How Diet can Influence your Skin

We all want truly fabulous, glowing and vibrant skin. My cosmetician told me that most of my skin problems had an internal and not an external cause. The functioning of internal organs is key and one of the ways you can influence that is having a ballanced diet. In conclusion I started researching on the web what one should and should not eat in order to have a beautiful skin.
However one should keep in mind that there are several factors that might influence the appearance and health of your skin. All of the following factors should be taken into consideration:

1. genetic
2. diet
3. skin care
4. enviornment
5. exercise

So let us focus this time on the diet. What are those foods you should avoid and what are those of which you should introduce more into your diet in order to have a gorgeous skin.

What to add to your list

1. Fish:  contains oils that will help nourish your skin, adds luster and softness to your complexion. 
2. Antioxidants protect your skin against the harmful effects of earth's environment.   

• Vitamin A: you can get it from dark orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash) and dark green vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale
• Vitamin E: hazelnuts and almonds 
• Vitamin C:  strawberries, oranges, grapefruit, cauliflower, snow peas, asparagus and celery
• Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and plums all have high antioxidant content
•  Beans, peas and lentils

     3. Cereals
     4. Natural Sugars like unrefined sugar or honey


What to avoid

1. Alcohol should be avoided as it is dehydrating and can can also lead to erupted capillaries when consumed in excess. 
2. Dairy products are also bad for one's skin. On the one hand hormones milk cows produce can lead to acne, on the other, drinking milk might also lead to "atopic dermatitis" (eczema) and "urticaria" (hives). Bad news for a big milk and dairy products fan like me (T_T). However if you cannot live without them, you can chose low fat diary products.
3. Caffeine- because it destroys all your vitamin intake.
4. Simple carbohydrates, such as are found in pasta, white bread, rice, potatoes and sweets, can increase insulin levels, which also contribute to inflammation.

Also don´t forget to drink plenty of water to hydrate your skin. You can also add some green tea to the fluids intake which is even better than plain water, as it contains a lot of anti oxidants.

The Chocolate Myth Busted 

Chocolate is not bad for your skin. You can check out the results of this research.

Five normal subjects ingested two enriched chocolate bars daily for one month; this represented a daily addition of the diet of 1,200 calories, of which about half was vegetable fat. This excessive intake of chocolate and fat did not alter the composition or output of sebum.

 You can now lay down relieved on the chocolate couch. By the way, it is edible. Check out the article here.

Source: odditycentral.com

In conclusion a ballanced diet can do wonders to your skin. On of the diet types I have newly discovered is the alkaline diet. Check out more about it here.

Sources:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/269131-a-skin-friendly-diet/#ixzz1X4vt52PE
http://www.ivillage.com/eat-wellness-better-skin-diet/4-a-108230#ixzz1X4EcabU6 
http://www.naturalnews.com/030937_beauty_diet.html
http://www.webmd.com/healthy-beauty/features/skin-food
http://www.edelbioskincare.com/lifebeautiful_foodtips.php