Got wrinkles? Five years ago I wasn’t as interested in anti-wrinkle remedies as I am today. Today lotions and potions line my bathroom sink like a department store beauty counter. All with promises to slow down the aging process and regain a youthful glow.
However, those pesky wrinkles, sagging neck skin and ugly age spots seem to be winning the battle. Big sigh. Honestly, I am just not ready for AARP so I think its time for a different approach.
Interestingly, the skin is the largest organ in body and it’s also the most vulnerable because its exposed to the two most damaging elements on earth—UV rays from the sun and oxidizing effects of the air. Due to these elements, our skin gets thinner, more damaged, loses elasticity and it just wrinkles up over time. So if all those expensive face creams really don’t make a difference on the outside of our skin then have you ever wondered what we can do from the “inside” to slow down the aging process? I do.
Can food make a difference?
You bet! Eating healthier produces healthier skin. It’s simple– beauty from the inside out. Here’s how it works…our diet or what we eat affects inflammation in our body and this “inflammatory effect” of food affects all the organs–even the skin. Inflammation, too much sun and not enough antioxidants from food all play a role in our skin integrity. So it stands to reason that if we can slow down this inflammation inside our body then, maybe, we can keep our youthful glow (at least for a little while).
How do we reduce this inflammation? One way is with diet. A higher intake of fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, soy, olive oil, fatty fish, green tea and eating less animal products, dairy and refined grains will do this.
Need proof? In 2010 a study done in Japan showed that a higher intakes of green and yellow vegetables was associated with decreased facial wrinkling¹. How much made a difference? Those eating two or more servings per day showed the least wrinkles. And in another study, drinking green tea was shown to protect skin against harmful UV radiation and helped to improve overall skin quality of women. Just a few months of drinking green tea and the women showed a 16% decrease in skin roughness and a 25% reduction in scaling of the skin. Wow!
Eat more fruits, veggies and drink green tea to prevent cancer? Maybe…but prevent wrinkles? I’m in! 🙂
Heidi
PS. For starters, try this awesome chicken kale salad recipe. My new fav!
¹ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20085665
² http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/6/1202.full.pdf+html
Annie says
Great articles!!!