True beauty radiates from within a woman. The loveliest women are those whose outer glow reflects an inner harmony. More than clothes and cosmetics, beauty depends on good health, physical, emotional, and spiritual. A woman who decides to be beautiful needs first to look within herself.
That said, the beginning of beautiful skin is in optimal nutrition. In today's fast-paced life, many women end up with inadequate nutrition for maximum beauty. Women who diet are very often shortchanged on even adequate nutrition. The demands of home, business, and career often cause careful nutrition choices to be put aside. As a result, not only does our internal well-being suffer, but our external appearance also suffers.
Beauty - Skin Deep
Most people think of the skin as being a passive organ, but actually it's quite busy. Also, its appearance tells the world what's going on in the rest of the body. Many illnesses announce themselves on the skin before you even feel sick. A pale complexion can be a lack of iron. Easy bruising can mean a low level of vitamin C. Puffiness under the eyes can indicate a kidney disorder. Lack of sleep causes it to look dull and lusterless.
Skin shields you from the sun, chemicals, bacteria, and countless environmental factors. It's waterproof so you don't swell up when you are caught in the rain, nor dry out in the hot sun. With its sweat glands, it keeps your body temperature fairly constant. And if you get chilled, thousands of goose bumps suddenly appear. Skin with its layer of fat is a shock absorber and an excellent insulation against cold. These are just a few of the functions of this massive organ, and as you can see, it is most involved in maintaining our health.
The Structure and Design
The skin consists of two layers. The skin consists of two layers: the epidermis, which you can see and feel, and the dermis, which is the layer under the epidermis. The dermis contains nerve endings, blood vessels, sweat glands, and oil glands. It is also the area where new skin cells are constantly being produced. Once new cells are formed in the dermis, they are pushed up to the epidermis where they replace old, worn-out epidermal cells. Dead skin cells are constantly brushed or rubbed off and replaced by new skin cells. Where does nutrition come into play?
The dermis can produce new skin cells only as good as the nutrients you give it to work with. These nutrients are the cells' raw materials. Good nutrition, therefore, is essential for youthful, healthy skin. In a moment, we will look at some of these nutrients, but first let's look at some skin destroyers.
- Excessive sun exposure can cause the skin to appear prematurely aged, wrinkled, dry, spotted, and leathery. But take heart, some nutrients can even help reduce or possibly reverse sun damage. The best advice is to stay out of the bright sun or use an adequate sunblock. To appreciate the effects of the sun on the skin, compare the skin on your face and arms to the skin on your buttocks, which one seems to be the youngest skin.
- Cigarette smoke - these toxins age the skin and cause it to be less elastic. Wrinkles form very early and the skin seems to favor the color of tobacco. This can be your own cigarette smoke, or exposure from second-hand smoke.
- Also on the list of items that cause skin damage are excess caffeine, alcohol, and other drugs, industrial toxins, auto-exhaust, and water toxins can also affect the skin adversely.
The good news is that certain nutrients can offer protection from many of these problems that are often out of your control. Let's take a look at some of the nutrients that are essential for healthy, vibrant skin.
Vitamin A/Beta Carotene
Vitamin A is essential for healthy skin and hair. Even a mild deficiency can cause your skin to react badly. Cells on the surface and even on several lower levels will shrivel up and die. The dead tissue will plug pores and oil sacs. This results in whiteheads and blackheads plus skin that resembles small goose pimples. In addition to all these, without enough vitamin A, the skin becomes dry and rough, especially on the elbows, knees, buttocks, and backs of the upper arms. I recommend a multivitamin/mineral that contains 5000IU of Vitamin A. Vitamin A is one of the vitamins that can be toxic in larger amounts, but a supplement of 5000IU is perfectly safe.
Even better is beta carotene. This is a pre-form of vitamin A. The body converts beta carotene into vitamin A as needed. This is the best and safest source of vitamin A and will also provide you with some protection from the sun. Beta carotene is well known as a powerful antioxidant. It is thought that the damage from cigarette smoke and many of the items mentioned above in skin damage are caused by the oxidant particles they contain or cause to be produced in the body. Beta carotene can offer amazing protection from the damage often inflicted by our environment. This powerful nutrient can help prevent skin aging, and some articles even suggest that it can help repair some of the damage that gives skin an aged appearance.
Do you currently have skin problems? Consider the list possible with low levels of vitamin A: blackheads, whiteheads, dry scaly skin, small bumps on the back of the arms, and early aging.
Invaluable Protein
Smooth firm skin depends on good quality protein. Protein firms and tightens the skin because it comprises much of the elastic fiber that gives skin its tautness. Often, after you lose a large amount of weight, your skin will sag or droop. Your best bet for improvement and firmness is protein along with vitamin C and B complex. Protein is vital for good skin because skin is protein. It is a protein called carotene. Ample good quality protein is the base with which to begin. Without protein, the rest of the nutrients will do little good.
B Complex
B complex nourishes the skin from the inside. It soothes away tension lines and helps regulate the thyroid gland for smooth, luminous skin. B vitamins are responsible for melanin, the pigment that helps you tan. The more you are in the sun, the more B vitamins you need. Inadequate B complex will result in a streak of blotchy tan, not the attractive "even all over" tan that those who enjoy the sun seek.
Day-to-day stress can play havoc with your skin. B vitamins are useful in helping you handle stress better. Low levels of B complex can result in redness around the corners of the nose, cracked lips, and a chapped appearance at the corners of the mouth. It can also cause a red, glossy tan. The B complex is quite safe even at very high doses. I always recommend the complex be taken for all women. It's just too key in overall health and beauty.
Vitamin E and young skin
We all know the very first signs of aging often appear first in the skin. Brown spots on the backs of the hands and wrists are common to many people as they age. The spots are produced by toxic substances called free radicals. These free radicals can cause cell damage and result in the brown spots on the backs of hands and other parts of the body. The pigment in these spots is called lipofucin. The pigment is the visible result of cell damage by oxidants or free radicals. Some wrinkles and rough skin are also attributable to this free radical damage.
The good news is that much of this early aging can actually be prevented. Vitamin E is a free radical scavenger. It can significantly reduce the rate at which these brown spots and other damage occur. In some cases, the damage has disappeared or been reduced in size and number. Of course, the best time to begin taking vitamin E is before this sort of damage occurs. A number of researchers like to refer to vitamin E as an anti-aging substance. Numerous studies support this nice claim for vitamin E. If you are using birth control pills, you need more vitamin E. Also, if you notice bruises or purplish spots for little or no reason, and you are getting adequate vitamin C, consider adding a bit more vitamin E.
Vitamin C
A low level of vitamin C will show up in bruises. A small knock against the kitchen counter will result in a large black and blue area. Vitamin C is essential for making collagen, which acts like the strong fibers woven between skin cells. Think of your skin as a tightly woven fabric—when those fibers are weak, the weave loosens, allowing blood to slip through more easily, showing up as bruising. To complete the analogy, if the fabric is woven with weak or broken threads, its strength and pattern begin to fall apart. In the same way, when collagen is poorly formed due to low vitamin C, the integrity of the skin is compromised, making bruising more likely. The skin will be bumpy and wrinkled.
Vitamin C is also essential for a normal functioning thyroid. Your thyroid must be in good condition for smooth porcelain-like skin. Vitamin C is a free radical scavenger much like vitamin E. The two actually work together, each working in a different area to protect your cells. Vitamin E is fat soluble and works best in the fatty areas of the cells, while vitamin C is water soluble and works best in the water areas of the cells. Vitamin C is easily destroyed by air and water pollutants (smoking a pack of cigarettes burns up nearly 500 mg). And by physical and mental stress, it is not stored long in the body. Since our intake of vitamin C can be uncertain due to the fragile of the vitamin, I definitely urge a routine supplement of at least 1,000 mg. For skin, do not take plain ascorbic acid. Your supplement should contain C plus nutrients called bioflavonoids, which comes with vitamin C in nature. The bioflavonoids will help maintain the integrity of the tiniest as well as the medium and small-sized blood vessels. Often, tiny blood vessels that have become visible on the face may vanish after a regimen of a good vitamin C supplement containing the bioflavonoids.
Herbal laxative
The skin is the largest excretory organ in the body. With the number of toxins in our bodies to be excreted, our skin sometimes becomes excessively oily or blemished. This results in pimples and other skin eruptions. To help relieve the skin of this excretory burden, I recommend the occasional use of a natural herbal laxative. Herbs have been used since the dawn of civilization to get things moving along more rapidly.
If you're a person who usually consumes a low fiber diet, you'll be amazed at the positive effect of an herbal laxative on your skin. Give it a try!
Change your oil
This is an excellent way to improve dry skin and to delay wrinkles. Cold water fish contain fatty acids. These fatty acids have long names such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, or EPA and DHA for short. These fatty acids are great for your skin - EPA is the best, but a good supplement will also contain DHA for balance. I recommend you get around 500 milligrams of EPA daily for best results.
There are a few more things you can add to be sure your skin will look its best.
Regularity. Be sure to consume 30 grams of fiber and six glasses of water a day. If you're not sure about your fiber intake, add a fiber supplement. The herbal laxative will help while you're building up the fiber in your diet.
Resouces
Alessandrini, G., Bruni, F., & Cazzaniga, S. (2023). Dietary influences on skin health in common skin disorders. Nutrients, 15(6), 1326. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061326
Melnik, B. C. (2024). Nutritional supplements for skin health. Nutrients, 16(3), 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16030389
Oregon State University, Linus Pauling Institute. (n.d.). Vitamin C and skin health. Retrieved from https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease/skin-health/vitamin-C
