With more information on the skin-food connection than ever before, your ticket to radiant, glowing skin is now served up on a silver platter that’s filled with fresh, leafy greens, colorful veggies and only the best omega-3s.
In other words, the health of our skin depends strongly on our diet, explains Dr. Yoram Harth, Board Certified Dermatologist, Medical Director of MDacne, to Lively.
“The wrong food will result in poorly-functioning collagen fibers, elastic fibers and stratum corneum. This results in dull-looking skin. Providing your skin with the right diet can make our skin healthier and glowing.”
Ready to eat your way to your healthy skin? Start with these five food groups.
THE BEST FOODS FOR HEALTHY SKIN
LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLES
Turns out Popeye was onto something with his infamous spinach obsession. “Spinach is rich in antioxidants,” explains Dr. Harth.
Dr. Harth advises that spinach be eaten raw. “Like most leafy greens, spinach contains oxalic acid, an acid that interferes with the body’s calcium and iron absorption,” he explains. “Cooking the spinach can neutralize the unwanted effects of oxalic acid and allow better absorption of calcium and iron in our gastrointestinal tract.”
Kale is another leafy green that packs a whole lot of skincare benefits. It has even been touted as one of the hottest veggies out there (making all other veggies green with envy, no doubt), since it seems to be on the ingredient list of almost every famous supermodel’s go-to smoothie recipe.
But rest assured that kale, with its high dose of minerals and vitamin A and vitamin C, is the real deal.
MATCHA
Green tea is an antioxidant powerhouse, much like its finely ground counterpart: Matcha. What makes matcha so great in this arena is the level of antioxidants it provides. One study found that matcha has 137 times the number of antioxidants of regular green tea. Why is that? Matcha is actually fully ground tea leaves that you then add to water or milk, whereas traditional green tea is just steeped. Matcha allows you to get the benefits of the entire tea leaf!