Beautiful Foods for Beautiful People

ave you ever noticed how some people just glow? They look healthy and radiant, with clear, glowing skin and shiny hair. Well, that kind of external beauty actually comes from within. If you're not treating yourself well or if something's not right on the inside, your skin, nails, and hair can reflect that. Of course, genetics, hormones, sun exposure, and age all play a role in your exterior health, but working on your appearance from the inside out couldn't hurt and it might even help slow aging and prevent skin cancer. Certain foods and their related nutrients can feed your outer beauty.

Colorful Fruits and Vegetables and Nonfat Dairy Products

Antioxidants found naturally in colorful plant foods play a major role in slowing the aging process. They stabilize free radicals that would otherwise damage the skin and accelerate aging, causing wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and dullness. Vitamins A and C both do their part to beautify skin. Vitamin A is necessary for new skin production and for keeping skin moisturized (the topical wrinkle reducer Retin-A, for example, is made from vitamin A). Since vitamin A is stored in the liver, it should not be taken in supplement form. However, vitamin A from food sources such as nonfat dairy products and eggs is not risky since one would need to consume excess quantities of beef liver to overdose. Most vitamin A is produced in the body from beta-carotene, which can't usually be over-consumed from food. Excellent sources of beta-carotene include orange sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, mangoes, spinach, papaya, red bell pepper, apricots, and cantaloupe. Vitamin C helps build collagen, which keeps skin elastic and prevents wrinkles; it also reduces sun damage that could lead to skin cancer and aging and helps skin heal from cuts and other wounds. Excellent sources of vitamin C include oranges, grapefruits, kiwi, strawberries, mango, red and green bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and watermelon.

Whole Grains, Nuts, Seeds, and Seafood

Two other antioxidants, vitamin E and selenium, work together to deactivate free radicals that cause sun damage and wrinkles. They can also help skin stay soft and smooth. On its own, selenium helps skin retain its elasticity and plumpness. Vitamin E is concentrated in the outermost layers of the skin, which means that its defenses are quickly depleted by exposure to UV light. Therefore, it's important to get these nutrients each day and food is your healthiest source of these nutrients. Since Vitamin E is fat soluble, it is typically found in fatty plant foods such as sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, almonds, peanut butter, and wheat germ, as well as in sweet potatoes, shrimp, leafy green vegetables, and whole grains. Selenium is found in nuts, whole grains, seafood, and chicken. Biotin, a B-vitamin that is not an antioxidant, is also found in nuts and seeds. It seems to strengthen nails and prevent them from peeling.

Healthy Fats

Inadequate amounts of fat in the diet can cause dry, scaly, gray, and dull skin. Fats can moisturize you from the inside out, and two in particular can even enhance your beauty. Alpha linolenic acid, or ALA, is a type of fat that our bodies can convert into Omega 3 fatty acids and helps the skin regenerate healthy new cells. Ground flax seeds are our best sources of ALA, though walnuts are good sources, too. Omega 3 fats are anti-inflammatory, which means they can slow the aging of skin and hair. Since these fats build up skin cell walls, skin is able to hold water and moisture better when omega 3s are adequate in the diet. They can also help prevent or reverse hair loss. The best sources of omega 3 fatty acids are fatty fish, such as wild salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, herring, mackerel, fortified eggs, such as Eggland's Best, and some soy foods.

Lentils, Spinach, Steak, and Fortified Breakfast Cereals

Iron deficiency can definitely dull your good looks by taking the luster out of your hair and skin. It can even make hair fall out! Iron-rich foods, such as beans (especially lentils), spinach, lean meat, and fortified cereals, breads, and rice, should be eaten with foods high in vitamin C so that iron is absorbed optimally.

Water

Although there is little evidence that drinking more water does anything to plump up your skin, other beverages that you might drink instead, such as soda and sweetened drinks, can be pro-inflammatory, which speeds the aging process. Therefore, drinking water almost exclusively is a good anti-aging strategy. Water carries toxins out of your skin and nutrients in, so being well hydrated may help keep your skin clean and clear.

Inner beauty is certainly more important than outer beauty, therefore I believe in taking care of your health through a nutritious, well-balanced diet. Aging gracefully and slowly is important for how you feel about yourself and how others perceive you. Signs of age can be beautiful, but always keep in mind that what you put inside your body can be reflected on your outside.