With all of the food products manufactured mainly for convenience, it can be easy to over indulge and reach for unhealthy snacks when your stomach starts grumbling. However, I read a small article this morning that explained why eating junk food hurts your skin. You know the saying, "You are what you eat"? This article basically proves that the saying is true. You can't expect to down a bunch of softball sized double chocolate chunk muffins without your skin suffering, let alone having your waist size expand. For more healthy snack ideas, check out my post here! Now, let's get into that study.
Copied from the Vital Juice article:
What's one beauty blunder we're probably all making?
It's eating processed and refined foods, according
to Kerri Lee Ross (pictured, right). "The most common complaints among
New York City women are poor digestion and skin issues like acne,
rosacea and eczema," Ross says. "Digestion takes up 50-80% of the body's
energy. When you eat hard-to-digest processed and refined foods, your
body has little energy left over for other critical functions such as
detoxification or beautifying processes like rebuilding collagen. And
when the body is not able to eliminate efficiently, the liver becomes
overloaded. Our skin is a major detox organ so all those built-up waste
materials will find their way out through the pores and end up on our
faces! The question I ask myself is: 'Pepperoni pizza or pretty?'"
~~~
Do you ask yourself "Pepperoni pizza or pretty?" too? I don't. I don't eat meat ;) Anyway, that's besides the point. I think it's definitely true that you need to fuel your body properly. You can't throw a bunch of garbage/junk in your car and expect it to run well. Similarly, I heard a quote that said, "Eat for the body you want, not the body you have." In a roundabout way it's saying, hey if you want to have a lean body, eat like you already HAVE a lean body. Makes sense, right?
On the other hand, here are some foods that do your body/skin GOOD rather than HARM!
Green tea: Green tea helps fight cancer, can help reverse the effects of sun damage, and is full of antioxidants that also benefit your skin. You can drink it hot or cold, or use it as a toner on your face.
Water: Yes, we know this already. My mom says, "Water is a bath for your insides!" So true mom. I bet you're smiling as you read that. Mama's on the blog, folks ;)
Carrots: Carrots are full of vitamins and minerals, and they help fight blemishes because of their high Vitamin A content. Vitamin A also "reduces the development of skin cancer cells." (from Men's Health)
Spinach: My favourite (aside from kale) for salads and sneaking into pasta dishes and basically any other dish. The folate in spinach helps reduce the growth of cancer cells, as well as giving necessary vitamins and minerals for muscle repair.
Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes can fight wrinkles! The vitamin C in sweet potatoes can stimulate the production of collagen, therefor giving your skin a more youthful and soft appearance. Papaya, flax seeds, and carrots are also wrinkle fighting foods.
Almonds: Almonds are full of vitamin E which help everything from your hair, skin & nails to defending your skin against the sun's harmful rays. Eat them raw, toasted, in baked goods (you know, homemade goods that aren't 700 calories for a little muffin), chopped, sliced - however you like 'em.
Berries: Berries are full of antioxidants which play a huge roll in skin health. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. etc. are all your friends :)
Broccoli: Eat your broccoli! The vitamin A in broccoli helps skin cell turnover and is full of folic acid, potassium, and vitamin C.
Grapefruit: I personally love grapefruits. They are packed with vitamin C, and it can help prevent/delay the formation of wrinkles.
~~~~
Obviously there are tons of other fruits & veggies out there that are great for your skin, but these are just some of my personal favourites.
So, since I haven't ran in two days (the last run was on Tuesday, a mock 10K for Sunday), my legs are feeling restless. Plus, the sun is shining, birds are chirping, rainbows are falling from the cloudless sky... No, not really, although the sun is shining! I think it's about time for me to get outside and get moving!
Happy Friday everyone!
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