Protecting Your Skin from the Inside Out

In an article titled Healthy Skin from the Inside Out By J.William LaValley, MD, he states that:

Skin health is an important factor in our general well-being. In addition to the multitude of options for topical skin treatments, it is important to remember that our skin is a large organ that is nourished from the nutrients in our diets.
So what can we do to improve skin health from the inside out?

As you might suspect, the type of diet you consume has a significant impact on the health of your skin. From recent studies, it appears that eating a Mediterranean-type diet is not only good for your heart, it's good for your skin as well.

An important study showed that "higher intakes of vitamin C and linoleic acid and lower intakes of fats and carbohydrates are associated with better skin-aging appearance".1 This is easily accomplished with a Mediterranean-type diet that includes healthy oils from nuts, moderate meats and oily fish, and lots of colorful fresh vegetables.

Stimulating the detoxification pathways within your cells also helps to improve the appearance and function of your skin. Broccoli, watercress, Brussels sprouts, and kale all contain naturally occurring sulforaphanes -- healthy dietary molecules that enhance cellular detoxification.2-3 Eating these vegetables raw, or juicing them using a high-quality juicer are the best ways to obtain their substantial detoxification and anticancer benefits.

I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten much watercress or brussel sprouts lately. Since my daughter and I planted kale and broccoli in our garden this year, I am for the first time in many years getting my fill of broccoli and enjoying kale for the very first time in my life.

But in spite of the limitations of our diets we can all strive to get more of these healthy components incorporated into our daily routine. Our body's largest organ, the skin, will love us and reward us for it.