Start counting lunchtime as part of your beauty routine.
At Green City, we’re certainly no strangers to topical treatments, facials and other skin conditioning services that encourage naturally beautiful skin. We champion natural skin treatments and products, as we discussed in our summer skin care post, along with encouraging all of our clients to fight aging, sun damage and other harmful effects to their skin from the inside out.
A healthy diet rich in nutrients and colorful fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods affects skin at the cellular level. Read on for tips on how to eat your way to healthy skin.
AVOID “HEALTHY” DIET PITFALLS
One of the biggest beauty mistakes you can make is to sacrifice a healthy diet for a weight-loss diet—and there’s a difference. For example, people on low-carb diets may experience a lower daily fiber intake, which may prevent skin from properly detoxing. Similarly, if you’re on a vegan or vegetarian diet for either weight loss or ethical reasons, you might run the risk of swapping animal products with processed foods, which can send your skin into serious inflammation mode.
On the other hand, diets with nutrient-rich, whole foods can be very beneficial to your complexion. Vegan and vegetarian diets that are fruit- and veggie-heavy and light on processed foods are super-rich in vitamins A, E, B, C and D, all of which contribute to skin radiance.
THINK BLUE…
While we can’t go into detail about every glow-worthy food on the planet, one of our summer favorites is blueberries, which are skin care powerhouses. A single handful of blueberries is loaded with vitamin C, which repairs the effects of sun damage, fights free radicals (which contribute to wrinkles and other signs of aging) and help to produce collagen, which supports skin elasticity and youthfulness. (You can also get vitamin C from citrus fruits, kiwi and strawberries—who knew you could get gorgeous just by eating fruit salad?).
…AND GREEN
By now, most of us are long past thinking of “eating your greens” as punishment, and hopefully realize how important they are to a healthy diet. As we’ve said before, they are great for healthy skin too, but now we’re giving you even more information on the specifics why! Dark, leafy greens like kale, chard and spinach are packed with vitamin C and vitamin A (vitamin A is particularly beneficial to skin conditions like acne and eczema). Broccoli is another green veggie that boosts radiance with tissue-restoring vitamin B and vitamin E, which also protects cell membranes.
Though not a vegetable, green tea is another antioxidant-loaded ingredient. Drink a cup in the morning to fight wrinkles and skin discoloration (plus, the moderate caffeine in green tea will perk up your under-eye circles). This is one super-ingredient that is highly effective in topical treatments—we use it in our Herbal Eye Enhancement skin care treatment and salon products.
Learn more about healthy skin care and how Green City can help you discover your best skin. Visit the blog, follow us on Twitter and Facebook or schedule a skin care appointment.
