While beauty salons may have your back with topical remedies, food should play a role in curing the issues you wear on your face. Everything in your body is connected, so a problem with your skin likely mirrors an issue with your diet and lifestyle. This is both a medical truth and an ancient ayurvedic principle. Knowing your skin, body, and personality type can help you balance your entire life. Here’s what a nutritionist prescribes for each skin issue.
Acne
「Acne usually stems from hormonal or digestive issues, so making sure your body can process food efficiently and feeding your body with alkalizing foods is key. Eat low-glycemic foods including berries, greens, sweet potato, grapefruit, and most non-starchy vegetables,」 says Dorit Jaffe, nutritionist and founder of Whole Healthy Glow.
「Adding flaxseed meal or oil to your morning routine will help calm down your skin, as it’s anti-inflammatory. Take a turmeric supplement or cook with this powerful ancient Indian spice, which is detoxifying and anti-inflammatory. Turmeric aids in digestion to help clear up any blockage, which will cause breakouts. It’s also known to detoxify the liver and help rid any buildup there.」
Jaffe’s favorite all-around remedy is warm water with lemon in the morning to detox your body, awaken your metabolism, and prevent breakouts.
She recommends avoiding sugar, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, peanuts and peanut butter, soy, and gluten if you are struggling with breakouts. 「Both processed and natural sugars elevate testosterone levels and increase hormonal imbalances, thus causing acne breakouts and puffiness. Sugars found in alcohol will also have this effect on skin, as well as being dehydrating,」 Jaffe says. 「Don’t eat peanut butter. It’s prone to mold even if bought organic, and wreaks havoc on your digestive system. You may notice more pimples on your forehead after eating peanut butter because of the negative effects it has on your gut.」
Dry or wrinkle prone skin
For wrinkle prone skin, obvious go-to foods contain lots of antioxidants. Jaffe recommends organic blueberries, blackberries, goji berries, raw cacao, matcha green tea, and dark green vegetables, which are rich in phytochemicals and help dilate blood vessels. Another method is to build a protective barrier for your skin using food. 「Aloe vera is not only great to use externally on your skin but its also extremely healing when ingested. Aloe vera contains antioxidants, which include vitamins A, C, and E. They help protect your skin from free radicals found in the environment. Aloe is dense in essential minerals, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, chromium, zinc, and selenium, which are all beneficial for healthy skin. You can blend Aloe vera with filtered water or in your morning smoothie,」 Jaffe says.
This group of people are advised to eat naturally sweet, sour, salty, and warming foods. They should avoid bitter, astringent, and pungent foods, as well as dry, cold, or cooling foods. Drinking lots of warm water can minimize dryness and help cleanse your body from within. 「Including healthy fats like ghee or olive oil in your diet is also recommended to aid in detoxifying the liver,」 Jaffe says.
Oily skin
「Oily skin is very similar to acne prone skin, so it’s best to eat low-glycemic foods, avoid dairy and eat Omega-3 rich foods, such as avocado, wild salmon, coconut oil, chia seeds, flaxseeds and pumpkin seeds,」 Jaffe advises. 「Do not eat any fried food.」
This group of people are advised to eat lots of vegetables and drink lots of water to cleanse skin from within. 「I also recommend cooking with warming spices like ginger or black pepper to aid with digestion and inhibit digestive issues, says Jaffe.