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What Foods Promote Clear Skin?

Certain foods help the skin maintain a clear and youthful appearance. A diet that contains the proper nutrients is key to a healthy body, and that health will also be reflected in the skin. Likewise, when the body is lacking certain elements due to inadequate diet, skin conditions may develop.

  1. Food with Vitamin A

    • Vitamin A is useful to the health and appearance of skin. Low-fat dairy products, such as yogurt, are the best foods to obtain vitamin A. Yogurt also contains acidophilus, a bacteria that promotes intestinal health. A healthy digestive system also promotes healthy skin.

    Foods High in Antioxidants

    • Foods high in antioxidants actively contribute to healthy and clear skin. These foods include blueberries, strawberries, plums and blackberries. Antioxidants are nutrients and enzymes that inhibit and repair tissue damage. They accomplish this by preventing free radicals, unstable molecules that damage cells in the body, from starting the process of oxidation. It's during oxidation that cells in skin tissue face oxygen damage that usually ends in cell dysfunction. Additionally, because antioxidants protect skin from sun damage, they minimize incidents of brown spots and thickened skin common to sun damage.

    Foods with Essential Fatty Acids

    • Essential fatty acids are useful in clear skin because they maintain healthy cell membranes. Cell membranes block harmful substances and allow nutrients to pass through them. They also hold in moisture, which produces plumper cells, youthful looking skin and protect against harm to arteries and heart disease that can lead to damaged skin cells. Essential fatty acids are best known as omega three and omega six, and they're found in foods like salmon, flax seed oil and walnuts.

    Healthy Oils

    • Healthy oils lubricate the skin, giving it a healthier overall appearance. These oils contain essential fatty acids and retain all of their nutrients because of the process used to create them. Healthy oils are cold-pressed or expeller processed, or extra virgin, and they're produced through a process that only involves pressing, heating and bottling. As healthy as they are, these oils are still fats, so one to two tablespoons per day are enough to obtain their benefits without adding excessive calories.

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