HEALTHY SKIN TIPS: diet + nutrition tips for clearer skin (science-backed)

healthy skin in my opinion is a  combination of different factors diet  lifestyle and skin care in today's video  we're kick starting a two-part skin care  series today we're going to talk about  diet and nutrition these are all things  that i do and they're all science back  and in next week's video we're going to  talk about lifestyle and skin care if  that's something that piques your  interest keep watching i've received a  number of requests in the last two  months about doing a skincare routine  talking about products that i use but i  didn't want to do that because although  i think skin care is important i think  it's a small piece of the puzzle a  bigger piece of the puzzle is what you  eat and your lifestyle and honestly my  skin didn't change until i started to  change the way i eat before my wedding i  spent close to a thousand dollars i'm  not proud of this thousand dollars in  microdermabrasion treatments on serums  to get the bridal glowing skin  and you know what it didn't happen  because i didn't change the way i eat i  was just focusing on the problem  externally and not internally now that  i've changed the way i eat i have much  better skin than i used to i'm not  genetically blessed with good skin i  really have to work on it i will still  have days when i break out i will still  have days when things are a little bit  irritated and that could be because of  stress it could be because i probably  wasn't eating as well as i thought i was  eating and you know what that's okay i  don't think anyone can have perfect skin  all the time and there is no such thing  as perfect skin so don't beat yourself  up if you're struggling with skin issues  just try your best and don't stress  about it i think when we're stressed  about it it becomes worse all right so  now that i've talked about the context  let's dive into the tips the tips will  be mainly for reducing things like  redness to reduce premature aging and  for reducing acne tip number zero or the  base tip as i'd like to call it is to  eat a healthy and balanced diet  consistently so i didn't even want to  mention this as a tip that's why i'm  calling it tip number zero because we  all know we need to do that we all know  we need to eat a healthy diet for good  skin but it was worth mentioning because  that is the foundation for the rest of  the tips if you're not eating a healthy  diet consistently none of the other tips  that i'm going to provide you in this  video make any sense to do on their own  nutrition is not about just doing one  thing there's no one particular nutrient  there's no one particular magic cure for  your skin it's about doing things in  conjunction with each other so what is a  healthy diet that is a million dollar  question we can all do different diets  and still have healthy skin because  honestly there is no one size fits all  approach when it comes to nutrition you  could be vegan you could be pescetarian  you could be paleo it doesn't matter you  can all have good skin the thing that i  think that makes the most difference is  to stick to a diet which is  predominantly whole foods or minimally  processed foods so take out those ultra  processed foods take out the foods that  don't have much nutrition and if you're  interested in learning more about why  processed foods are not so good for you  i do have a video on it tip number one  is to reduce the amount of refined sugar  you eat there is a link in the science  between sugar excess sugar and things  like skin wrinkling sin sagging  premature aging  and let me tell you i think a lot of the  wrinkles that i do have especially the  smile lines probably are the result of  eating a lot of sugar i've had them for  quite some time i used to be a sugar  addict now i can't reverse the damage  that i've done but at least i can  prevent more damage from happening so  what is it about the sugar that causes  problems so there is a process called  glycation that happens so when there's  extra sugar molecules they attach to the  collagen in your skin and they make that  collagen stiff and less elastic so your  skin loses its firmness it starts to sag  and then you have wrinkles so if you  want to prevent wrinkles and you want to  keep your skin healthy long term it's a  good idea to reduce the refined sugar if  you're interested in learning more about  how to reduce refined sugar i do have a  video on it tip number two is to avoid  or limit high glycemic foods so what is  a high glycemic food a high glycemic  food is a food that will raise your  blood sugar very quickly if you're  interested in learning more about high  glycemic foods i have a lot of  information in the description so  examples of high glycemic foods include  cakes cookies crackers instant oats  white bread rice cakes things like that  so it's a good idea to reduce the  consumption of these because there is a  link in the science between high  glycemic foods and acne and i also feel  that this actually does make sense  because when i eat more of these foods  when i eat more processed carbohydrates  that raise my blood sugar very quickly i  do tend to break out more so if you're  having issues with breakouts and you  want to reduce them it's a good idea to  stick to low glycemic foods and medium  glycemic foods such as fruits vegetables  whole grains i'll have a detailed list  in the description tip number three is  to eat enough protein and vitamin c  now if you're eating a balanced diet you  probably are getting enough protein and  vitamin c but i still wanted to mention  some special considerations so first of  all why is protein and vitamin c  important well both of them are building  blocks for collagen and your skin is  made out of collagen so if you want to  have healthy skin you need to get enough  protein and vitamin c  now let's tackle protein first so in  terms of the protein if you're eating a  balanced diet and you're eating enough  calories you probably are getting enough  protein but let's say you're on a  calorie restrict diet if you're trying  to lose weight make sure you're getting  enough protein because if you're on a  calorie restricted diet depending on how  many calories you eat you could be under  eating the protein now the other thing  to keep in mind is if you're eating a  diet where you're eliminating a lot of  food groups let's you're allergic to a  lot of food groups or you're eliminating  them for other reasons you could be  under eating and that could result in  not getting enough protein now let's  tackle the vitamin c so if you're eating  enough fruits and veggies and a balance  of them you probably are getting enough  vitamin c but one important  consideration is that when you are  stressed when you're going through  periods of stress your body actually  uses up a lot more vitamin c than normal  so during that time it's a good idea to  eat more vitamin c  tip number four is to eat enough omega-3  fatty acids so why are omega-3 fatty  acids important well they manage oil  production in your skin they can help  reduce inflammation reduce acne and  premature aging if you're not  plant-based you can get your omega-3  fatty acids from fish i personally get  it from fish salmon herring mackerel  these are fatty fish that have a lot of  omega-3 fatty acids  if you are plant-based you have options  too i have a link in the description  that actually explains all your  different options now i do recognize  some people can't eat seeds they tend to  have issues with it so in that case you  can take a supplement there is an  algae-based supplement that's  plant-based that does have omega-3 fatty  acids so that could work for you if you  have issues with nuts and seeds tip  number five is to get enough fruits and  veggies and to make sure you get a  variety so this kind of ties into the  base tip which was to eat a healthy diet  and to me that means eating a lot of  fruit and veggies the amount of fruit  and veggies you eat is totally personal  but i would suggest half a plate of  fruit and veggie that is the suggestion  of a lot of nutrition organizations you  can find more information below  so when you're getting half a plate of  fruit and veggie for every single meal  try to focus on getting a variety so  you're not eating the same ones every  single week because when you're eating  the same fruits and veggies all the time  you're getting exactly the same  nutrients again and again and it's a  good idea to change it up because all  different fruits and veggies have  different vitamins different minerals  and different phytochemicals for example  something like watermelons have lycopene  and lycopene can help reduce sun damage  something like onions will not have  lycopene they'll have something else  they have a compound in them that helps  reduce scars so really is a good idea to  get a variety so you get a variety of  different nutrients tip number six is to  get enough zinc so i don't really like  to talk about specific nutrients and  skin because it's not like zinc will  make your skin amazing but i wanted to  mention zinc specifically because there  is a link between low levels of zinc and  acne so if you are struggling with acne  and breakout and scarring as well then  it might be related to zinc i'm not  saying definitely related to zinc it  just might be so have a look at what  you're eating and make sure you're  getting enough zinc tip number seven is  to eat enough probiotics and prebiotics  it's really important for good gut  health and good digestion means we're  going to have healthier skin there is a  link between that probiotics in the  simplest sense are bacteria that are  good for us  and prebiotics are the food for that  bacteria so if you were to just focus on  the probiotics and not eat the  prebiotics you're not going to have that  much of a benefit it's important to get  both  so in terms of probiotics a lot of  people recommend supplements i think  supplements do work for certain people  but i am a big believer in getting it  from food first and if that's not  helping then try a supplement so in  terms of food a couple options are  things like sauerkraut kimchi  yogurt it can be plant-based or dairy  depending on what works for you and in  terms of prebiotics there are a lot of  foods that have prebiotics prebiotics  are basically types of fibers that your  gut bacteria feeds on so things like  garlic onions asparagus apples oats all  of these have prebiotics tip number  eight is to reduce dairy and see how it  goes i was almost not going to include  this tip in this video because it's not  based on concrete scientific evidence  but there is some preliminary evidence  in the last two or three years it shows  that high dairy consumptions  are linked to increases in acne and i  personally do find this to be the case a  lot of things about nutrition are about  trying them on yourself because every  single person is so different so there's  no one-size-fits-all approach  anyway i hope you enjoyed this video and  you found it informative if you did give  it a thumbs up so i know to create more  content like this and don't forget to  subscribe and hit the bell so you get  the notification for next week's video  which will be about lifestyle and skin  care i will see you in the next video  bye  [Music]