Can you improve skin with good nutrition?
Yes, you can improve skin with good nutrition, but it’s limited. You can’t take 65 year old skin, add extra nutrients and supplements, and turn it into skin 15 years younger. We all wish! Starting in your 20s to use nutrition to help prevent skin aging is more effective, in conjunction with daily sunscreen, exercise, and other skincare product optimization (See my favorite skincare products here).
Here are some ways to improve skin with good nutrition
- Daily use of probiotics: There is a connection between the gut and skin that we don’t understand very well yet. What does seem clear is that a healthy gut means better skin! Read up on probiotics and which ones to take. Also, in Europe there is now a group of products using probiotics in skin creams. We’ll see more research on this in the next few years and probably use in the U.S.
- Healthy oils in our diets matter: Skin has a lot of lipids that help hold cells together. Supplements aren’t as good, it’s turning out, as just eating things like olive oil, avocado oil, eating real fish, etc, in moderation daily.
- Get adequate protein: Your skin, nails and hair are made of keratin. If you are severely protein deficient, your hair will actually fall out. What is adequate depends on your size, sex, work out habits, etc. Try consulting the app MyFitnessPal.
- Good doses of antioxidants: In general, the more you eat of these the better. These help prevent damage to cell DNA by scavenging and neutralizing free radicals. Cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, beans, artichokes, and Russet potatoes are all good sources.
All the best,
Dr. I
Related posts:
