As December nears, I am only 42 days from turning 50. So, naturally I am a little preoccupied and focused on the wholefoods that I know will help me age more gracefully. With five kids in our busy household, the grey hairs are well earned but are easier to disguise with a few golden highlights. My skin, not so much.
By this age, your lifelong habits will begin to show up on your face and body. So, I want to share some nutritious ways to help boost your body's natural collagen stores and maintain that radiant glow with common beauty foods.
As we age, older skin cells are constantly being shed and replaced, which means you need a steady supply of water (hydration) and beauty food (nutrients) to support the rapid turnover. Eating a well-balanced can help your body's natural rejuvenation process and go a long way in reducing the signs of ageing.
Glowing Skin Is An Inside Job
Beauty really does come from within. The foods you eat every day provide the building blocks for every bone, organ, tissue, and membrane in your body. When your diet is made up of poor food choices, this can show up in your skin in the form of pimples, acne, and skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. It may appear as rashes, rosacea and other ailments, only to clear once you clean up your diet, and start eating better.
Beauty Foods
Healthy, glowing skin isn't maintained with expensive creams, Kim Kardashian or Chloe's latest skincare regime, or even Botox. Instead, as I mentioned, it is built from within, and that means maintaining a natural glow by eating a healthy, well balanced diet of beauty foods each and every day.
Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and its glow is an excellent reflection of your internal health and wellness. When your nutrition is poor, your skin, hair and nails are often the first to show signs of stress. So ensuring beauty food (see below) are the main ingredients in your meals is the best way to look and feel your best.
How many of these do you eat every day?
Avocado: loaded with anti-ageing vitamins E and C, and healthy fats
Capsicums: contains high levels of vitamin C necessary to create collagen
Carrots: high in beta-carotene which helps protect skin from sun damage
Fatty fish: such as salmon provide rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids
Chia seeds: excellent source of anti-ageing antioxidants and omega-3s
Green tea: high in antioxidants, improves hydration, thickness and elasticity
Oranges: high vitamin C levels can help prevent wrinkles, builds collagen
Peaches: contains beta carotene, and vitamin C which supports collagen production
Raw chocolate: a source of antioxidants that improve wrinkles and skin thickness
Sweet potato: contains beta carotene, which acts as a natural sunblock protection
Soy: contains isoflavones, that improve wrinkles, collagen, skin elasticity
Tomatoes: high in lycopene which protects your skin and prevents wrinkling
Walnuts: are a source of skin essential healthy fats, zinc, vitamin E
Watermelon: deeply hydrating, rich in antioxidants, lycopene and vitamin C
As you can see, there are many foods that help to improve and maintain a healthy glow simply by eating them often.
What To Eat For Glowing Skin
It's a challenge to isolate a list of the foods that are best glowing skin because there are literally so many that have deeply nourishing benefits! But if I had to jampack a super roundup of beauty foods into one day of eating, this list would be it.
Morning Chia Fresca
Chia Fresca is one of my top recommended beauty foods. The tiny seeds are a densely rich source of essential omerga-3s which regulate your skin's oil production, reduces acne and breakouts, while minimising the signs of aging. It makes an excellent wholefood digestive starter in the mornings.
RECIPE ➝
Green Goddess
This tasty dessert-like smoothie is made with a heaping serving of vitamin-rich greens and healthy fat from avocado. Avocados provide vitamin E (the skin vitamin) and antioxidants to fight ageing. You'll find this spinach and kale smoothie in my Fat-Burning Smoothie recipe book bundled with 15 other deliciously good recipes to try.
RECIPE ➝
Grilled Peach Salad
2 are loaded with skin-loving nutrients and minerals. Greens are high water content vegetables making a fresh bowl very hydrating for your skin. The compounds found in peaches also improve your skin's ability to retain moisture making this recipe a definitely beauty bowl!
RECIPE ➝
Collagen Glow Pops
That outer glow is largely due to the beauty foods and nutrients you consume each and every day. Try these deliciously simple glow pops on an empty tummy first thing in the morning during the summer months. This is when your body is most receptive to nutrients and digestion is peaked for the day ahead.
RECIPE ➝
Watermelon Salad
Watermelon is deeply hydrating, rich in antioxidants, lycopene and vitamin C. All of these nutrients are essential for maintaining skin elasticity and collagen sores. Enjoying this refreshing salad is a delicious way to love your skin.
RECIPE ➝
Add these tasty and deeply nourishing recipes to your menu this week and tell you feel a vibrant pep in your step. Each recipe is very hydrating and densely nutritious. Further boost how you feel by keeping up with your water as well!
Glowing Skin Vitamin Infused Water
Before you hit the kitchen, don't forget that water is also an essential nutrient, and one that helps your skin look radiant and fresh. On average, you need up to 3 litres per day to feel fully hydrated and energised, but for many, keeping hydrated is a struggle. Drinking plain water can be boring, or downright hard. My remedy for this to to try infusing water the subtle flavours of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies. This can make water more palatable and help you be more likely to reach that 3 litre mark.
To make vitamin infused water: select organic fruits, herbs and vegetables. Choose your favourite produce from the supermarket, or better yet, buy organic from a farmer’s market, or organic farmers directly. This allows you to get the freshest fruits and veggies possible that you know were grown locally without added fertilizers, chemicals, or toxins. Organic produce also tends to provide a better flavour for infused water. Here's a simple recipe to make it:
INGREDIENTS
1-2 litres of filtered water
1 serving fresh, organic fruits
1 cup ice cubes, filtered water
1-2 sprigs of fresh, organic herbs
(optional) 2-3 drops stevia or 1 tsp agave syrup
(optional) 1 scoop of collagen powder (I use @thegut.co REPAIR)
Add all the ingredients (except the ice) to a large water bottle or pitcher. let it steep on the bench or in the fridge for 30-minutes to allow the nutrients in the ingredients to leech into the water. Can also be stored overnight. To serve, add the ice and a fresh spring of herbs. Best consumed the same day.
Batch Cook & Meal Prep
Yes, you can batch infused water. Infused water will keep 1-2 days in the fridge in a sealed container. I like to use large mason jars for this and make up individual batches for the week ahead. These provide an easy to prepare, grab-and-go beauty food that will help you reach your 3 litre quota nad build glowing skin at the same time.
Other Healthy Recipes You'll Absolutely Love...
Coming soon, be sure to check back often and keep an eye out for my soon to be released, Glow Series of beauty food recipe cookbooks. In the meantime, check out my budget-friendly nutrition plans which are geared towards supporting a wholefood diet.
Sometimes having a recipe collection to work from can make all the difference in maintaining healthy eating habits!
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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