You Are What You Eat: Healthy Foods For Your Skin

We often think of lotions, creams, and soaps for bringing out the best in your skin. Did you know that what you eat also affects how your skin will look and feel? Below are some great foods to help keep your skin looking young, prevent premature aging, reduce your risk of skin cancer, and bring out the best in your skin.

 

Water: Drinking water helps to keep your skin hydrated. Hydrated skin helps move nutrients around and removes toxins. Try to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.

Green tea: Green tea has anti-inflammatory properties that may help reduce the health risks from ultra-violet light. It may also reduce the risk of skin cancers. Try drinking a cup of green tea every day.

Vitamin A, C, and E: All three of these vitamins provide antioxidant properties which are helpful to your skin. There are many factors that can damage your skin including the sun, air pollution, and cigarette smoke. Antioxidants help to repair the skin from these and many other irritating agents.

o Vitamin A is vital for skin health. It is necessary for the maintenance and repair of skin tissue Great sources of Vitamin A include carrots, sweet potatoes, and cantaloupe. Low-fat dairy including yogurt, low fat cheese, milk, and cottage cheese also provide a great source of Vitamin A. The healthy bacteria in yogurt also help with digestion which is beneficial for your skin.


o Vitamin C fights premature aging by reducing the damage caused by free radicals from the sun, smoke, and pollution. Some great food sources include kiwifruit, oranges, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower.


o Vitamin E also protects skin cells from ultra violet light, smoke, and pollution that produce cell damaging free radicals. It also helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Food sources include sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, peanut butter, wheat germ, and tomatoes.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids: Fatty acids act as a barrier to harmful agents and also act as a passageway for nutrients to get into your skin and waste products to get out. The healthier your cell membranes are, the better they can hold moisture. Fatty acids can be found in salmon, tuna, flaxseed and walnuts.

Healthier cell membranes → moisture in your skin → softer, younger-looking skin.

Selenium: Selenium helps to protect your skin from sun damage and delays aging by protecting skin quality and elasticity. Selenium can be found in whole wheat bread, muffins, and cereals; turkey, cottage cheese, tuna and Brazil nuts.

Enjoy a variety of healthy foods that contain the nutrients above to help your skin and overall health.

Your skin will thank you!

The challenges of staying with the plan when everyone else is eating the good food

In an ideal “dieting world”, everyone around you would be eating healthy, there would only be healthy food available to eat, and there would be plenty of time for exercise without the stresses of everyday life.

Unfortunately, this ideal world does not exist for most of us. We are faced with many challenges that make dieting hard at times.

One prominent challenge is seeing eveyone around you eating “the good food”. It is often hard to eat a salad when you see your friends and family eating the food you want. So how do you stay successful with the challenges?

• If you know you will be attending a party or going to a restaurant, choose foods wisely the rest of the day. This will allow some wiggle room for making some not so healthy choices when with friends.

• Do not tell everyone you are dieting. Some may try to tempt you with unhealthy foods, others may question everything you are eating, and some may offer unsolicited advise. If others ask, just let them know you are trying to eat healthier.

• If you are going to a restaurant, go online and look at the menu earlier in the day and make your food selection – and stick with it. This will reduce the temptation for making unhealthy food choices.

• Remember, that even though others around you may not be eating healthy food at that particular time, they may be eating very healthy at other times or just may not be motivated for a healthy lifestyle at this point of time. Don’t let their habits infuence your goals.

• If you are hosting friends at your house, plan to prepare a healthy meal. If you are going to someone elses house, offer to bring a healthy dish.

• Even though it may be challenging, keep reminding yourself why you are trying to lose weight. This can help keep you on track.

• Remember, it is ok to try a small piece of “unhealthy food”. On the other hand, if you don’t think you can stop – just skip it.

• Join an exercise class where you may meet new friends that are also focusing on health. You can motivate each other.

Don't Let the State Fair Wreak Havoc on Your Diet

The much anticipated NC State Fair begins tomorrow, Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 3:00! For many of us it is one of the most exciting times of the year. Unfortunately a lot of us think of the Fair as a place to go to binge on things like turkey legs, french fries, and deep-fried cheesecake. The scary truth....just those 3 things total up to 2,351 calories!! Pretty shocking, isn't it?! Want to know what to eat instead? Check out this link http://www.wral.com/news/local/page/3805503/ to find some better choices such as a regular corn dog, corn on the cob, and cotton candy for a total of 622 calories.

The best option would be to forgo Fair food all together. That might sound really hard but just think about all of the hard work you've been putting into your diet. A few tips on how to say no to the temptations:

1. Eat before you go.

2. Pack a few healthy snacks.

3. Instead of focusing on the food at the Fair, plan your trip based on the different things you want to experience while there. Here is the link to the NC State Fair website, http://www.ncstatefair.org/2010/. If you map out your trip and keep the focus on entertainment, exhibits, and competitions you won't even have time to think about the food!

Its Fall, so let the pounds fall off with exercise

Now that the season is changing and it is getting cooler outside, it is a great time to get some fresh air and go for a daily walk. Walking is a great source of exercise, a great way to destress, and a great way to spend time with friends and/or family. Walking also provides great benefits for your heath.  Its many benefits include; major reductions in diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, and an increase in bone density.

Some tips for exercising

• Get a good pair of walking shoes that fit your feet well. This will make walking more comfortable and keep your feet feeling good.
• Try walking in the early morning - many studies have found that early morning exercise is the easiest exercise to maintain over the long term.
• Or, exercise with co-workers during your lunch hour at work. It is a great time to get outside if you are in an office all day.
• Or, exercise in the evening either before or after dinner. This is a great time to exercise with your family. While walking you can talk about your day or just take in the cool air. If you are walking in the evening, be sure to wear reflective clothing so that cars can easily see you.

You may also want to use a pedometer. A pedometer will record how many steps you are taking. It is a great way to track your daily distance and be sure you are getting enough daily exercise.

So get out and walk..... and watch the pounds and leaves FALL.