SKIN - A TRUE MIRROR OF HEALTH...!!!!!
Our skin is the largest epithelial tissue in our body. It protects us from harmful environmental factors such as pollution, ultraviolet light, microbes, and infectious diseases. It is our duty to ensure that whatever we are eating is healthy so that the skin functions properly.
Essential Vitamins & Super Skin Foods
Healthy foods nourish your body with all the vitamins and nutrients it needs in keeping it clear and glowing. Healthy food includes vegetables, fresh fruits, fish, sweet potato, mango, carrot, spinach and all those that are rich in zinc, vitamin A, omega 3, omega 6 and proteins.
Drinking 8 glasses of water or green tea every day also helps cleanse your body from toxins and it makes your skin hydrated all throughout the day especially if the climate is very hot. Never get dehydrated. This will cause your skin to dry up.
Vitamin A
It helps by maintaining and healing the skin epithelial tissue from damage caused by exposure to harmful factors such as the sun’s UV rays. It can also keep our skin strong and firm. Vitamin A also reduces the production of sebum by our sebaceous glands, thus preventing the formation of acne and pimples.
Source = egg yolks, non-fat milk, liver, oysters, fortified cereals, green vegetables, and orange fruits such as papaya, peaches, apricots, mangos, and cantaloupe.
Beta carotene-rich food can also be a good source of vitamin A as the body can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A. All you need is 30mg. of cooked carrots a day. This can also help prevent or reduce redness as well as inflammation caused by sunburn. You can combine it with vitamin E and other carotenoids such as lutein to minimize your skin’s sensitivity to the sun. Aside from carrots, you can also find these vitamins from broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, papaya and watermelon.
Vitamin B
This vitamins function by converting calories into good energy that is essential for skin metabolism. It also helps in the maintenance of our skin’s functions which include the production of oil or sebum by the sebaceous glands that keep sour skin moist. This is a very important vitamin if you want to avoid having dry and scaly skin. Vitamin B also helps relieve stress and anxiety which is a causative factor of acne
Source = red meat, poultry, fish, peanut butter, eggs, banana, oatmeal, and whole grains.
Vitamin C
Our skin is made up of many layers. The skin’s supporting structure underneath is called collagen. Vitamin C helps in the maintenance of this collagen when taken orally. Stress and overexposure to the sun can drain out our vitamin C in the skin. That is why vitamin C is commonly incorporated in sunscreens and anti aging creams. Vitamin C is important for tissue repair. It also protects us from disease-causing microorganisms and helps enhance our immunity. Source = citrus fruits or juices, strawberries, green peas, green leafy vegetables, tomato, cantaloupe, and sweet pepper.
Vitamin E
Collagen makes our skin elastic and strong. However, there is an enzyme named collagenase that breaks our collagen down. This leads to skin sagging and wrinkling. Vitamin E fights this by decreasing the production of collagenase.
Source = leafy vegetables, sesame oil, olive oil, legumes, almonds, salmon, avocado, wheat germ, whole grain, and lean meat.
Vitamin K
This vitamin is often incorporated in various cosmetics and skin care products due to its powerful effects on the skin. Vitamin K helps reduce skin pigmentation and discoloration, as well as puffiness and dark circles under the eyes. It is also effective in healing bruises as it specializes in blood clotting.
Selenium
This mineral helps by reducing the damage caused by ultraviolet rays from the sun. This helps minimize the risk of having sunburn.
Source = tuna, sesame seeds, whole grains, and wheat germ.
Copper
This mineral aids the body in producing melanin that is responsible for our skin color. It also helps it produce elastin essential to keep our skin firm.
Source = prunes, nuts, cherries, and tofu.
Zinc
Zinc is a mineral that helps in the maintenance of collagen which keeps the skin firm and elastic. It also links amino acids that are essential in collagen formation and wound healing. It prevents scarring as well as acne formation by controlling the oil producing glands of our skin.
Source = mushrooms, seafood, soybeans, and turkey.
Things that Harm Our Skin
In order to maintain a good looking, glowing skin, there are many things and habits that we need to avoid. One of these is cigarette smoking. Cigarettes contain nicotine and nicotine is harmful to the skin. Other things that one needs to avoid are "bad" foods for the skin which includes anything with caffeine like cola and coffee, alcohol, and fatty foods.
While sun is good for the skin to promote vitamin D, it also contains harmful UV rays that may cause damage to the skin. That is why it is important to avoid too much exposure to the sun or if you really need to go out under the sun, be sure to put on a sun block with an SPF of at least 15 to 30 to protect your skin from its harmful ultraviolet rays.
Effective Daily Facial Care Regimen
Maintaining a daily facial skin care regimen is important in keeping a good-looking skin all the time. First and foremost, always keep your face clean. This means washing your face over with warm water and a mild soap at least twice a day preferably at night before bedtime. This ensures that you will sleep with clean facial pores that will prevent pimples caused by clogged pores to pop out in the morning. Warm water opens up the pores therefore cleanse your face with warm water to clean it. Do not scrub or over wash your face as it may also cause irritation and it will push dirt even deeper into your pores. Just gently wash your face in circular motion. Rinse it with cold water to close your pores after. Remove all make up before going to sleep.
Things to Remember
When in a public area and you do not have enough time to wash your face, just bring with you an oil absorber pad or tissue and pat your oily skin dry. Do not cover dirty, oily skin with makeup or powder, as this will just encourage the breakthrough of pimples.
In addition, always make it a point to change your make up applicator and brushes at least once every two months to ensure that you only touch clean things to your face. Even your fingers should not often touch your face, as hands are usually dirty. You can also scrub your face occasionally with micro beads to scrub off dirt or you may clean your face using a cleanser. Opt for those with salicylic acid content in its ingredients which is usually stated at the back of the product.
Put on a night cream or lotion that will moisturize your skin overnight. During daytime, you can also put on moisturizers preferably those that do not contain fragrance especially for sensitive skin. Alternatively, you can opt for a sun block with moisturizers to protect your skin from the sun at the same time.
Other than all these healthy skin tips, always maintain an 8-hour sleep each and every day. Sleep is essential to having a rejuvenated, glowing skin as it is during sleep that our body repairs our cells. It’s worth remembering that what we do to our bodies, we are bound to do to our skin.