Food Cures for Your Skin

The skin care industry is a multi-billion dollar industry because people care about their skin and how they look. Skin diseases cause embarrassment, discomfort and alienation. Treating skin problems through healthier eating is something that you can have some control over so that you feel you can make a difference in your skin health.

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that keeps skin healthy by keeping out harmful substances and allowing the exchange of nutrients and waste through the cells of the skin. Foods that are rich in omega-3 are fatty fish like salmon, tuna herring and mackerel as well as walnuts and flaxseed.

Blueberries are excellent for skin health because they are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are import to healthy skin because they can target free radicals that are responsible for damage to skin cells.

Carrots contain vitamin A, which is also needed by healthy skin. The skin needs vitamin A to develop and maintain skin cells. Those who have a vitamin A deficiency experience dry skin.

Food items to avoid because they may trigger unpleasant skin reactions are:

Those foods that are prepared by frying (because they are known to trap bacteria and oil beneath the skin), and foods that contain saturated fats, sugar and also white flour.

Many skin problems stem from being unhealthy on the inside. Nourishing your body with fresh vegetables and fruits gives your skin the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.

Tip:

One tip for healthy, great looking skin is to eat plenty of raw fruit vegetables and nuts as well as making some juice smoothies using these raw fruits, vegetables and nuts. NOTE: you must soak the nuts first.

Blueberries according to many experts are the highest antioxidant food source. Antioxidants can target the free radicals that are the cause of skin cell destruction. Phytochemicals and antioxidants in blueberries act together to neutralize the free radicals so that cell damage is minimized.

Carrots should be a part of your diet because they also help prevent free radical damage to skin cells and are a terrific source of vitamin A, something skin needs to stay healthy.

Do you have irritated skin?

If you have insect bites and need to reduce the swelling just apply some apple cider vinegar to bring relief. You can also apply the apple cider vinegar to bad sunburns to help relieve the damaged red skin.

Have a rash from poison ivy? Mix equal parts of buttermilk, vinegar and salt to make a mixture that you can apply to the rash with a cotton ball. This application will not only speed the healing but dry the rash as well.

Want beautiful wrinkle-free skin? Try eating the following foods:

When making spaghetti sauce add some grated carrots to the sauce. The carotene in the carrots will "feed" you skin as you feed your family the spaghetti.

Add spinach to your salad to increase your carotene some more.

Fruit smoothies are really good for your skin. Enjoy one made from vanilla yogurt and fresh fruits such as apricots, mango, papaya or peaches. You can also dip fresh broccoli florets in low-fat dip.

A great and tasty way to help your skin is to serve fruit with every meal, fruit on cereal for breakfast, fruit in your salad for lunch and fruit decorating our casserole or meat dish for dinner. Don't forget to grab a pear or apple for snack time.