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The Healthy Skin Diet
You probably know her or have admired her in a magazine: the girl with flawless skin. You may envy her genetically blessed complexion while cursing your own cellulite/eczema/acne (insert skin complaint here), but the genes that govern your skin’s appearance are the same ones possessed by the girls on the cover of your favourite magazine.
So how do you have beautiful skin too?
You not only inherit your genes from your parents, you also acquire their eating habits. Your diet, even if it seems healthy, can be low in key nutrients, which are essential for beautiful skin and this can lead to reversible gene mutations and poor genetic health.
For example, vitamin C and vitamin B3 are essential for the Fads1 gene to convert omega-3 oils into skin-smoothing substances (without these vitamins in your diet the anti-inflammatory enzyme reaction delta-5-desaturase can't function). Another gene called Fads2 needs the nutrients biotin, magnesium, vitamin B6 and zinc in order to work. If one of these nutrients is missing from your diet (or you’re consuming too much salt or calcium which blocks zinc absorption), enzyme reactions fail and so does your skin, which becomes dry and rough. Stretch marks, eczema, psoriasis, premature wrinkles and acne can also occur.
Your skin is literally made from the foods and beverages you consume each day. And when your skin is excessively dry or oily or fails to heal when it should, these are signs your body needs better building materials. For example, if you have oily skin or acne, reduce intake of vegetable oils and saturated fat in the diet and eat more dark green salads to give your skin a healthy glow (this really works as it increases blood flow to the skin).
If you have eczema, a skin condition that needs unique dietary advice, it’s best to avoid tomato and dark green leafy salads as they are far too rich in natural chemicals (and they can cause flare-ups) and favour light green salads made with iceberg or Cos lettuce, skinless chicken and home-made broths. Eczema sufferers should limit fruit intake to papaya, pear and banana. Rosacea sufferers should avoid histamine-rich foods – wine, chocolate and cheese – and cellulite-sufferers need lecithin and fish in the diet (and soft-sand jogging does wonders for cellulite-prone areas).
No matter what skin condition you have, if you supply your body the right nutrients to promote genetic health you could enjoy smoother, healthier-looking skin in a matter of weeks.