Natural Beauty Starts With Natural Foods

The saying You Are What You Eat has some traction. The foods you eat fuel your body and nourish your organs. When you make healthy choices, your results are more often than not a healthy and energized body. Genetics do play a role in our health, nutrition can help us fight our "inheritance" as long as we can!

Natural Beauty Starts From ...

Nutrition

 Skip or limit your consumption of refined sugars, fried foods, and alcohol. Instead, get your daily calories from whole foods following some of the guidelines below.

Hydration

Hydration is important for keeping skin cells healthy, lubricating joints, and promoting healthy digestion. Most people are familiar with the target for hydration: 8 glasses (8 ounce) of water a day. This number is just a target. The Mayo Clinic has a great resource for hydration which will help you decide what you need based on your activity level and climate in which you live. A good rule of thumb to use to know if you are hydrated is to look at your urine. Clear urine is a common sign of hydration.

Brassica Vegetables

You may wonder what vegetables fall into this category of plants from the mustard family. They are  cruciferous vegetables including: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, turnip/turnip greens, and bok choy. These vegetables help detoxify the body and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. More resources can be found here.

Read my recipe for Cauliflower Steak (pictured to the right).

Spices

Turmeric can help fight UV rays and is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. I love adding turmeric to rice. My recipe can be found here.
Cocoa is an anti-oxidant that promotes circulation which brings nutrients to the skin.

Omega-3 Rich Foods

Salmon and avocado provide generous amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids to nourish the skin and make it supple

Green Tea

Drinking green tea provides the body with an anti-oxidant to protect it from UV damage and protect collagen. If you are a coffee drinker, consider swapping your last cup of coffee for green tea each day to begin to integrate tea into your daily routine. 

Dark Red and Purple Fruits/Vegetables

These fruits provide anthocyanins which fight UV rays, support skin elasticity, and provent collagen breakdown.  Foods high in anthocyanins include: black raspberries, black currants, blueberries, blackberries, red cabbage, black plumbs, red radish, and red raspberries.




Read more at Delicious Living Building natural beauty from the inside out.