"A healthy diet can go a long way in your quest for flawless skin. Here are five skin-loving foods worth snacking on."
As the saying goes, beauty starts from the inside out, and that holds especially true when it comes to your diet. Of course, an effective skin care routine with the right products goes a long way in keeping your complexion clear and healthy, but topicals can only do so much. A variety of other lifestyle factors play a role too: How well you sleep, how stressed out you are, and, spoiler alert, what you eat. A well-balanced diet isn’t just good for your overall health (and waistline), it can also do great things for your skin. So, the next time you reach for a snack, consider incorporating any—or all—of these foods that are good for your skin.
Kiwi
Vitamin C is a superstar skin care ingredient, both when used topically and ingested. It helps boost collagen production, the protein responsible for smooth, firm skin. And while you may immediately think of oranges for vitamin C, one kiwi has almost 120 percent of your daily vitamin C needs. Other vitamin C-rich foods include red peppers, Brussels sprouts, and strawberries.
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Avocado
Consider this yet another reason to load up on avocado toast and extra guac. Not only are avocados loaded with healthy fats, which can help keep your skin stay supple, they’re also a great source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects your skin from free radical damage.
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Pumpkin
The fall favorite is one of the best sources of beta-carotene, a plant-based pigment that the body naturally converts into vitamin A. Vitamin A is important for cell growth and renewal, both of which are necessary for healthy, youthful skin. Plus, eating foods rich in beta-carotene (carrots are another good pick) can also help give your skin a natural glow.
Lentils
When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet for clear skin, protein is essential and lentils are a great source—especially if you’re vegetarian or vegan. Not to mention that they also contain zinc, an important mineral for the skin, but one that’s not always easy to get from food. Zinc both helps with skin cell function, and it may also play a role in helping keep your complexion blemish-free. Â
Kale
We get it, the onslaught of kale everything is a lot, but it legitimately is a great food for healthy skin. It contains both of those important vitamins A and C we talked about before, plus lutein and zeaxanthin (say that five times fast), nutrients that can help neutralize skin-damaging free radicals. Kale, yeah.
The bottom line: There’s a clear connection between what you eat and how your skin looks. Skinsei conducted a four-year study, tracking the overall diet habits — and skin appearance — of consumers, to determine exactly how food impacts your complexion, both positively and negatively. Coupled with other researches and clinically validated studies, we were able to incorporate all this information into our product recommendation algorithm to determine exactly what type of skin care you need…and how this varies whether your guilty pleasure is chocolate or cheese (or both). Discover how your diet is affecting your skin with our holistic diagnostic tool and find the best routine according to your lifestyle.Â