You would think with Twitter being down for the most part today I’d get more work done. I’d go write some things. I’d go exercise. Nope. I’ve just been playing with my Facebook account (if you aren’t a fan/like it, please do so!) and my YouTube account and reading blogs. I’ve actually enjoyed the distraction of reading blogs because I don’t do it nearly as often as I used too.
But today I wanted to share a little bit about getting healthy, glowing skin, because that’s part of what I’m working on with my whole Operation Sexification adventure.
Having healthy skin has A LOT to do with what you are eating. Glowing skin starts on the inside. Sweets, salt, grease break you out and make your skin look bad while eating a healthy diet can do wonders for your skin. The healthier the foods you eat, the better your skin will look. (Look how the reasons to eat clean and healthy just keep adding up… )
What foods should you eat for healthy skin?
A balanced diet is the best way to go for healthy skin, but some articles suggest certain foods are even better for your skin because of certain vitamins and antioxidants they contain.
- Low-fat dairy products. (Avoid the high fat varieties.)
- Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and plums.
- Pomgranates.
- Tomatoes. (Reduce the chance of sunburn!)
- Salmon, walnuts, canola pil, and flax seed.
- Egg yolks, legumes, avacados, nuts.
- Soybeans and soy foods.
- Whole-wheat bread, muffins, and cereals; turkey, tuna and brazil nuts.
- Healthy oils.
- Green tea.
- Water!!!!
Basically, some good fat in your diet is a good thing because it helps your skin out. But not a lot because a high fat diet will clog up your skin. Eek! Avoid fast food and processed food and you probably won’t have a problem with that.
Water is really a crucial element for healthy skin. Drink up!
Watch this video from the YouTube Makeup Guru Michelle Phan about healthy food (a few more than I listed) and beautiful skin. :)
What can you do to protect your skin and keep it healthy?
- Always wear suncreen.
- Moisturize your skin.
- Use good skin care products (things with Vitamin A, C, E, B3, B5).
- Don’t layer on the makeup. (Honestly, not necessary and your skin should breathe.)
- Make sure the makeup comes off. (Do not sleep in it!)
- Don’t go tanning. (Really. 20 minutes of sun a day is something you need but during soft sun times.)
- Don’t smoke!!
- Don’t drink! (It dehydrates the skin and leads to puffiness, stretching, and wrinkles.)
- Reduce stress.
- Sleep enough and exercise. (Just general health guidelines, people!)
Basically all the things you are (or should be) doing to be healthier in general will benefit your skin greatly. If you cut out coke, fast food, and processed food you will notice a huge difference in how your skin looks.
There are a ton of different methods and products to clean and take care of your skin. It really depends on your skin type as to what you specifically should be doing. However I do like the basics of something like Angela’s Project Glow (since it combines eating well and skin care).
Your skin is a huge part of your body and one of the first things people will see and take notice of. So take care of it!
What do you do for healthy skin?
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Cleaning it every night before bed and moisturizing it every morning.
Oh and stop putting your dirty hands on your face ;)
.-= Marilou @ Mostly Healthy´s last blog ..Hump Day =-.
Ah, yes, that’s a good one. I try not to touch my face a lot but it’s something forget all the time. ;)
But I like touching your face. I can’t do that anymore?
.-= Kepa´s last blog ..Things I Want to do in America: Food III =-.
Awww. Haha, you get an exception!
I do most of the things listed except for washing my face with product. I only use water in the shower.
.-= shelly´s last blog ..Todays Eats and Girl Time =-.
Hmm…I try to eat healthy, drink water, clean and moisturize, and stay outta the sun as much as possible.
I’m still working on the water bit though….I drink way too much coffee instead.
I take care of my skin by eating good food:
- I don’t eat processed cereals like Chex or granola, which contain sugar or sugar alternatives. Instead, I eat steel-cut oats for breakfast.
- I avoid ketchup, which is typically high in both sugar and sodium. Instead of ketchup, I generally use a slice (or two or three) of fresh tomato. Or I will spice up my food with homemade mustard (made from dry mustard powder and water), which is essentially sodium free, or fresh chili peppers or fresh home-grown herbs.
- I avoid cheese, because it is so high in fat and sodium. When I do eat cheese, I make sure to weigh it so I will be aware of how much I am actually eating.
- I avoid canned beans, which are high in salt (e.g., Bush’s black beans, which contain 20% of recommended daily sodium intake per 1/2 cup serving). Instead, I buy dried beans and cook them myself without salt.
- I avoid canned foods in general, because they are lower in nutrients and quite high in sodium (and because to me they taste horrible compared to freshly made foods).
- I avoid packaged lunch meats (including turkey), which are high in sodium (e.g., Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh turkey, which has 25% of recommended daily sodium intake per serving). Instead, I boil boneless skinless chicken with onion and garlic and my favorite spices, and use that for making sandwiches and salads (on sale at $2 per pound, that is 50 cents per serving — I think that could be cheaper than lunchmeat).
- I don’t buy prepared hummus, which is typically very high in sodium and pretty expensive. Instead, I make my own hummus from chickpeas which I cook myself. Extremely easy to do.
- I don’t eat flavored yogurts, which are expensive and typically high in sugar (the fruit flavored yogurts are essentially made from jam, which I don’t consider to be a healthy food). Instead, I eat plain yogurt. If I want flavored yogurt, I add fresh bananas or blueberries or frozen fruits plus wheat germ or flax seed. I would never buy individual serving sized yogurts because they cost so much more than yogurt by the quart. When I am feeling really ambitious, I make my own yogurt, and save another 50%. If I want to eat so-called Greek yogurt, I strain my yogurt for a day and save even more.
- I eat lots and lots of fresh vegetables every day. By lots, I mean AT LEAST 3 cups per day of veggies used in salad, sandwiches, and cooking.
- I very rarely eat out at restaurants, because the food is so high in fat and sodium and sugar. I cook most of our food from scratch, and in most cases it tastes much better than what I can get at a restaurant.
I grew up on a typical American diet of processed foods, including most of the relatively unhealthy items listed above. Thank goodness I have since discovered the pleasure of eating freshly prepared foods made from low salt, low sugar, low fat ingredients — which are actually healthy and which to me taste so much better than the junk I ate as a child.
Great list! I grew up on the same diet as you did and I’m slowly moving away from that. Fresh, whole foods are sooo much better for you. And preparing things yourself is fun. It’s nice to put a little love and effort into your food because it gives you that back in the form of healthy body and skin. ;)
Really good post Mary! I do most of that good stuff but unfortunately my skin fights back! The change of life does not help either! :-) A never ending process of trying to figure out what to do!!!! It changes every couple weeks on me & never in a good way! Dang!
.-= Jody – Fit at 52´s last blog ..Knowing & Doing: Do You Do What You Know? =-.
Eating healthier does wonders for my skin. Seriously.
In the past when I ate Chinese Food consistently, my skin suffered. Like, violently.
.-= Alexia´s last blog ..Wednesday Weigh-In =-.
I really try to drink a lot of water, stay out of the sun and not put my hands on my face! Thanks for the information!!
.-= Diane Fit to the Finish´s last blog ..Vacation Success =-.
you have BEAUTIFUL SKIN.
Im like Jody :)
.-= Miz´s last blog ..Jen in Real Life (guest post). =-.
Thank you.
It’s because unlike my tanning friends I AVOID THE SUN AT ALL COSTS. Kidding, but seriously. I hate tanning and I burn easily. Sunblock is my best friend.
I do the water thing and the moisture thing…and now I have a really good excuse to eat more pomegranates!
At the risk of sounding conceited, I get a lot of compliments about my complexion. I see that I am following most of the advice you mentioned here (having trouble giving up my beloved wine so I can’t say I follow all of it!) Great advice here, especially to wear sunscreen, that can save your life too!
.-= karen@fitnessjourney´s last blog ..Ask A Trainer Wednesday/Meet David =-.
See, I don’t think that’s conceited at all. If you have a nice complexion, you have a nice complexion. How weird is it that any compliment about ourselves has to be preceeded by some sort of warning. But good for you for doing all these things and reaping the benefit!
I am very lazy. But since I have had skin cancer three times, I am a big sunscreen believer. And I did finally pay a lot of money for some anti-aging cream that I hope does something for me. Wish I ‘d started taking better care of my skin years ago.
.-= Karen@WaistingTime´s last blog ..I Need Brainwashing =-.
Oh wow, three times? At least you are still here! I had a friend die of skin cancer in high school so I’m pretty PRO SUNSCREEN.
Mary, my very two favorite glow tricks are: 1) put a drop of Jojoba oil in your moisturizer – seems counterintuitive BUT it will actually make your skin smoother, reduce acne, and shrink pores and 2) Genuine Health (a canadian vitamin company) has two AMAZING products called Multi + daily glow and Perfect Skin. I use both and I used to have problem skin and I swear to God they have cleared my skin up completely.
I am also wicked PRO SUNSCREEN.
Oooooo and witch hazel! Witch hazel as a toner makes everything better :)
.-= marzipan´s last blog ..what IF: I went to grad school? =-.
Yeah, it’s good, very useful, thanks :)
I have always struggled with acne from age 18-23. But I started eating primally and taking a fish oil supplement and my acne completely vanished within one week! And I had tried everything before – all the different scrubs, creams, and my dermatologist even put me on antibiotics for a year! Such as waste of money. Take fish oil now! I promise it’ll help your skin!
I don’t agree with the advice about fats. For me, the trick was adding the good fats into my diet – avocados, nuts, cream primarily. But whatever works. I followed this type of eating advice for years with no results and now I’m finally getting them! So I do what works for me, and let others make their own choices.
Good luck with operation sexification! I am really rooting for your to realize what an amazingly smart and beautiful person you are!
Since reading about chemicals and all the bad things they are doing to our bodies I’ve been cutting back on the sunscreen a little. It’s been proven that the chemicals in the sunscreen also cause cancer so you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t!
I drink lots of water, exercise regularly and eat a healthy whole food vegetarian diet.
.-= Di´s last blog ..Taught my first Spinning class =-.
Oh this reminds me I have to write anoher girly for dummies blog. Well I didn’t forget I guess I just havent had time! I love most of the foods you’ve listed. Mmm. I was actually going to write one about moisturizing next I think so that, and the follow up ones about extra creams and serums will be the answer to your question at the end there. I have to say I do some of the good things and some of the bad things you’ve listed. I have to tan or my skin turns red and gross and peely. And I need to drink more water.
.-= merri´s last blog ..Five Star Restaurant; Serrano’s Pizza =-.
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