How diet can help improve your skin, hair, teeth and general wellbeing
Despite the marketing gimmicks for skin creams and anti-aging elixirs of youth, the best things you can do to look better start from the inside – better nutritional health is the key to feeling good about yourself.
Skin
Glowing, healthy skin comes from eating the right kind of foods. Did you know that skin in perfect condition contains around 15% essential fatty acids?Two popular sources of these fatty acids are fish and seed oils. You can make sure your skin is healthy by ensuring you have the right levels of vitamins C, riboflavin, niacin, and minerals like zinc. Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin. Riboflavin, niacin and zinc contribute to the maintenance of normal skin.
Vitamin A is considered essential: it's a vital nutrient to help maintain healthy skin. Did you know that 15% of your body’s protein is found in your skin? A good way to keep your protein levels topped up in your diet is to try a convenient supplement between meals, like Maxinutrition Protein Milk.
Hair
Great looking hair should be as thick and lustrous as when you were a teenager. What’s interesting to remember is that the hair itselfisn’t what you need to worry about so much: it’s what’s happening under the skin that counts. Your hair grows from the follicles in your scalp, which are fed by your normal blood circulation.
Your body needs to maintain a healthy level of iron, which contributes to normal formation of red blood cells. But don’t just reach for the iron-rich foods like leafy greens and red meat though –make sure to consume plenty of vitamin C in foods like citrus fruits and peppers because your body uses it to absorb that iron.
Teeth
Calcium and vitamin D are two of the most important nutritional health components for healthy teeth. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium: although you can make your own vitamin D from the sun, the sun in the UK is only strong enough between April and September. For the rest of the year, you need to focus on getting it from your diet too: foods rich in Vitamin D include salmon, sardines, mackerel and eggs.
