What do you think safeguards our interior organs from harm’s way? It is none else than our skin. Our entire skeletal structure is covered by skin. Without it, our lungs, heart, and other tissues would become endangered; our body would lose warmth and moisture; we would be easy prey to infectious diseases and exposed to sunrays and harsh climates. Knowing these important facts should prompt us to seriously protect our skin and provide it with the utmost care as well as supply it with the optimum nutrition to maintain it in excellent condition. The adequate supply of vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids encourages cells to renew to keep our skin glowing, elastic, wrinkle-free, and young.
Our skin is the mirror of our health; it reflects our state of well-being. The slightest body imbalance affects the skin’s condition, resulting in such disorders as skin allergies (eczema, rashes, dermatitis, psoriasis) and problems (acne, oily or dry skin, brown spots, premature wrinkles). The appearance of such conditions gives warning signals in reaction to the treatment the skin is receiving. It may be protesting the type of food you are taking or omitting from your diet or rejecting the chemicals you are unknowingly ingesting. Inferior quality cosmetics, chemical products, medical drugs, hormone supplements, smoking, car exhaust fumes, and frequent exposure to strong sunrays, extreme temperatures, and harsh climates are also forms of skin maltreatment. Such intentional or unintentional neglect can harm the skin, resulting in a dull-looking complexion, clogged pores, blemishes, skin discoloration, cancer, deep creases, and premature wrinkles. To understand our skin better, we should learn more about its composition.
The outside section of the skin, the epidermis, is made of dermal (skin) cells. As the epidermis gets closer to the surface, it becomes smoother and harder, consisting of keratin, a protein. This outer layer peels off and renews continually. The inner layer, the dermis, is made of cells, tiny vessels, glands, and nerve endings. This part mainly consists of collagen that builds the skin’s elastic fibers to keep them strong, supple, and young.
Having learned of what the skin consists, it becomes easier to understand the role of nutrition. For the body to make collagen, it needs nutrients, especially vitamin C, or else the skin loses its elasticity very fast, becoming unable to renew cells or heal. However, damage can be controlled with the antioxidants, vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, selenium, and others. Vitamin A builds keratin in the skin to make it moist and smooth. The skin also requires essential fatty acids to make cell membranes, otherwise the cells become dehydrated and die out, resulting in dry flaking skin.
Zinc is needed for the production of cells. Insufficiency of the mineral can cause stretch marks and retarded wound healing such as in the case of eczema and acne scars. The skin also converts sunrays into vitamin D, which controls calcium in the body. In order to have healthy moist skin and prevent skin problems, you need to review your nutrition, making sure you include the following guidelines.
• Eat fresh organic fruit, yellow, orange, red, and green vegetables (particularly cabbage, carrots, and avocado) and their juice, and seaweed (arami, wakami, kombu). Chlorophyll-rich plants (barley and wheat grasses and their juice, micro-algae), lima beans and soy and its products, white mushrooms, and whole grains and foods are needed to ensure the supply of the vitamins and minerals to support good skin. Bitter foods like alfalfa, romaine lettuce, radish leaf, turnip, celery, papaya, citrus peel, rye, and vinegar contribute to skin health. Some bitter herbal teas (chamomile, dandelion, valerian, Echinacea) relieve skin problems.
• Have a small amount (not more than a handful) of nuts (walnut, almond, cashew), seeds (flax, sunflower, and sesame seeds), or their cold-pressed oils with your food once a day.
• Drink six to eight glasses of fresh purified water, herbal teas, and juice.
• Minimize your intake of saturated fat, salt, and chemical additives and preservatives. Avoid stimulants such as alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, and pollution. Certain pharmaceutical drugs, antibiotics, and hormone supplements also harm the skin and contribute to the appearance of allergic reactions, blemishes, and brown spots.
• Use a good brand sun-block lotion when you are exposed to strong midday sunlight. Use a protective cream to guard against extreme temperatures and harsh (windy, dry) climates.
• Avoid hard soaps and use gentle oil-based facial and body cleansers. Your moisturizing lotion or cream should preferably contain good amounts of vitamins A, C, and E in order to penetrate and enrich the skin. Treat your skin gently, handle with care, and keep your pores clean to allow them to breathe.
• Regular aerobic exercises benefit the skin. By sweating, you eliminate toxins through the pores of your skin, but remember to drink while exercising as you lose body fluids along with toxins. Sweating is especially good for chronic skin diseases as well as joint and muscle pains.
• Try liquid fasts once in a while. They should consist of pure mineral water with a slice of lemon or lime; fresh organic diluted fruit juice; vegetable (carrot, beet, celery, cabbage, parsley) and cereal grass (barley and wheat) juice; and herbal teas. They should be taken warm or at room temperature. Liquid fasts are healing and cleansing.
• If you are unable to take all the nutrients needed for your skin from your food, take a supplement that includes vitamins A (beta-carotene), C, and E and minerals (selenium, zinc, magnesium) as well as the essential fatty acids (omegas-3-and-6 and fish oils).
• Reduce stress; prolonged mental and physical pressure creates hormonal imbalances and causes the skin to erupt or become very oily and tired.
With a balanced nutritious diet and good lifestyle habits, you are able to achieve a radiant complexion and healthful young skin, which reflect your overall health.
