People of all types and all ages struggle with skin conditions like acne, rosacea, or sun damage/ ageing.There is strong evidence to support the connection between skin health and nutrition.
Firstly, it is important to identify and eliminate foods that may cause or aggravate skin issues such as sugar, refined grains, gluten, dairy, vegetable oils and processed foods in general. These can cause inflammation of the skin and abnormal immune responses.
General dietary advice is to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and some fruit, trying to eat a variety of different types and colours. Consume good quality grass fed animal protein in the form of eggs and meat, which contain more anti-inflammatory omega oils and choose to eat wild, non-farmed fish and seafood. Fresh herbs such as parsley, coriander, basil, thyme, oregano and sage can help with skin conditions. Consider eliminating eggs and dairy for 30 days as these may aggravate skin conditions.
Superfoods for skin include bone broths for collagen support and gut health (or grass fed beef gelatin). Organ meats contain many nutrients important for skin like Vitamin A and zinc. Fermented foods are rich in probiotics (good bacteria) which support our gut health (which is strongly linked to skin health). I will discuss the importance of gut health in an upcoming article.
Ensuring adequate hydration with appropriate water or herbal tea intake and avoiding caffeine and alcohol which can dehydrate and aggravate skin conditions.
Making sure you are getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night. Taking measures to alleviate stress through meditation, getting out in nature, and exercise (not over-exercising) are important. Cortisol a stress hormone can aggravate skin conditions.
In my next few articles I will discuss key nutrients in detail.
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