You Are What You Eat - Your Skin Says So

Here at Clark’s Botanicals, we can talk all day long about our amazing ingredients and we do! We feel passionate about our ongoing efforts to extract the maximum benefits of radical botanicals with the most effectual elements in skincare science. 

But, of course, we know that’s only half the story. There’s only so much any topical product can do; what we put into our bodies is the key factor in our overall good health and healthy glowing skin. Every organ has its nutritional needs and your skin – the largest organ and our personal favorite – has a very specific checklist. Your complexion is also the first to let you know if you’re slacking off in your self-care. 

But what exactly do we need to keep our skin happy? While everyone is different and has unique nutritional demands, there are a handful of foods and food groups that benefit the majority of us. Here are our top 5.

1. While there’s little evidence to support the specific amount of water intake that will improve your skin’s hydration and elasticity, maintaining a proper hydration is vital to your general health and your skin’s healthy hydration. Those 8 glasses we all talk about? Who knows. But we might as well err on the side of excess since there’s little downside.
2. Cold water, fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and herring are high in omega-3 fatty acids and work to keep skin think, supple and moisturized and in fact, dry skin is only one of the negative impacts of an omega-3 deficiency. 
3. Another nutritional superfood (and trendy toast-topper) that offers benefits that are very specific to our skin is the avocado. Avocados are high in healthy fats and pack an alphabet full of vitamins and compounds that nurture and protect our skin.
4. In general, nuts and seeds are good sources of skin-boosting nutrients, specifically the walnut, which, as far as skin is concerned, is an all-star, containing essential healthy fats, vitamins and other skin-boosting nutrients. 
5. Beta-carotene also goes to bat for your skin. Sources can be found almost by their bright color - oranges, carrots, sweet potatoes, mangoes, bell peppers and some dark, leafy greens such as spinach. Beta-carotene is a natural sunblock and skin protectant. 

Vitamin-C does our epidermis a lot of favors, not the least of which is helping to create collagen, the structural protein that acts like a molecular scaffolding in our skin. Vitamin C is considered a major player in warding off the effects of aging on our skin.

Other skin-supporting nutrients can be found in broccoli (various vitamins and minerals as well as sulforaphane) tomatoes, (vitamin C plus lycopene) and soy (isoflavones) all of which contribute to our skin’s ability to fight sun damage and improve elasticity.

End every meal with a guilt-free indulgence of health-ful dark chocolate, it’s an excellent source of minerals and flavonoids (antioxidants) and a mood-enhancer, to boot. 

And if that isn’t enough of a reward for all our nutritional hard work, we’ll pour ourselves a post-dinner cup of green tea (loads of antioxidants) or better yet, pair that dark chocolate with a glass of red wine (which contains the antioxidant resveratrol), because why not benefit your state of mind at the same time as your skin?

In general, a good rule of thumb to keep us focused amidst the clatter of nutritional advice, is that a varied diet is best, especially one rich in fresh proteins and a rainbow of produce. And specific to our skin, a diet rich in healthy fats (the mighty omegas) natural antioxidants, vitamins A, C and E will have hydrating, skin clearing and even age defying results.

So you take care of what goes in and we’ll take care of what goes on top. And together, we’ll love the skin we’re in!