How To Have Beautiful Skin

Naturally beautiful skin is made from the inside and you can help your skin by eating beauty foods packed with vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients.

Whatever your problem area, whether it be acne prone skin, dry skin, dull skin or aging skin there are beauty foods to help you.

I have put together a list of the major vitamins and minerals involved in giving you naturally beautiful skin from the inside including links to recipe ideas.

Over recent years manufacturers have recognized the importance of vitamins, minerals and plant based botanicals. From firming and lifting, improving skin tone and moisturizing to getting rid of pimples and acne, natural ingredients found in plants and vegetables are making their way into skin care products.

Plants contain vitamins, minerals and numerous phytonutrients. These nutrients protect against tissue damage, boost cell renewal and delay many visible effects of the aging process. They can give your skin a radiant glow, alter the colour of your skin and also improve thinning skin.

Every year millions of women buy into the claims from skin care manufacturers in their search for flawless skin. These companies spend literally billions on research, development, manufacture, market research and advertising to get their products out into the market and in front of millions of women, just like you, who want beautiful glowing skin. It's a huge business.

The truth is you can nurture beautiful skin naturally from the inside quite easily and save yourself a fortune in the process. Simply add these beauty foods to your diet and see how effective they are at smoothing, firming, softening and tightening.

1 For Clear Skin

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, better known as Retinol, is one of the major anti oxidant vitamins for keeping your skin flawless. It promotes cell turnover, inhibits sun damage and decreases inflammation. Vitamin A deficiencies can cause scaly, dry skin and slow wound healing.

Acne and Rosacea sufferers are often prescribed preparations containing Vitamin A, listed as Retin-A. This ingredient helps your skin produce more fresh new cells, get rid of the old skin cells, it reduces dryness and keeps your face looking bright and young.

Orange and red fruits and vegetables such as oranges, cantaloupe, carrots and tomatoes contain beta-carotene which your body converts into Vitamin A for promoting cell renewal and flawless skin. Beta-carotene can also give your skin a healthy glow.

You can also find it in abundance in green, leafy vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, egg yolks, butter, liver and fish oils. Low fat yogurt and other low fat dairies can also be good sources of Vitamin A.

It's important to get this vitamin from your food and not from supplements, because too much vitamin A may cause health problems.

Plant based beta-carotene obtained from orange and red fruits and vegetables, which converts to Vitamin A in your body, has not been found to be associated with any health problems.

Recipe idea: Chantenay Carrots

2 For Moisturized Skin

Vitamin B

Vitamin B helps to combat dry skin and eczema; it is also an important vitamin for healthy nails and preventing hair loss.

Vitamin B is found in whole grains used for cereals and bread. Wheat germ provides the B vitamin biotin which assists your cells in processing fats. Your skin can become dry and scaly if you don’t have enough biotin in your diet. Other good sources include bananas, eggs, oatmeal and rice.

Always replace refined flours such as white bread for whole grain alternatives.

Avocadoes and mushrooms also contain B vitamins.

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

Banana and Oat Smoothie

1 large or 2 small bananas (chopped into bit size chunks, or smaller)

1 cup ice-cold soy milk

1 tbsp. rolled porridge oats

2 ice cubes

Crush the ice. Add the soy milk, then the oats. Top off with banana chunks and blend.

This recipe is from ‘Super Duper Smoothies’ which is on the Free downloads page.

3 For Skin Tightening

Vitamin C

It’s no surprise that Vitamin C is one of the principal ingredients in many skin care products.

Vitamin C is the key to beautiful skin. This amazing vitamin boosts your body’s production of collagen which helps form the basic structure of your skin. It’s the breakdown of collagen that causes wrinkles and sagging skin. Vitamin C helps keep your skin beautiful by keeping the connective tissue under the skin strong, which helps to delay wrinkles.

Vitamin C also helps to fight inflammation and, because it’s a powerful anti oxidant, it can neutralise free radicals and stop skin damage at a cellular level which helps to prevent premature aging.

This vitamin is widely available in fruits and vegetables such as oranges, grapefruits, cherries, berries, kiwis, papayas, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, sprouts, broccoli and green leafy vegetables.

Your body cannot make its own Vitamin C so you must include foods rich in this vitamin every day to see improvement in your skin.

Recipe Ideas: New Potato and Chicken Salad

Healthy Smoothies

4 For Young Soft Skin

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is another powerful anti oxidant that works well in conjunction with Vitamin C in the fight against skin aging by protecting against ultra violet sunlight, pollution, drugs, and other elements that produce free radicals.

Vitamin E helps skin hold in moisture, relieving dryness and making skin look younger.

Premature wrinkles, pale skin, acne, easy bruising and slow wound healing may indicate a deficiency.

Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds, peanut butter, wheatgerm, wholegrains, avocados and sweet potatoes. Almonds, pistachios and walnuts also provide a nice supply of omega-3 fatty acids, another great skin nutrient.

Recipe idea: Almond Crusted Chicken

5 For Smooth Glowing Skin

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for beautiful skin for many reasons. These fatty acids help to keep your arteries clear which improves blood circulation and this promotes healthy skin.

Omega 3 fatty acids help to reduce both skin dryness and inflammation. Inflammation is known to cause premature aging of your skin and can also contribute to inflammatory disorders like eczema and psoriasis. It can also fight wrinkles by keeping your skin plump.

Many types of fish and shellfish are good sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. Increasing the amount of fish you eat has other benefits too such as fish is also a good source for zinc which helps to fight acne by inhibiting your body’s production of sebum.

Sebum is an irritating form of oil which can result in all sorts of skin problems, from acne and pimples to dry skin.

Omega-3s fatty acids help cells to repair themselves and make the enzymes and hormones needed to keep your skin looking young.

Salmon offers a treasure trove of nutrients for the skin. It's packed with protein, a critical building block of healthy skin. And, along with other fatty fish, it's a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega 3 fatty acids are found in seafood, especially salmon, sardines and tuna, Olive oil, nuts and seeds and their oils, organic eggs, prawns and soya beans.

Recipe Ideas: Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yoghurt

Fennel and Salmon Parcels

King Prawns and Rocket Salad

The secret to making your skin beautiful is to eat a wide variety of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables so you give your body a plentiful supply of vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients. Then you can have naturally beautiful skin from the inside.

If you would like to know more about natural ways to have beautiful skin also read: Skin Care Secrets by Liz Earle.

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