NOURISHING
SKIN:
Your quest
for beautiful skin could be as close as your Central
Coast farmer’s market.
by Joanne Eglash
April 2006
Like many women (and more than a
few men) of a “certain age” (ahem),
I tend to devote too much time and money
to purchasing tiny bottles promising “younger,
rejuvenated skin.” These supposedly
magical potions are high in price, low
in results.
Recently, however, I learned that my search for the fountain of youth (or bottle
of beauty) just might end at my local farmer’s market.
Registered dietician Susan S. Swadener, PhD, is the dietetic internship director
and a lecturer at Cal Poly. A Cornell University graduate, the Los Osos resident
also has a private practice seeing patients and doing consulting work.
“A good healthy diet with all the essential nutrients is important for
skin health,” says Dr. Swadener. For example, among the needed nutrients
are “fluids for proper hydration, essential fatty acids, protein, vitamin
C, beta-carotene, and zinc.”
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE
You probably already know that you’re supposed to drink 8 to 10 glasses
of water a day, but did you know there are added benefits beyond general hydration?
Drinking enough water is essential if you want to have healthy skin, according
to Dr. Swadener. And for those who think that you can only get enough fluid
if you drink designer bottles of water: “milk and juices can account
for part of the day’s recommended intake,” says the dietician.
Before you joyfully order a pineapple
daiquiri (after all, doesn’t it
combine fruit juice and fluids?) or a Mocha Frappuccino® from Starbucks,
consider Dr. Swadener’s caution: “Alcoholic beverages and beverages
containing caffeine are not good substitutes for water, since they act as diuretics,
causing the body to lose about 1⁄2 of the liquid consumed from the beverage.”
“Dehydration causes build-up of chemical breakdown products, especially
in the lymphatic system and fat cells of the body,” says Keegan Sheridan,
a licensed and board-certified naturopathic doctor. The accumulated products
result in “inflammation with subsequent water retention and skin texture
changes that can create a grey hue to the skin.”
At her private practice in Beverly
Hills, Dr. Sheridan works with
adults who want a natural medicine
approach by providing alternatives
to prescription
drugs (www.evolvinghealth.com).
She emphasizes the importance of adequate fluids for detoxifying your body.
Although “the risks of developing cellulite
are largely determined by genetic factors,” weight fluctuations and poor
skin texture and tone reflect your “hydration levels by ensuring detoxification
through sweat production,” Dr. Sheridan notes.
In addition to drinking water,
Dr. Sheridan recommends drinking
organic, unsweetened cranberry
juice diluted with water. “Cranberry is a mild diuretic and
has a positive impact on minimizing fluid retention,” says Dr. Sheridan. “Cranberry
is also a powerful anti-oxidant, thereby protecting the skin from environmental
damage due to sun, chemicals found in cosmetics and other skin care products,
and natural aging.” Her recipe for the cranberry concoction: “25
percent organic, unsweetened cranberry juice, and 75 percent filtered water.”
SEDUCE YOUR SKIN WITH STRAWBERRIES
If you skimp on foods containing Vitamin C, your skin will pay the price. A
lack of this vitamin is revealed in “rough, brown, scaly, and dry skin,
as well as blotchy bruises,” according to Dr. Swadener. Vitamin C is
found in citrus fruits and juices, bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe, strawberries,
tomatoes, papayas, and mangoes.
When it comes to veggies, seek out spinach, winter squash, carrots, and sweet
potatoes, which contain B-carotene that converts to Vitamin A. A deficiency
in vitamin A can cause skin problems, such as that “sagging-skin” appearance
or lack of skin elasticity.
POWER UP WITH PROTEIN
For lovely skin, think zinc, a mineral you can enjoy by eating shellfish (in
particular, oysters), meat, poultry, liver, and whole-grain products. Why is
this trace mineral so important? A zinc deficiency reveals itself in “rough
and dry skin,” explains the Cal Poly professor, as well as “slow
healing of wounds and burns.”
Protein in general is critical for healthy skin. “The lifespan of a skin
cell is only about 30 days,” Dr. Swadener says. “As old skin cells
shed, new cells made largely of proteins grow from underneath to compensate.
Cells in the deeper skin layers synthesize new proteins to go into hair and
fingernails.” To avoid depriving your body of a constant source of protein,
consume meat, poultry, fish, nonfat or low fat dairy products, tofu, soy, and
legumes regularly.
ATTENTION FAT-FREE-FOOD FANATICS
Devoted to those supposedly good-for-you nonfat and fat-free products, from
soups to salad dressings to frozen TV dinners to cookies? That philosophy can
harm your skin. Your body needs the fats that come from EFA (essential fatty
acids), especially linoleic and linolenic acids, according to Dr. Swadener.
These two essential fatty acids are present in oils such as corn oil, safflower
oil, flaxseed oil, and canola oil, as well as in avocados, nuts, seeds, and
soybeans. “Fatty acid deficiencies can cause skin lesions and dry skin,” she
cautions.
BODY-BEAUTIFUL SHOPPING BASKET
Making your shopping list and checking it twice; your skin will glow in appreciation
if you pile your grocery cart high with:
* Fruits and veggies: citrus fruits and juices, bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe,
strawberries, tomatoes, papayas, mangoes, spinach, broccoli, winter squash,
cantaloupe, carrots, and sweet potatoes.
* Protein: meat, poultry, fish, nonfat or low-fat dairy products, tofu, soy,
and legumes
* Foods containing essential fatty acids: corn oil, safflower oil, flaxseed
oil, canolaoil, nuts, seeds, and soybeans
* Non-alcoholic, caffeine-free beverages: water, juices, milk, organic and
unsweetened cranberry juice
And next time you’re tempted to bite into a fat-free, sugar-free, fake-fruit-flavored “energy” bar,
remember: you are what you eat (and your skin reveals all!).
CAN A PAPAYA
MAKE YOU PRETTY?
Author, spa owner, and
beauty-industry expert Susie Galvez (www.susiegalvez.com)
lectures and teaches nationally on the hidden
treasures for your skin that reside in your kitchen
cupboards. From her home in Richmond, VA, Galvez
revealed that many foods that are probably present
in your kitchen right now can double as natural
skin treatments:
*Yogurt: Plain
yogurt can make a “wonderful facial mask.
If the skin is tight and dry, a plain yogurt mask
will soothe and soften the skin.” Suffer
from oily skin? Galvez claims that the yogurt will “help
absorb excess oil while leaving the skin hydrated.”
*Mayonnaise: “Quickly
perk up the skin” on both your face
and the body by applying “a thin
layer to the face for 5-10 minutes. Rinse.
The skin will feel soft and supple.”
*Cucumbers: a slice of
this veggie on your tired, puffy eye area
will “help to de-stress and will
de-puff the area.”
*Papaya: Providing enzymes “that
help remove dead skin cells,” papaya
can be used to create a facial mask. Just
mash two tablespoons of papaya, and then
apply to your face, neck, and back of your
hands. Let it dry, and rinse with warm
water.
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