What you put into your body has quite an effect on your skin.
A well-balanced diet is essential for a healthy lifestyle. These five anti-aging foods are must-haves if lines and wrinkles are high on your list of concerns.
Let’s take a look at some of the best foods for glowing, ageless skin.
1. Blueberries
Eat them raw with your breakfast, cook them into your pancakes, or blend them into a delicious fruit smoothie. The uses for blueberries are plentiful, just like the benefits you reap from eating them.Antioxidants give blueberries their strong anti-aging properties, namely one called anthocyanin, which also gives them their deep blue color.
If you’re looking for foods that fight the effects of aging, anything with antioxidants should be at the top of your list. They work against free radicals in your body that cause tissue damage that results in aging skin, among other things.
Blueberries are also a fantastic source of vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A.
All those vitamins make blueberries a powerhouse for your skin. They help protect your skin from damage by preventing the loss of collagen, a key ingredient in skin elasticity.
It’s impossible to feel guilty for snacking on blueberries, so buy a box or two next time you’re at the grocery store.
Your skin will be anything but blue because of it!
2. Broccoli
Now that you’re an adult, it’s time to stop pulling the old magician’s act with your vegetables. There are plenty of ways to prepare broccoli that are absolutely delicious. Even the pickiest kids can find something to love!Is the idea of broccoli still hard to stomach?
Well, the good it will do for your skin may make it a little easier for you to swallow.
Broccoli is supercharged with vitamins and minerals that are amazing for your complexion. It contains vitamin C, vitamin K, antioxidants, fiber, and calcium — just to name a few.
Vitamin C is especially important for anti-aging.
Without vitamin C, your body can’t produce collagen. If you’re lacking in collagen, your skin is far more prone to lines and wrinkles.
Broccoli’s anti-inflammatory properties alone do wonders for your skin.
When you mix all of this together, you get a small but mighty vegetable that you simply can’t miss out on.
Besides, there’s a good chance your taste buds have changed a lot since you were little. Give broccoli another chance. You’ll probably love it now that you’re all grown up.
And if you still can’t stand it … well, there are four other foods on this list!
3. Nuts
Walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, hazelnuts — nuts, nuts, nuts!Do you have a favorite recipe that includes nuts?
You’re going to want to break that baby out a lot more often when you hear what we have to tell you about them. You’ll be absolutely nuts for nuts by the time you see the wonders hidden within those shells.
On a more serious note, nuts are really good for you on many levels, including the health of your skin. They have anti-inflammatory properties and help lower your cholesterol, but that’s just the start.
The secret to the anti-aging properties of nuts is omega-3 fatty acids.
Omega-3s are good fats that your body needs to stay in tip-top shape. They strengthen your skin and keep it glowing by preserving the oil barrier that prevents you from drying out.
Hydration is essential for age-defying skin.
Along with omega-3s, nuts also contain a ridiculous amount of vitamin E. That’s great news for you because vitamin E protects and repairs your skin.
Who knew a handful of almonds (or walnuts, hazelnuts, or peanuts) could do so much?
Even if you have a distaste for whole nuts, just go for some nut butter instead. Peanut butter and almond butter will give you similar benefits without the crunch.
And if you’re allergic to nuts … we’re sorry, please move onto section four.
4. Avocado
Here we go, a source of omega-3 fatty acids that won’t make a bunch of people break out or go into shock. If nuts aren’t the answer, then you probably want to know what is.We present to you:
The avocado.
This green fruit took the world by storm not long ago and became the focus of health-conscious people that found a ton of delicious ways to eat it.
Avocado is the only food on this list that helps your skin from the inside and the outside, depending on how you use it.
But we’ll skip the avocado face mask tutorial and instead tell you why you need to get some avocados ASAP!
Omega-3 fatty acids are a necessary part of a balanced diet. They can be found in other foods, such as nuts and fatty fish, but for some people, those aren’t options due to allergies.
Don’t worry, avocados are here to save the day.
While the omega-3s are hard at work protecting your skin from dehydration, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, potassium, and B vitamins are also hard at work keeping your skin flawless.
So if anyone ever tells you avocados are a mere trend, just let your smooth skin do all the talking.
5. Sweet Potatoes
Last but not least, we satisfy your need for starch with a heaping helping of sweet potatoes.These orange beauties pack a magnificent punch to the meanest aging factors so they don’t dare touch your skin. And they star in their fair share of satisfying recipes to boot. You’ll never be left wanting.
Sweet potatoes contain an antioxidant called beta-carotene, which is turned into vitamin A when it enters the body.
Vitamin A is a great player to have on your anti-aging team. Not only does it help keep your skin tight and elastic, but it also aids in cell regeneration. The faster your skin cells go from old to new, the younger your skin looks.
On top of that, sweet potatoes also bring plenty of vitamin C and vitamin E to the table.
If potatoes are one of your comfort foods, consider switching to the sweet variety to give your skin that little extra boost. You may even like them better!
In Conclusion
There are many ways to combat the effects age has on your skin, and diet is a great place to start. Make sure you’re giving your body the very best!The list of anti-aging foods is virtually endless. While these are five of the best foods for your skin, make sure you look for foods rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, and omega-3’s if you really want to give your skin a fighting chance.
[Client Bio]
Ryan Sundling is a group marketing manager at Cardinal Group Management, where he works with West 38, a community of apartments in Wheat Ridge, CO.
