Yummy foods for healthy skin

Chloe is a registered female health Naturopath based in Sydney. With a passion for a no-nonsense approach to holistic health, Chloe loves educating and empowering women. Chloe has a special interest in skin health, so we sat down and asked her a few questions about the food we eat and how this affects our skin.

What role does the food we eat play in our daily skincare?

Nutrition plays a big role in many different bodily processes. Your skin in particular needs several nutrients to make sure that it is regenerating properly each month. If you aren’t consuming these things in your diet then you begin to become deficient and it can manifest on the skin in the form pimples, eczema, dryness and premature ageing. There are also a few stand out foods that can increase inflammation in certain people, which is further expressed on the skin (normally as acne or eczema) such as A1 cows dairy, gluten and refined sugar. If we have too many of these foods and not enough whole foods then we certainly start to see a change in skin health.

Why do you think not many people are aware that food is an integral part of skincare?

Education is the key to understanding how nutrition can affect our bodies and our skin. Skincare is an inside out process. There has definitely been shift towards eating more nutrient dense foods lately, but knowing how to eat a balanced diet can be a very powerful tool. Sometimes we have to take it back to basics. Your diet is a great place to start. Even if you buy all the latest supplements, if you don’t address the underlying issues you may not see results.

What are your go-to foods for healthy skin?

Antioxidant rich foods are a good starting place - think things with dark purple or red pigments like plums, cherries, blueberries. This purple pigment, known as anthocyanin, helps fight free radical damage, as well as maintaining healthy skin. Antioxidants also work by protecting the body from sun damage and inflammation.

Essential fatty acids help decrease the inflammatory response that may be causing your skin to break out. They are also great for people who suffer from dry skin, as they increase sebum production, helping produce a natural protective barrier for your skin. Think foods like oily fish, hemp seeds, chia seeds, walnuts and extra virgin olive oil.

Vitamin A is the wrinkle fighter and helps keep the skin moist and supple. It is used topically a lot but you also need to be consuming it. It is mainly derived from beta-carotenes which provide fruits and vegetables with an orange pigment, so foods like carrots, sweet potato, apricots and pumpkins.

How should we eat to ensure our skin is getting all the good stuff?

It is important to know what sits well with you. Ultimately you want to eat nourishing food in the form of whole foods, fruits and vegetables most of the time, but don’t deny yourself joy either. If you have been suffering from acne for quite some time you could try removing or reducing your intake of cows dairy. The A1 protein has been shown to cause an increase in inflammatory markers. Try swapping it out for sheep or goats dairy for 6 weeks and see how you go. I would also recommend limiting your sugar intake as it drives up inflammation and dysregulates blood sugar levels.