Daily practices for healthier skin
Being the largest organ in the body, the skin plays many vital roles in the body such as providing a physical barrier from the external environment[1]. While some skin conditions can be a bit complex, some practices can be adopted every day to improve the quality of your skin gradually.
Water water water
For optimal health of the organs in your body in general, but also because you skin needs hydration for the proper integrity/production of membrane surfaces and flushing impurities from here. When the skin becomes dehydrated, there is more chance of it becoming dry, flaky and infected from bacteria. Drinking between 2-3 liters a day should be sufficient to prevent this.
Avoidance of dairy
Dairy avoidance is usually recommended for improved skin quality as it can cause inflammation to the skin. Milk also can interfere with hormones by reacting with testosterone and increasing the amount of sebum, causing oily skin and pimples. Switch to plant milk (soy, almond, coconut, rice, oat) and coconut yogurts.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants are high in richly colored foods such as berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries), organic green tea, red apples, kale, sweet potato, and garlic. They are super important for the diet for neutralizing free radicals that build up in the body from toxin exposure from the environment, stress, and food, causing the progression of disease and aging. These actions help the skin by making the skin look firmer, smoother and glowing. On the surface, antioxidants increase its firm, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and improve the damage from sun and scar tissue damage.
Collagen
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, making up 70% of the dry weight of human skin and is a vital component of the connective tissues in our bodies in skin, muscles, and joints. As the skin gradually loses its structural shape causing furrows, a collagen supplement consisting of hydrolyzed collagen peptides can be used to counteract this by balancing the amount that is lost in gradual aging[1] improving the skins elasticity, moisture, dermal water loss preventing dry/rough skin. A recent study has suggested this where wrinkles were improved after eight weeks of daily collagen intake (3).
Organic green tea
Another high antioxidant compound called polyphenols are highly present in green tea have been found to be highly anti-inflammator[2]y and decrease cell proliferation,
carcinogenic influencers and ultraviolet inflammation of the skin[3]. Green tea helps kill off the bacterium that contributes to acne, flushing out toxins for a flawless complexion.
Many other influences can affect skin which can be controlled from a naturopathic consultation with hormonal assessment, product assessment, improving the gut-skin axis, liver function, chemical exposure, etc.
1. Borumand, M. and Sibilla, S., 2014. Daily consumption of the collagen supplement Pure Gold Collagen® reduces visible signs of aging. Clinical interventions in aging, 9, p.1747.
2. Katiyar, S.K. and Elmets, C.A., 2001. Green tea polyphenolic antioxidants and skin photoprotection. International journal of oncology, 18(6), pp.1307-1313.2.
3. Proksch, E., Schunck, M., Zague, V., Segger, D., Degwert, J. and Oesser, S., 2014. Oral intake of specific bioactive collagen peptides reduces skin wrinkles and increases dermal matrix synthesis. Skin pharmacology and physiology, 27(3), pp.113-119.
4. Juhl, C., Bergholdt, H., Miller, I., Jemec, G., Kanters, J. and Ellervik, C., 2018. Dairy Intake and Acne Vulgaris: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 78,529 Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. Nutrients, 10(8), p.1049.
