Our skin is one of the most important parts of our body. After all, it’s our biggest organ, spanning on average some 22 square feet. It is also our most visible organ and, understandably, having clear, glowing, healthy skin is an ambition for many of us. But how do we maintain healthy skin naturally? Let’s take a look.
Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking an adequate amount of water each day is important for our bodies for more reasons than you can count on two hands, and this includes your skin. Like everything in your body, skin is made up of cells, and your skin cells are comprised of roughly 64 percent water. Without sufficient hydration your skin cells cannot function properly, making skin tight, flaky and dry; whereas water will make it feel plump and healthy.
Collagen is what gives skin strength and elasticity, and it needs water to function. Water can also decrease the concentration of oils in your skin, discouraging acne and pimples. It is also necessary for delivering nutrients to cells, and for combating skin disorders like psoriasis and eczema. It is recommended you drink 2 to 3 litres of water every day. Just remember to spread it out evenly; your body can’t absorb that much at once and most of it will go to waste.
Eat Foods with Plenty of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are fantastic for your skin. They fight off inflammation, and counter the natural aging process by neutralising free radicals in the body. The name ‘antioxidant’ actually refers to their function: impeding cell oxidation, a major process of skin ageing.
Antioxidants are a crucial element of many skin care products, but they are also found naturally in many foods, such as goji berries, wild blueberries, dark chocolate, pecans, artichoke, elderberries, kidney beans and much more. Do you research and start incorporating antioxidant-rich foods into your diet for healthy skin.
Limit Sun Exposure
While small doses of sun provides your skin with vitamin D, which is beneficial, excess exposure can be very detrimental. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays damage the fibres in the skin called elastin, which causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose the ability to repair itself.
Excess exposure to the sun also causes precancerous and cancerous skin lesions, due to UV rays destroying the skin’s natural immunity; it also causes benign tumours, freckles, discolourations, dilation of small blood vessels under the skin, and wrinkles. One of the most effective ways to keeping your skin healthy, glowing, and looking younger is to always apply zinc and sunscreen, wear a hat and long-sleeve shirts, and keep in the shade wherever possible.
Eat Healthy Fats
Fatty foods are often associated with high cholesterol and obesity, but in actual fact, many types of fat are very good for your body, including your skin. While saturated fat and trans fats are closely linked with high cholesterol and should be limited as much as possible, essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 have a plethora of benefits for your skin.
Omega-6 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties that sooth irritated skin. They also stimulate cell growth and maintenance, helping the skin stay moist and flexible. They can be found naturally in seeds, nuts, grains, and vegetable oils such as corn, cottonseed, safflower, sesame, soybean and sunflower, as well as green leafy vegetables and avocado.
Omega-3 fatty acids nourish the skin with fats and contributes fat-soluble vitamins that help skin maintain its elastic texture and stay radiant. It is also responsible for cell membrane health, and for transporting nutrients and waste products in and out of skin cells. Foods rich in omega-3 include oily fish like salmon, mackerel and sardines, walnuts, canola oil, soybeans and flax seed.
These unsaturated fats are particularly important as part of a balanced diet because your body does not produce its own, meaning they must be ingested. Try incorporating them into your diet for natural path to healthy glowing skin.
Get Plenty of Exercise
A consistent regimen of exercise is one of the best things you can do to stay healthy. Everything from your cholesterol levels to your mental health will benefit from 30 minutes of moderate-vigorous every day. Your skin will reap the rewards too.
Exercising dilates the pores, helping expel trapped dirt and oils, which makes skin feel cleaner and reduces the prevalence of acne and other blemishes. It also helps regulate skin-significant hormones and prevents free-radical damage, and increases the flow of rich oxygenated blood to skin cells, which delivers all-important nutrients to help repair damage and boost collagen production, keeping skin plump and glowing.
Exercise also helps you sleep better, which allows time for your skin to repair itself; and relieve stress, which studies have shown to influence the sebaceous glands, which produce oil in the skin. You can about the effects of exercise on cholesterol here too.