
There are endless benefits of eating a healthy diet. Incorporating more vegetables into your diet and cutting out sugar, trans fats, and saturated fats can help you lose weight, reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke, prevent certain cancers, lower your blood pressure, and improve your overall health.
A new study discovered another reason to eat healthily. Eating certain foods can help you look younger. Joan Salge Blake, dietician and clinical associate professor at Boston University's nutrition program, explained three diet changes you can make to look your best without Botox.
VITAMIN C
Fruits and vegetables that are high in Vitamin C can help you achieve a flawless complexion. A 2017 review in the journal Nutrients discovered a correlation between Vitamin C from food and improved skin health. The benefits of "anti-aging" creams and lotions weren't as conclusive. "If you put good nutrition in your body, it's going to keep your body healthy and also your skin," said Blake.
Foods that are high in Vitamin C include guava, red pepper, kiwi, green peppers, orange, papaya, broccoli, and kale.
VITAMIN F (LINOLEIC ACID)
Aside from Vitamin C, Blake recommends getting your dose of linoleic acid. This omega-6 essential fatty acid will provide you with anti-inflammatory, moisturizing and healing support. Vitamin F will also help you look your best because it softens your skin and helps fight acne. Walnuts, almonds, soybeans, and canola oils are all great sources of linoleic acid.
"This is a very, very important fatty acid that's in your skin so thinking that you consume enough of that, you can also help with the elasticity in your skin," stated Blake.
COLLAGEN
Blake suggests adding a hydrolyzed collagen supplement to your regimen. Collagen is mainly sourced from poultry and meat. Because it is the most abundant protein in your body, it can have a big impact when hydrolyzed. "What they're seeing in this hydrolyzed collagen, it's changed in such a way that the body will absorb it intact and it may trigger the cells in your skin to rejuvenate them and look younger," said Blake.
Another way to achieve a youthful, radiant look is to cut out sugar from your diet. "The sugary foods can affect the elasticity in your skin, so cutting down on the added sugars in your diet may also help your skin," Blake said.