Skincare through proper nutrition is the best way to support the needs of your skin when it goes through the daily processes of damage repair and rejuvenation. Yet the concept of proper nutrition is easier said than done since not all of us are knowledgeable about the type of food to eat to supply our skin with its daily nutritional requirement.
Besides, our skin is the largest body organ that needs nutrient supplementation, which denotes greater usage and demand on what we consume regularly. Moreover, the demand becomes greater when our body ages and slows down with the production of natural chemicals that help boost the skin’s protection against harmful external elements like UV rays.
Below are some examples of the important nutrients to include as part of a diet that more or less provides the essential elements of nutritional skincare.
Foods Rich in Vitamin C
Fruits and vegetables rich Vitamin C are the most recommended sources of nutrition for the skin. Vitamin C influences a body’s natural production of collagen, a protein present in skin cells and connective tissues to enhance their elasticity, durability and resiliency against damages.
Vitamin C is in fact an antioxidant that acts on free radicals that cause oxidative stress and damage on skin cells. Unhealthy levels of toxic oxygen prevent the skin cells from undergoing normal repair processes; resulting in oxidative damage that leads to dry and wrinkled skin conditions.
The best sources of Vitamin C are apple, oranges, strawberry, spinach and broccoli.
Foods that Contain Alpha Lipoic Acids
Alpha-lipoic acid or ALA is a fatty acid that naturally occurs in the lipid layers of the skin and in water-filled skin cells. However, it needs supplementation because the body produces only minimal amounts of ALA. Foods rich in ALA include spinach, broccoli, potatoes, yeast and meat from animal organs like liver and kidney.
Like Vitamin C, ALA works best as an antioxidant. As a fatty acid, it bind to oxidants to act as barriers against toxins.
Additionally, ALA also influences the supply of nitric oxide, a critical mineral in blood circulation. Increasing the levels of nitric oxide in our body will allow sufficient amount of blood to flow into skin tissues that outwardly registers as a healthy and glowing complexion.
In light of these many uses, supplementing our body with alpha lipoic acids by regularly including ALA-rich food will allow our body to supply our skin with enough fatty acids to keep the skin supple and wrinkle-free.
Foods Rich in Carotenoids
Carotenoids are also antioxidants found in a number of plants particularly those with orange, yellow or red. Their fat-soluble pigments not only give color to the plants but also provide protection against the sun’s UV rays during photosynthesis.
Scientific researches have also discovered that carotenoids can stimulate collagen and elastin production that improves skin elasticity, density and firmness.
Moreover, nutrition scientists identified the combination of carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin as potent nutritional ingredients. These two carotenoids found mostly in naturally yellow and orange colored foods like carrots, oranges, cantaloupes, yellow peppers and egg yolks influence the body’s ability to repair and regenerate cells of protein fibers damaged by ultraviolet (UV) rays. As such, they are helpful not only in protecting and rejuvenating not only the skin but also the eyes.
If you will notice, most dermatological clinics are into selling private label skin care products that use only natural or plant-based ingredients. Doing so helps their customers find the right skin care agents based on their skin type and dermatological issues. These businesses work with contract manufacturers whose formulations use only natural ingredients. Readers interested to know more about private label brands can find additional information in this web page.