will help the appearance of our skin to maintain a healthy gut microbiome and feed it with the right kinds of food.
Foods that contain Probiotics:
Kefir
Sauerkraut
Kombucha
Natto
Yogurt
Raw Cheese
Apple cider vinegar