Of all the parts of the body that most identifies you as you, nothing beats your face. It appears in your identification cards and shows people your emotions. Great men of history are known for their faces too. We revel at the bust of Julius Caesar of the glory that was Rome. Moreover, we see our best attributes in the face of four presidents we have carved into the mountains of Mt. Rushmore. As important as our faces are to us, taking care of them is a must.
But we may be looking at it all wrong. Many of us look into a regimen of skincare, one done by many conscientiously every morning, as the key to perfectly-glowing skin. While putting all those lotions and nutrients have their merits, these can be just one side of the coin. For one, we forget the adage left for us by the mighty Greeks, specifically by Hippocrates: What we eat is what we are.
One phenomenal American beauty expert of modern time agrees. To be beautiful outside, we must look at the foods we ram into our mouths. And be selective about it. Or face the consequences in the process.
What We Shouldn’t Eat
Dr. Jessica Wu is a leading beauty expert in the country. A renowned cosmetic dermatologist and founder of Dr. Jessica Wu Skincare, she’s been a sought-after expert on skincare gracing radio and TV stations lately. It’s not hard for you to recognize the dear doctor. As beautiful as her face is, she also possesses a youthful body that would make men look twice. Even thrice. In short, she’s the very embodiment of what she preaches.
And while you can easily admire her for her youthful looks, it’s what she has to say that should get your undivided attention.
In her very own eating guide Feed Your Face, Dr. Wu details how much we forget that what we eat becomes part of us. She says that foods are the building blocks of healthy skin. Once digested, foods become the vitamins and minerals that are then used by your body to build your skin.
Thus, when you crash diet you actually undermine your skin. It won’t stay as supple and as strong as you want it to be. The same holds true when eating highly-processed food or junk foods.
One of the key takeaways is going into low-glycemic diets to aid acne-prone skin. Reducing sugar can be key in getting that healthy glow in your skin. Instead, you can take nutrient-packed food such as fruit and vegetables.
Dr. Wu stresses that protein bars can be a mortal sin. That’s because all that sugar can flood your bloodstream in no time causing insulin levels to spike. In the end, you make matters worse for your acne, rashes, and wrinkles.
What’s Best for Our Skin
Of course, eating is not the only way to get to healthy unblemished skin. LED medical light therapy, for instance, has been instrumental in the treatment of various skin problems, acne including. So helpful is LED to the skin, that NASA even found it beneficial for the healing of wounds.
While many skin experts have their own favorite selection, everyone agrees that eating vegetables is good for the skin. A good example is an avocado. Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, avocados have hydrating properties that reduce fine lines and unwanted wrinkles. Even better, an avocado blends to any dish, even good in a sandwich burger. Plus, you can also apply it topically for the best results.
Even more astounding, avocado is also good for the heart. That’s telling you this fruit is one treasure trove.
Dr. Wu, for her part, proposes a simple way to get the nutrients you need for your skin. Find the right color. She posits red, yellow, and green are the color of vegetables you should take. Top of that list is tomato. It can help reduce the damages you incur while staying too much under the sun.
Additionally, the beautiful doctor recommends you eat tomatoes along with good fats, say like olive oil or avocado oil. That makes the nutrients in the tomato easier to absorb by your body.
The Redder the Better
A good way to maximize fruits and vegetables is to look at the color. The paler the fruit or veggie is, the lesser the nutrient. Thus, if you want to have the most antioxidants and vitamins from tomatoes, consider taking one that’s redder. The redder it gets, the more antioxidants and lycopene it has.
The same holds true for veggies. Choose something that’s brighter or darker, more intense colors. It follows that if you choose your greens to eat for your salad, go for the darker-green veggies. We’re talking about spinach and kale.
All these sounds we need to really upgrade our eating habits. It’s a tall order no doubt. But it’s a small price to pay to keep your face as confidently beautiful as possible. And as enviable as the gods above.
