Women often rely on beauty and skin care products to enhance their looks. We are all, at some point in time, guilty of hoarding many beauty products which burnt a hole in our pockets and yet haven’t served their purpose. Contrary to the common belief, beauty is not just skin deep. What goes inside our system is highly important to what renders the look of our outer side. The food we intake is a determining factor of how our skin looks. If we don’t intake enough water, our skin will tend to look dry and patchy. Similarly, excessive intake of oily food can cause break out of pimples. On the brighter side of the rainbow are some highly nutritious superfoods which can make your skin radiant. Regular intake of these foods also improves the overall health of the body. Let’s take a look at 5 such superfoods, which are right in your kitchen, or just around the corner in the grocery store.
#1 Avocados: If you want to your skin to be healthy inside out, avocados are one of the best additions to your diet. They are rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated omega 9 fatty acids. Omega 9 fatty acids help in keeping the outer layer of your skin taut. They also keep it moisturized and hence your skin keeps looking radiant always. Avocados are also high in Vitamin E, which is one of the wonder vitamins for skin radiance. Avocados good source of antioxidants which keep fighting the free radicals, and hence keep your skin looking young and beautiful.
How much is too much? Limit your intake to ½ to 1 avocado per day. Though avocados are filled with goodness, the fat content in one avocado is equal to the recommended fat per day in a 2000 KCal diet. So assuming you are having other forms of fat in the day like nuts, seeds and oils, it is advisable that you do not have more than ½ an avocado in a day.
#2 Tomatoes: Tomatoes could easily be the most common element of all the kitchens and cuisines over the world. This ordinary looking fruit not only enhances but also contains a secret agent called lycopene. Lycopene is a natural carotene which acts as a natural sunscreen. It is a wonderful antioxidant and has good anti-inflammatory properties. Hence, tomatoes are supposed to be especially good for skin which is prone to acne. Lycopene is also known to help our body fight diseases by boosting our immune system. Researches have shown that lycopene is best absorbed with cooked tomatoes rather than raw ones.
How much is too much? Studies show that our body could use up to 22 mg of lycopene per day. One serving of cooked tomatoes is enough to give you the daily requirement of lycopene. You can have more servings of fresh tomatoes.
#3 Oats: Change your daily breakfast to oats and you will notice a difference in your skin. Oats are known to have a low glycemic index, which means that the sugars are released slowly into the blood. Foods with high glycemic index tend to fluctuate the blood sugar levels drastically, which can increase inflammation and also the chances of acne breakout. Switching your breakfast cereal to oats can make your blood sugars neutral and hence decrease any acne causing effects. Oats are also rich in vitamin B, and minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Hence they help in building bones and improve our metabolism.
How much is too much? Oats are high in fibre and hence form a healthy breakfast variant. However, having too much fibre can also upset your bowel movements. Hence, its ideal to limit your intake of oats to one serving per day.
#4 Coconut oil: Coconut oil is filled with goodness that you would not expect an oil to have. It is made up of medium-chain fatty acids which boost the metabolism. They burn quickly and also help burn the stored fat in our body. Coconut oil majorly contains lauric acid. Lauric acid is an antimicrobial fatty acid which fights bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes. Coconut oil is one of the best foods for glowing skin. It contains a good amount of vitamin E, which helps your skin retain its elasticity and suppleness. Coconut oil can also be used in the oil pulling method. It detoxifies the body and hence reduces the load on the skin to do the job. Mesmara’s Extra virgin coconut oil is the purest form of coconut oil. It is cold pressed and hence retains most of the nutritional values of coconuts.
How much is too much? Though coconut oil is loaded with goodness, you still can’t use it as an excuse to overindulge in fatty foods. Researches have shown that 2 tablespoons of coconut oil per day is the optimal amount for consumption.
#5 Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV): A surprise element to make to this list, Apple cider vinegar is a quintessential pH balancer. It is highly alkaline in nature and hence balances the acidic foods you intake. Apple cider vinegar contains a fibre called pectin which helps in detoxifying our digestive system and helps ease constipation. ACV is also known to ease acne breakouts. Check our blog post – ‘10 Proven Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)’ to understand it better.
Howmuch is too much? It is absolutely essential to understand the ACVshould never be ingested unless it is diluted. A tablespoon of ACV can be mixedinto a cup of warm water and used as a tonic. This is one superfood which needsto be taken with a certain amount of caution, as too much intake can causeadverse effects like eroding of teeth enamel, irritation in your throat etc.
Mesmara’s ACV is made fromHimalayan apples. No heat or harsh chemicals are used for fermentation. Henceit is one of the best ACVs available in the market.
So here are 5 superfoods which can help your skin glowfrom inside out. Try them and see the difference.