I’m often asked by patients if any ‘type of food or diet’ can help improve the general condition of skin. The answer to this one is a very definate ‘yes’ and so I’ve dug out a few articles written by Patrick Holford, one of the U.K’s top nutritionalists, to give you some basic facts on the realtionship between diet and skin health and some top tips to help improve and maintain ‘good skin’.

A good diet consistsisting of fresh, untreated foods is essential for the health of your entire body, not just your skin and reducing the speed at which it ages or degenerates in any way. Given the importance of keeping your digestive tract and liver in good working order for healthy skin, a diet should include foods naturally high in fibre, e.g. raw or lightly cooked veg and fruit, wholegrains, root vegetables, lentils and beans, well chewed and eaten when you are relaxed.

A recent report in the British Journal of Nutrition stated that ‘dietary bioactive compounds - including Vitamin A and C, carotenoids, polyphenols, selenium and zinc - have beneficial efects on skin health.’ It also noted that the use of functional foods and oral supplementation for improving skin conditions is increasing.

Eating plenty of anti-oxident rich foods everyday is therfore a key dietary factor - red/orange vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots and watermelon, purple foods such as berries and grapes, green foods such as watercress, kale, alfalfa sprouts and broccoli, ’seed’ foods such as peas and wholegrains, fresh nuts, seeds and their oils, onions and garlic.

So remember;

The rainbow rule…foods that offer a range of colours to keep you healthy

Fresh and Raw….vegetables and fruit are best when just picked and eaten raw.

Water and Fibre….fresh fruit and vegetables have a high water content so are great for increasing your water intake and cleansing the gut with undigested fibre.

Good Luck

Kate x

Face the Future - Advanced Skin Clinic 

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 am and is filed under Age Management, General, Health, Skin Problems. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.