Delicious Skin Care: 6 Power House Foods For Healthy Skin

With all of the latest skin care products on the market, many people overlook one of the most important steps in their skin care routine: their diet. What we eat can have an enormous impact on our skin and a lot of the natural ingredients that we see included in skin care products, like avocado, green tea, and cucumbers, also help you to have healthy skin from the inside out. Here are some of the best foods to add to your diet for a great start to a skin care regimen.
Green tea has long been prized for its many health benefits, ranging from helping to control blood pressure to aiding in weight loss to fighting cancer. Besides the many health benefits, green tea is also a great addition to your skin care tool box, both externally and internally. A lot of the damage skin receives over the years is due to oxidated stress and green tea is chock full of antioxidants which can help fight those nasty little free radicals that cause premature aging and wrinkles.
Studies have also shown that green tea may help to fight sun damage as well and, more than just being helpful for skin care, some studies suggest that it can actually help fight skin cancers as well.
You may already known that using olive oil as a moisturizer for skin care can help hydrate your skin, but including olive oil as a part of healthy diet can also give your skin a healthy boost. One study showed that women who had higher amounts of olive oil in their diet showed significantly fewer signs of aging than those who did not include this golden gem.
A study published by the British Journal of Nutrition in 2011 showed that those who consumed at least 250 grams worth (about the size of a yellow bell pepper) of yellow and green vegetables each day showed fewer signs of wrinkles than those who did not and, what is even better is the effect seemed to be the greatest in those tricky little crow’s feet areas around the eyes, a common target area for skin care concerns.
More than just a delicious holiday treat, pumpkins can be a skin care power house too! Vitamin A is essential for skin care and helps the body in producing new skin cells. Just half a cup of pumpkin, cooked or baked, offers 4 times the daily recommended serving, which can help keep skin smooth and healthy.
An interesting study in the International Journal of Epidemiology showed that including herbs like Rosemary in your diet every day could have some great benefits for skin care and reduce the risk of melanoma by as much as 60 percent.
Who can say no to the delectable taste of chocolate for perhaps the most delicious skin care treat of all? Several studies have shown that dark chocolate can have a range of health benefits, but is can also be a heavy hitter in your skin care arsenal! Benefits include combating wrinkles, fighting thinning skin, helping skin to stay hydrated, and increase blood flow to the skin. Studies have also shown that it can help to fight UV damage to the skin as well — and if that wasn’t enough, this little dynamo also helps to fight stress, which doesn’t just improve health but also helps to protect your skin from stress induced damage like break outs.
Word to the wise though, avoid high sugar and fat varieties like milk chocolate which can actually be worse for your skin and your waist line. Opt instead for dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cocoa, and the higher the better. It only takes one ounce a day of this yummy skin care eseential to reap the benefits and keep those cravings at bay to boot!
A healthy, well balanced diet, is not only a delicious approach to skin care but it is also one that will come with a lifetime of good health as well, something even the best skin care products haven’t been able to provide yet — so here’s to healthy, great looking skin!