Can Inner Health Really Affect Outer Beauty?

Can inner health really affect outer beauty? 

Skin is one of the most nutritionally vulnerable parts of the body. The production of new skin cells requires good supplies of nutrients, and deficiency can affect skin quality as we get older. During youth, it takes around one month for a newly formed skin cell to move from the lowest level of the skin to the surface. These cells are then shed and replaced with new skin cells. As skin ages, however, cell turnover slows so it takes longer for them to reach the surface. Cells also stay on the surface for longer, so skin seems more dull and flaky than before.

 

The good news is that you can slow your internal ageing and reduce the visible external signs of skin ageing through certain dietary and lifestyle changes.

 

Eat healthily 

A healthy diet is just as important for your skin as it is for your heart and circulation. Women who eat a protein rich diet that contains less fat and less carbohydrate/sugar have fewer wrinkles and less skin fragility[i]. Excess sugar can bind to skin proteins in a process called glycosylation, which contributes to skin wrinkling. The quality of the fat in your diet is also important. Those consuming more olive and fish oils but less butter, polyunsaturated fat (eg margarine)and full-fat milk are also less likely to develop wrinkles[ii].  

 

Fruit and vegetables 

Several antioxidant vitamins and minerals help to protect skin against sun damage. Women over the age of 40 who have higher intakes of vitamin C have been shown to have less skin wrinkles and dryness than those with low intakes, for example[iii]. Oral intakes of carotenoids (yellow-orange plant pigments) also offer significant protection against sun damage and skin ageing[iv]. Most dietary antioxidants are obtained from the fruit and vegetables in our diet. Researchers[v] have discovered the vegetables which offer the most protection against sun damage and skin wrinkling are legumes (especially broad beans and lima beans), spinach and other green leafy vegetables, aubergine, asparagus, celery, onions/leeks and garlic. The fruits that offer most protection against skin wrinkles are olive, cherries, melon, dried fruit/prunes, apples and pears. Nuts are also protective.

 

Glucosamine provides building blocks for the formation of healthy connective tissue, and is as beneficial for skin as it is for joints. Taking a supplement containing glucosamine, minerals and antioxidants can improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles[vii].

 

Plant isoflavones have an antioxidant action as well as stimulating oestrogen receptors in the skin. A preliminary study suggests that dietary isoflavones may help to protect skin against sun damage and reduce wrinkle formation[viii].

 

 

 

Finally, I would advise avoid excess stress – it’s better to cultivate laughter lines in place of frown lines!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/23/2/157

 

 

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