The Skin is our largest organ and as such, mirrors our internal health. Although it is hard to do a randomised controlled trial on how food and nutrients directly affect the skin, there is emerging evidence to suggest that our diet can impact how we appear and how we age...
Main skin damaging cause:
The biggest external insult to our skin is the sun which admits Ultra Violette Radiation. It is well known that UVR is the most potent aggressor to our skin and contributes towards things such as; premature ageing and inflammatory conditions. The skins exposure to UVR causes acute inflammation which in turn leads to the production of Reactive oxygen species that damage our DNA and impacts the health of our skin.
Antioxidants are a huge factor in aiding the reversal of this damage.
We already have internal antioxidants such as; glutathione and superoxidase, that help protect us, but we can supplement antioxidants through our diet. The most Important antioxidants, that make the biggest impact are Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Carotenoids. Supplementation with these will increase natural antioxidant levels and therefore quench free radicals that contribute towards skin damage. Carotenoids are the Vitamin A precursors in the skin, so maintaining optimum levels of these is vital for skin health. The following are some examples of foods that contain each of these essential vitamins.
Vitamin C:
- Citrus
- Blackcurrants
- Leafy green vegetables
Vitamin E:
- Nuts
- Certain oils
- Soy
Carotenoids:
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Orange capsicum
Whilst actively looking to improve skin health, it is recommended to avoid foods that can increase damaging factors towards the skin such as highly processed foods containing increased levels of salt and refined sugar. The most well studied negative factor in foods are: Advanced Glycation End products. AGEs; as they are known, damage the DNA by non-enzymatic glycation, due to spontaneous reactions between sugars and proteins. When there is an accumulation of AGEs, cross linked with collagen, it can cause blood vessels to stiffen and as a result may manifest in the our skin as wrinkling or sagging.
To put it simply: More refined sugar – less refined skin!
What else can help?
Further to our diet, topical antioxidants can also help improve the appearance of our skin and (unlike the correlation of food to skin) topical products to skin have been very well studied. Using a combinations of Vitamins C, E and A can drastically improve our appearance.
Skindepths favourite Antioxidants:
It can be overwhelming to know which antioxidant mix is right for your skin, that’s where our team comes in - we are THE experts in composing cosmeceutical regimes for your skin, if you would like to book a cosmetic consultation to discuss this topic or any skin health concerns please BOOK HERE.
