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In a recent blog we talked about how exercise and running can help you to live longer. And while scientists have shown that keeping fit reduces the ravages of time internally, on our heart and other organs, for example, when it comes to our outer appearance it’s not always so easy to hide the aging process.
Our skin is our largest organ – and it’s one that is most likely to show the aging process.
Why Does Skin Show Our Age?
There are a number of reasons why the skin ages:
How Can We Keep Our Skin Looking Younger?
These days so many more people are turning to artificial means in the bid to look younger. They seem happy to pay to fight age with creams, Botox and other more invasive treatments.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. If you exercise and eat the right foods then you have a much greater chance of keeping your skin looking younger for longer.
In fact, new research shows that a diet rich in certain nutrients may prevent and reverse skin aging. The study found a strong link between aging skin and poor dietary habits.
Scientists found that women with above-average intakes of vitamin C and linoleic acid and who ate fewer fats and carbohydrates are more likely to have healthier, more youthful-looking skin.
An A To Z Of The Best Foods For Your Skin
Acai Fruit: Also called “Botox in a bottle”, the juice of the Acai fruit is claimed as the number one natural way to keep you looking young thanks to its detoxifying and rejuvenating properties. Supermarkets and health food shops sell Acai juice in mixed juice drinks.
Avocados: Great for improving the health of your skin thanks to the presence of vitamin E and lutein.
Berries: All kinds of berries, but especially raspberries, cranberries and strawberries, contain the antioxidant ellagic acid. In layman’s terms, these foods will protect your skin against the ravages of sun damage.
Carrots: An excellent source of vitamin A and perfect for maintaining the skin. People short on vitamin A are more likely to have dry or rough skin.
Dark Chocolate: Oh how we will all welcome this fab food! Recent research found that the flavonols in chocolate act in much the same way as antioxidants. The study showed that 20g dark chocolate daily for 12 weeks offered an improvement in skin resistance to UV light.
Flaxseed Oil: High in omega-3 and 6 essential fatty acids, this oil is believed to be a powerful fighter against skin roughness and scaling.
Goji Berry: Also known as the Wolfberry, the small, reddy-orange fruit is high in Vitamin C and dubbed the “cellulite assassin”. Can be bought in juice from health food stores.
Kiwis: This tasty fruit is extremely high in vitamin C. And vitamin C is thought to be one of the most
 powerful antioxidants, seeing off the free radicals that damage skin.
Liver: As well as being a great source of energy-giving iron, liver is high in Vitamin B2, which is required in the body to repair nails, skin and hair. It’s also claimed to help combat greying hair.
Nuts: A handful of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia or pistachio nuts provide a great dose of zinc, which can help to keep your skin clear and glowing. Choose unsalted nuts if possible.
Raisins: A handful of raisins provides a fantastic dose of antioxidants.
Salmon: A diet rich in oily fish, such as salmon, mackerel and tune, is thought to promote glowing skin.
Tea: White tea is thought to be the best and has tons of antioxidants. Scientists also claim that white tea blocks enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, and therefore stops the skin from becoming saggy!
Tomatoes: A great source of lycopene, which is another nutrient with great antioxidant properties.
By FionaOutdoors
