Skin Health from Within.

Skin Health from Within.

Who doesn’t want to feel & look their best?
Don’t you love when you wake up and feel refreshed & ready for another gorgeous day!
Sounds great doesn’t it? Ok it doesn’t happen every day but when it does there’s usually why you feel better than other days.
As holiday season has just finished & we are a few months away from the next holiday season… you will probably have noticed your not as chirpy, (maybe a big sluggish, is it showing on your face?) if you’ve been celebrating the holidays, (ice cream, picnics, bar BBQ’s, chilled wine etc) & are probably looking forward to a return to you regular routine.

Your health or lack of can show on your face. Its not great to hear but its true so taking action will help you both on the inside & out.

You can work two-fold to slow the aging process on the skin.

If you are striving for ultimate skin health, you need to consider not only what you put on your skin but also your skin health from within.
I’m going to discuss how you can help your skin from within here in this blog for Mint Medi Spa.

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It is constantly exposed to the different seasons & different elements, sun, wind, rain, heat & cold, not to mention air conditioning!
As we age your skin changes skin tone, loses elasticity & isn’t as smooth as it previously was.
Some vitamins and minerals can help to provide a brighter, healthier looking skin.
While its not an instant anti-ageing cure you need to include good nutritional food in your diet to provide your skin with the nutrients it needs for optimal health long term.
Take note of the food you currently eat. I find the best way to do this is to keep a food diary for a week.
Then ask yourself the following questions.
Do you eat the same foods all the time?
How do you feel in general, i.e. energy, sleep, how your skin looks?
Is your current diet nourishing you?
Are the foods you eat providing you with a balanced diet to help you achieve Optimal Health?
Can you do more to ensure your skin is a true reflection of your health?
Do you know how to get the balance right?

Whole, natural foods will provide you with a good balance of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins & minerals which all help to achieve optimal health.

The macros!

We need these in larger amounts than the micros! Think protein, fats & carbohydrates.
Good fats help us to absorb vitamins, good sources are avocado, olive oils, nuts, oily fish like salmon, trout, mackerel etc.
Protein helps with muscle maintenance, good sources are meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, tofu, lentils & beans etc.
Carbohydrates. These have received a lot of bad press in recent years, but they provide us with fuel and are the main source of fuel for our brains, (so looks like we need them)! Get your carbs from good nutritional sources like vegetables, fruit & wholegrains while ditching the processed carbs like sugar laden pre-packaged foods (they deserve the bad press). More about this below!

The micros!
Vitamins & minerals are often forgotten especially in a world where macros seem to be the main focus over the last few years when it comes to new weigh loss diets.

How many portions of fruit & vegetables do you eat? Most people get enough fruit, (some too much), but vegetable intake is generally low. Count how many portions you eat daily. Think of a rainbow colours & check you have a ‘rainbow of vegetables’ on your plate. By eating a variety of vegetables with different colours you will get a larger variety of vitamins & minerals to achieve optimal health.
Vitamins help release energy from other foods.
• They also aid the absorption of nutrients which may help anti-ageing & skin health.
• The best sources are found in fruit & vegetables.
• Aim to eat 4 plus veg per day Inc. 2 green.
• 2-3 fruit per day.
• Minerals help with digestion and absorption of nutrients from other foods.
• Al though we only need minute amounts they make up the jigsaw of optimal health.
• Again, these are mainly found in fruit & vegetables.

Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one vitamin that helps to retain your skin’s elasticity. Vitamin C helps to boost the production of a protein called collagen within your skin. Collagen helps to maintain your skin’s strength. Loss of collagen in your skin happens as we age & can lead to wrinkling, so you want to aid your skin to maintain elasticity
Good sources to include are red pepper and pineapple & oranges as sources of vitamin C.
Copper
Consuming copper — an essential mineral — can also help maintain your skin’s elasticity. Copper contributes to the production of elastin. Elastin works together with collagen to maintain the structure of your skin, which contributes to your skin’s elasticity. Consuming enough copper each day from seafood, nuts, nut butters and organ meats helps promotes normal elastin production.
Vitamin A
Another vitamin that can help keep the elasticity in your skin is vitamin A, or retinol. The vitamin A that you consume as part of your diet interacts with your skin cells and helps to regulate the production of natural oils within your skin.
These oils are important to your skin’s elasticity, since moisturized skin retains its elasticity better than dry skin.
Vitamin A is most widely used as a topical cream to help increase elasticity & decrease wrinkles in skin. It is also used in some acne products.

Good sources are egg yolks, liver & butter.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E can also contribute to maintaining your skin’s elasticity and helping to prevent visible skin aging. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in your skin cells, improving the appearance of your skin. Applying vitamin E lotion to your skin may help improve the roughness and scaling that can occur in dry, skin.

Other important skin health nutrients!
Omegas!
Mainly found in oily fish, heart healthy oilnuts & seeds these are fantastic for helping to plump your skin.

Calcium
Stored in the bones and teeth to make them strong. Calcium helps your muscles and blood vessels contract and expand.

Gut health.
Are you looking after your gut health? This is a huge area still being researched but it looks like there are direct links between our gut health & our overall health. As our skin is such a large part of us, our health or lack of, will show in our face. Ensure you are getting adequate amounts of prebiotic & probiotic foods to help achieve a healthy gut.

Processed, ready-made meals/snacks have very little nutritional benefits to the body & can make the skin more sluggish which can lead to it looking aged. Remove packet/pre prepared foods as much as possible you’re your lifestyle.

Alcohol too isn’t good for our skin & can leave it dehydrated, blotchy & even contribute to spots, (and how often have you been on a night out & are too tired too take your makeup off before bed), and that’s without adding up the extra empty calories.
If you want proof, try this for a month, take a photo of your face without makeup on the first & last day of the month. Check in with how you are feeling on a weekly basis health wise & recheck that photo after the month.

The easiest way to start!
Drinking adequate water (yes plain water), on a daily basis gives an instant boost to your metabolism. Skin starts to look plumper & fresher.
Sleep also plays an important part in your general health & again we have all noticed in the mirror if we are tired so try to get adequate sleep.
Reverse Skin damage with your Skin Clinic & ensure you have the correct products to use on a daily basis.

Why not make an appointment to invest in your health by booking for a one to one consultation or package to ensure your diet is Optimal for you.
Be the best you can be!
No matter what age you are we can all be the best you can be!
Jackie@ Optimal Health & Performance