There are vitamins that protect the skin against damage from the UV rays of the sun and skin cancer and can reduce wrinkles from aging and sun damage. These are antioxidants that eliminate free radicals which are the leading cause of wrinkles. They speed up your metabolic repair systems and inhibit the production of more free radicals and reduce the rate of further aging. You may be wondering how to get these vitamins, well we easily ingest them in our every day diets, and if you do not, you should consider increasing the amount of antioxidant-rich foods you consume.
Vitamins C, E and Selenium are crucial to your skin's repair systems and can be found in creams but they are in very small quantities, so you should supplement them in your diet, either as pills or directly from the food source. Vitamin D is needed to protect your bones and joints but it is also a potent anti-oxidant, and enhances the absorption of vitamins A and C. It can reduce the chances of developing dry and flakey skin, and ultimately protects against psoriasis (painful, itchy dry reddish skin which can happen anywhere on your body especially during cold weather). Some people swear by the effectiveness of Coenzyme Q-10 and it is a matter of scientific fact that it reduces the appearance of wrinkles, but you should speak to a doctor before consuming it because it increases the rate at which your cells reproduce, which can be negative if your cells are reproducing incorrectly (such as in cancerous cells).B-vitamins are necessary for your entire body and you should eat foods rich in these vitamins such as eggs, enriched grain products and greens leafy vegetables. You will want to stock up on these because prolonged lack of them can cause dry skin which can promote redness and itchiness which will make it difficult for you to wear makeup. This issue is very personal to me, as I have lack B-12, and the major effects of this deficiency are that the body does not produce enough red blood cells, which slows down the skin's healing, circulation and not enough oxygen is provided to tissues which need it the most (such as the brain which requires it for healthy function). I find myself feeling lethargic, confused, dizzy and it eventually can destroy your nerve endings, resulting in numbness in your fingers and similar symptoms. Although we are often over-concerned with our appearances, it should be noted that vitamin-consumption should be taken even more seriously when it comes to personal well-being and health. If you suffer from various ailments and disorders it is even more important to maintain your body's ideal vitamin concentrations because they will help you maintain a level of health that would otherwise probably rapidly degrade.
You can achieve softer and smoother skin from consuming green tea and chocolate, that's right ladies, so stock up on hot cocoa that is high in flavinoids and or have a daily bite of dark chocolate. There are also many vegetable-based extracts which have positive effects when consumed or rubbed topically onto your skin. So claims that your mother/grandmother makes about eating foods with tomato paste, rosemary, pomegranates and grape seeds are true. It may very well be that a combination of all of these in your diet can do nothing but help your skin and internal organs. The key to living healthy is everything in moderation, it is never a good idea to completely cut out one food group or another, as you will find that each provides benefits and is wholly important to your skin's hydration balance, elasticity (resistance to stretch marks), hormonal balance (which controls your sabaceous glands, which in turn control your skin's oil production - too much or too little causes acne).If you stay away from foods that are very high in saturated fats and trans-fats you will be helping your heart stay healthy, but make sure not to cut out essential fatty acids because they help move vitamins A, D, E and K throughout your body's tissues to where they are needed most. Essentially, if you're not consuming omega-3's and essential fatty acids, you will not be receiving the benefits of the fat-soluble vitamins you have in your diet. Fat is essential to maintaining healthy skin as it helps you have younger-looking supple skin by making it glossy and firm. This is because omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids help make the cell membrane stronger and actively eliminate toxins in cells. It makes your skin (the dermal layer) release elastic fibers, which are nature's collagen, and as we all know these will remove wrinkles on your skin.
Here is a useful list of vitamins and their natural sources:
- Omega-3 -> Salmon and other cold-water fish, olive oil, walnuts
- Vitamin B-2 -> Eggs, milk, enriched grain products
- Vitamin B-6 -> Chicken, halibut, nuts, turkey, pork, spinach, baked potatoes
- Vitamin B-12 -> Clams, enriched cereals, liver, caviar, lobster, beef, cheese
- Vitamin C -> Oranges, lemons, bell peppers, guava, fresh thyme and parsley, broccoli
- Vitamin D -> Milk, fish oil, catfish, herring, orange juice, soymilk
- Vitamin E -> Sunflower seeds, paprika, whole grains, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts
- Flavinoids -> chocolate, hot cocoa, green tea extract
- Selenium -> turkey, shrimp, snapper, cod, tuna, brazil nuts
