March is Nutrition Month, with reminders on healthy eating habits to keep your body operating optimally. Skin is your body’s largest organ. Are you providing your body with the proper nutrients to keep your skin healthy?
Hydration is key
It’s important to stay properly hydrated for a myriad of reasons, including to help maintain healthy skin. Drinking enough water throughout the day will replenish moisture within your skin, help to maintain its elasticity, improve skin texture, and may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Eat Clean for Clearer Skin
Make a concentrated effort to reduce the amount of processed foods you’re consuming. “The goal is to reduce systemic inflammation. When choosing what to eat, it’s a case of the cleaner, the better,” says Kelly Anne Erdman, INLIV’s Registered Dietitian.
The Mediterranean diet is a great choice, as its focus is on consuming lots of fresh vegetables, healthy oils, and lean proteins like fish and chicken.
Amp Up the Omega 3
√ Opt for avocado, grapeseed and olive oils
X Avoid sunflower, corn, and soybean oils, as they provide too much Omega 6
√ Eat salmon, mackerel, sardines and herring. Other fatty fish, such as trout
remain a healthier choice than some other proteins, but they aren’t as high in
Omega 3
Apply Nutritional Vitamins
Though we primarily think of vitamins as ingestible, there are vitamin-based topical products, specially designed to benefit your skin.
Vitamin A is widely recognized as an effective topical solution to help improve the appearance of your skin, especially aging skin. Many people may be using Vitamin A on their skin without realizing it. The popular skincare ingredient retinol is actually a derivate of Vitamin A.
Vitamin C that’s formulated for your skin can help promote collagen production, diminish fine lines, and it serves as an antioxidant, protecting your skin cells from free radicals. But be selective when selecting skincare products touting Vitamin C on their labels, as not all of them will be effective due to how it has been handled during production, and how it is packaged. As a molecule, Vitamin C is unstable and will oxidize quickly with exposure to light.
If you’re seeking topical nutrition for your skin, our Medical Aesthetics Coordinator, Allie Stewart, recommends:
√ Vitamin CE Peptides from Vivier