Beautiful Skin Begins Within

The food we eat affects our skin health.  Eating more processed, trans fats, sugar-laden foods, and alcohol have been proven to speed up the aging process and affect the quality of our skin.   On the flip side, we could look to food as our medicine and take in the foods that slow the aging process and help heal our skin.   We are either helping and healing or aging and destroying with what we put into and onto our bodies.  The more colourful foods (hint: fruits and vegetables) we eat the better, and healthy fats and quality protein really give us the key macronutrients to nourish our skin.  That is where it starts.

The health of our digestive tract is reflected in our skin as well!   Having healthy intestinal cells is in direct proportion to our food and drink choices, stress levels, medication intake, and weight.  Having eubiosis (balanced microbiome) and a positive number of good bacteria in our gut is an awesome foundation to your skin health journey.  Taking a daily probiotic supplement with prebiotics and/or eating fermented probiotic-rich foods is a great step to giving your digestive tract what it needs to be healthy. 

Natural skin cell turnover slows as we age.

A process that takes two weeks for babies, takes three to four weeks for teens. After our teens, the skin generally renews itself every 30-40 days. After the age of 50 however, the skin becomes even more sluggish and will renew itself only every 45 to 90 days

If you are over the age of 20, we know that the aging process has begun.   At some point, we need to make the decision if we want to get ahead of it and take steps now to age more gracefully, OR maybe we’ve already been aging for a while and would like to get back to where we were a few years ago.

Assuming we are on our journey and value beautiful gorgeous skin, let’s look at 3 additional steps or interventions we can take to provide an amazing glow from within.   These tips are over and above eating and drinking to nourish your skin as discussed above.  

Step 1.  Be sure to consumer quality marine collagen.

Collagen is very hot right now and it has been a topic of discussion for a few years now.  Collagen makes up our skin, hair, nails, joints, bone, ligaments, connective tissue and supports our organs including our heart.   It represents about 1/3 of the protein in our body – so it is very important.  We lose about 1% of collagen per year.  This is one of the reasons why we wrinkle.  And also, one of the reasons why we experience more joint pain, bone loss and thinning hair and nails!  When it comes to skin health, this is where marine collagen shines.   Specifically, hydrolyzed collagen and elastin polypeptides from sustainably produced marine collagen.  We love Active Collagen because not only is it marine collagen, but it also contains elastin which has a synergic antiwrinkle action: elastin fibers give the dermis suppleness that competes for collagen fibers tensile strength.    Further, the research on the ingredient in Active Collagen is specific to the skin.  Women in the study experienced a 20% reduction and the depth of their deep wrinkles in 28 days after consuming 2000mg of marine collagen (found in Active Collagen) and it continued as they used it. 

Step 2.  Eat healthy fatty acids for the skin

When you are making your fat choices, most likely there are avocados, salmon, walnuts, flax, fish oils, even MCT oils in your basket.  But don’t forget about Borage Seed oil which contains 24% GLA.   GLA is the essential fatty acid for the skin and it is not in fish or flax oil.   It is the secret to glowing skin and also calms inflammation in the skin.  People with eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis are typically low or deficient in GLA.   Our body can make GLA, but many people have altered conversions due to stress, lifestyle and other factors.  Look for GLA from borage seed and add it to your smoothies or take in capsule form.   Maintain with 2 tsp/day or 4-6 caps/day of GLA oil from Lorna Vanderhaeghe’s Skin Smart line. 

Step 3.  Nourish your skin from the outside in with paraben-free creams.

The average women uses 9 personal care products each day, with 126 unique chemical ingredients.  These ingredients can result in a number of different problems from hormonal to accumulation in our organs.   Parabens can act as estrogen mimickers and should be avoided in your skin regime.  Our skin is our largest organ and while we feed the skin from the inside out, we also feed our skin from the outside in!   There are lots of clean cosmetic and cream options with unique ingredients to do just that.  For example, Celadrin cream is paraben free and great for fine lines and wrinkles and where it acts like a superstar is in its action on skin irritation. 

Being a complex molecule consisting of various fatty acids, it is able to penetrate cell membranes, which enhances membrane permeability and cell-to-cell signaling. In doing so, Celadrin® may reduce the level of inflammatory components of the immune system from binding to cells and thus causing occasional inflammation in different parts of the body.  It is great for hypersensitive skin and makes for a valuable and effective day cream and could be used especially if you suffer from any sort of skin irritation

These are just 3 steps into achieving beautiful skin from within, and combining these simple recommendations are sure to give you visible results in 30 days!   One more thing, what makes someone beautiful no matter what?  A contagious ear to ear smile!   Hope you are smiling now and all the best on your journey of health achieving beauty from within.

Author: 

Angela Ysseldyk, BA, CNP