We all know that eating the wrong foods can cause spots, or even worse, wrinkles, so it makes sense that eating the good stuff can improve the condition of your skin.
And, as 67% of you told us you care more about your face than your body, we thought it was about time we reconsidered diets and what they should do for us. We called on the skincare experts the celebrities have on speed dial to find out exactly what you should be eating to get A-List skin.
Read what they told us here…
The skin ‘dangers’
Chocolate really does give you spots, according to Dr Nick Lowe. ‘If you are prone to spots or more severely, acne then dairy can actually exacerbate the problem and in some cases may be the cause.’ The reason? ‘Cows are fed with hormones that can make skin flare up.’ You take milk in your coffee? Switch to soya or rice ‘milk’. If you like the odd piece of milk chocolate, switch to dark – it’s high in anti-oxidents, which is another reason to treat yourself.
Another skin danger is sugar. Not only is it bad for your waistline, it can wreak havoc on your skin. ‘In a nutshell, sugar hastens the degradation of elastin and collagen, both key skin proteins - it actively ages you’, says Dermatologist Dr Brandt. So try to cut out or limit all cakes, pastries, sweets and bread. Satisfy your sweet tooth with natural sources such as fruit, honey and treats like sugar-free halva.
Supplements
Supplements shouldn’t be taken as a replacement for a good diet, you always need to aim to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, but with a hectic, on-the-go lifestyle it’s not always possible to reach the 5-a-day goal.
Bobbi Brown explains that ‘when you eat, you are never getting single, isolated nutrients. A bowl of leafy green provides an abundance of several important vitamins such as B, K and E as well as fibre and anti-oxidants'.
With this in mind, if you are going to take supplements look for ones that are of a food grade. Nude’s supplements, from £37.19, are natural and fermented to ensure you absorb the maximum amount of nutrients, but more importantly they are made up from food grade supplements, which means you get a combination of vitamins and minerals that your body would naturally find in food. ‘This way your body knows what to do with the supplement and you will get the best results’ explains Emma at Nude.
Another great supplement to take is Hyaluronic Acid, normally found in anti-ageing and hydrating moisturisers, you can also take this wonder ingredient in tablet form to work from the inside out. Hyaluronic Acid works to hydrate and plump the skin and also keep the collagen in your skin from degenerating. Try Hyaluronic Acid capsules, £31.95 by LifeTime Vitamins available from Victoria Health.
Drinks
Drinking water helps keep both your body and skin hydrated, but as Dr Nick Lowe explains ‘moisturisation of the skin is directly related to the integrity of the skin barrier’ in other words a healthy diet and a great skincare regime to strengthen the epidermis and keep it hydrated are just as important as drinking water.
Dr Debra Luftman believes ‘adding green tea to your diet is important, it’s a really strong antioxidant’. While Dr Perricone swears by it for its anti-diabetes potential ‘use it along with or instead of water to fulfil your daily fluid intake’.
If you don’t think you will be able to fit your 5-a-day into your meals, pack them into a homemade juice or smoothie. Mix vegetable with fruits to get the best combination of nutrients. We love the Innocent Smoothie Recipe Book: 57 1/2 Recipes from Our Kitchen to Yours, £12.99, for recipe ideas.
Eggs
It’s not just oats that contain Biotin, eggs are a good source too, so look to alternate your breakfast choices to incorporate oats and eggs into the start of your day.
Eggs, along with fish, meat, beans and soy are high protein foods, but maybe more importantly eggs are packed with vitamins A and B. Fatty Acids in the skin are boosted by vitamin B, Bobbi Brown explains that this promotes skin ‘exfoliation and firmness’, while Vitamin A is an ‘ antioxidant essential for the growth and renewal of new skin cells’, a diet high in vitamin A will ensure your complexion is bright and glowing.
Oats
Oats are one of the best foods for keeping skin, hair and nails strong and healthy. ‘Biotin, a nutrient that forms the basis of our skin, nails and hair cells is found in oatmeal’ explains Dr Debra Luftman.
The food equivalent of a multi-vitamin, ‘oats contain small but significant quantities of several essential vitamins, while also being a great source of manganese, magnesium, selenium and iron, as well as zinc and copper,’ raves Dr Perricone.
Make sure to start your day with a bowl of porridge or cereal high in oats. Just avoid added sugar, to sweeten use fruits or a little honey.
Good Fats
Eating good fats is key to repairing damage done to cell walls. ‘Walnuts, olive and flaxseed oil help to keep the cell membranes strong and in turn improve skin texture,’ says Dr Murad, ‘not only that, but good fats restore moisture to help relieve dry skin and even eczema’.
Avocado is high in good fats which ‘help us to absorb nutrients from our fruit and vegetables’ this helps to keep our ‘skin glowing and wrinkle free’ explains Dr Perricone.
Seeds are full of good fats and contain all the nutrients needed to create plants, ‘they have everything you need, I call them complete food’ explains Dr Murad. Scattering them over salads is the easiest way to factor them into your diet.
Vegetables
Peppers and broccoli are high in vitamin C, which is the ‘building block of collagen, the protein that gives the skin its structure, tone and elasticity’ explains make-up artist Bobbi Brown in her Makeup Manual.
Not only are leafy greens a ‘good source of carbohydrate’ according to Dr Perricone. Bobbi Brown swears by them because they are rich in Vitamin E and ‘antioxidants that helps build and maintain healthy skin tissue’.
Make sure to factor carrots into your diet too. Dermatologist Dr Nick Lowe swears by them as they are high in carotene, antioxidants and vitamin A. Not only do they protect skin from free radicals, but the carotene can help to ‘minimise sun damage’ according to Dr Murad.
Just remember: with vegetables, and fruit, they need to be as fresh as possible. ‘Ideally everyone would get their produce straight from the farm! Make sure you eat the fruit soon after you buy it, after a week, even in the fridge, the nutrients in them will diminish’ says Dr Murad.
Fruit
According to research by Dr Murad, ‘pomegranates and berries - along with broccoli and carrots - actually improve the natural sun protection in your skin enabling you to fight off harmful free radicals’. You will still need that SPF, but you can be sure your cells are more protected from the inside out.
Pineapple is an antitoxin ‘best bet’ says Dr Perricone, and will help ward off illness – factor this into your diet when you’re feeling run down.
Tomatoes are high in lycopene a miracle pigment which soaks up chemicals in the body which cause ageing, while its high antioxidant levels will protect you from free radicals. Surprisingly, concentrated tomato pastes are higher in lycopene that fresh tomatoes.
Oily Fish
If wrinkles are a concern, oily fish should be your new best friend. Mackerel, sardines and salmon are packed full of skin friendly Omega 3 fatty acids. These ‘will give you the healthiest skin ever and make it glow’ reveals Dr Perricone. Fatty acids improve the health of skin cells, ‘they form the outer walls of your cells, which keeps them and your skin plump’ says Emma Newman, Nude Skincare’s Biochemist/Project Coordinator.
If your skin is starting to lose its elasticity then it’s the fish skin that’s most important – we know it’s not the most appetising part, but ‘the flesh of fish, especially salmon, contains DMAE, a powerful antioxidant, which stimulates nerve function and muscles to contract and tighten the skin,’ explains Dr Perricone.
Move the focus
Nicola Elliott, qualified nutritionist and founder of skincare brand Neom Organics says, ‘choosing the right diet is crucial; don’t go for Atkins if you want better skin. Cutting out carbohydrates is utter madness, they provide the fuel we need for our skin to renew itself.’
And Dr Debra Luftman, Beverly Hills based Dermatologist explains ‘you can make noticeable changes to your skin by simply changing your diet. Dermatologists feel that nutrition is the key to beautiful, healthy skin’
Many of our modern day ailments such as acne and eczema are due to poor diet. ‘I am seeing more and more adult women with acne, who have never had acne before, mainly due to hormones pumped into our meat and dairy,’ says Luftman. Shockingly, a bad diet can even give you wrinkles, ‘processed foods with high sugar content can contribute to early skin ageing,’ she reveals.
But it can be hard to decipher what is ‘good’ food. Processed foods are often packaged to look healthier than they really are. Meats have added water pumped into them. Fruits and vegetables retain their shelf life with help from scores of preservatives. ‘We are all made to think organic is some kind of elitist, superior form of food, when it’s really food as food should be,’ says Nicola Elliot.
Dr Perricone MD a dermatologist explains that the best diet for great skin is ‘a sensible one made up of the freshest possible fruits and vegetables, combined with low fat sources of protein, complex carbohydrates and fresh, clean water’.
But before we change our diet, we need to understand what is happening to our skin on a cellular level. As the millions of cells that make up our skin become damaged by the environment, inflammation and stress ‘holes start to appear in the cell walls and the water, keeping the cells plump, leaks out and the cells become shrivelled resulting in wrinkles’ explains Dr Murad, an LA based Dermatologist.
‘Eating the right foods is the key to repairing these holes and reversing skin damage, while skincare is important, a bad diet can be especially detrimental to your skin’ adds Dr Murad.
The key? Eat smart. To get optimum results and the clearest, healthiest skin you shouldn’t eat any old meat and two veg. Here’s ELLE’s guide to the top foods that will get your skin looking better than ever.
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