Nothing ages you faster than dry, dehydrated and blotchy skin. There is a strong connection between nutrition, and beauty. The food that you eat, plays a very important role in the health and vitality of your skin cells. As an Integrative Nutrition, wellness and anti-aging expert I primarily focus on helping women transform their health, by implementing lifestyle and dietary choices that stop and reverse inflammation at the cellular level, and slow down aging. Roni McGuire and I recently met at a wellness conference and found that we both share common beliefs and an empowering approach to wellness that goes beyond basic nutrition. I am excited to take this opportunity to share my anti-aging advice with you.
Below are my top 5 culprits that are aging your skin along with some potent lifestyle practices that will help you get the nutrients you need, lose weight, regain energy, and fight aging!
1. Dairy
Dairy contains hormones that can cause inflammation. They also contain sugar called Lactose. As you age, it is harder for your body to digest lactose and that results in more inflammation. You will be surprised to know how much younger you look, when you eliminate it from your diet. There are several other good sources of calcium like salmon, sardines, broccoli, kale, almonds, and chia seeds.
2. Sugar
Sugar reacts with amino acids to form compounds called advanced glycation end products, or AGE’s. These are inflammatory and prematurely age your skin, leading to age spots, and wrinkles. Try to focus on natural sugar from whole unprocessed food without going overboard. Look for labels and avoid “ol” sugars (erythritol, ethyl maltol, mannitol, and sorbitol & “ose” sugars (dextrose, D-mannose, fructose, galactose).
3. Grains Containing Gluten
In your body, grains turn directly into sugar, aging your skin the same way table sugar does. Grains are big culprits when it comes to acne, psoriasis, and eczema. You can get many of the same nutrients from gluten free sources like, millet, quinoa, oats, amaranth and buckwheat. So cut down on them as much as you can.
4. Salt
Eating too much salt draws water out of your skin cells, “deflating” them and making your skin drier. This is the reason why you get bags under your eyes due to dehydration. Pink Himalayan is recommend and preferred over table salt since Himalayan salt contains essential minerals to help draw water back into your cells.
5. Alcohol
Alcohol is a diuretic, and it dehydrates your skin. Alcohol can create stress on the liver, hence impairing it’s detoxification role. Simply limit your alcohol intake and mix your drinks with plenty of sparkling water to restore the fluid you’ve lost. And here’s another tip: Add a slice of lemon or a little shot of lemon juice to your drinks. Lemons are loaded with vitamin C, and help to build wrinkle-fighting collagen.
Finally, get plenty of exercise and swap out these foods that wreak havoc on skin,with lean protein, whole natural food like organically grown veggies, skin-beautifying collagen, and healthy fats like nuts, and avocado.
