What to EAT for HEALTHY SKIN (science-backed!) 👩🏻‍🌾

billions of dollars are spent every year  on beauty products and we often treat  our skin from the outside but our skin  is our body's largest organ and a large  part of its health comes from taking  care of it from the inside  each of us is perfectly imperfect and  it's nothing but natural to collect a  scorecard of pimples scars and wrinkles  over the years being kind and  compassionate to ourselves as we weather  different seasons is one of the greatest  acts of self-love and kindness that we  can practice but at the same time it can  also be incredibly challenging when it  feels like her skin just isn't  cooperating there are certain factors  that influence our skin like aging  hormones and genetics often these things  are out of our control but nutrition  that's one thing that is within our  control and so today we're going to dive  into some common skin concerns and how  we can consider food to help shower our  skin with love from the inside out as  usual we've created an article with even  more information and with links to  research papers that help to support  what we're sharing in today's video if  you want to check out the article I'll  leave it for you below but for now let's  Dive In  foreign  layers and we want the structure of  these layers to be strong for firmness  and elasticity collagen is the main  structural protein that helps to support  our skin because it creates this fibrous  Network that reinforces the tissue so it  gives our skin this firm and smooth  appearance unfortunately though as we  age our body makes less collagen and it  gets more easily broken down as a result  we start to lose about one percent of  the collagen in our skin per year  starting at around the age of 20 and so  over time this is what ages our skin so  let's explore three ways in which we can  support our Skin's collagen through our  food choices there's a lot of hype and  Buzz right now around collagen  supplements but you know our philosophy  at pickup lines is Foods first when  possible because collagen itself is a  protein it helps to make sure that we  just eat enough protein-rich Foods so  these are things like beans and lentils  tofu tempeh nuts and seeds so protein  helps to ensure that our body has enough  of the building blocks that it needs to  create collagen but then what happens if  our existing collagen gets damaged  damage that can come for example from  excess sun exposure pollution or when  there's too many free radicals in our  body so when it comes to food vitamin C  and E are key players in repairing  damaged collagen they stimulate collagen  production and help to maintain the  strength of its Network food sources  that are rich in vitamin E are things  like almonds sunflower seeds leafy  greens peanuts and avocados well vitamin  C you probably already know you can find  these in foods like citrusy fruits and  vegetables like bell peppers and  broccoli  [Music]  when our skin sustains an injury or a  wound our body really quickly tries to  heal it and zinc plays an essential role  in this whole healing process because  zinc also has anti-inflammatory  properties it's really useful in the  management of skin conditions like acne  psoriasis eczema and rosacea food  sources that are rich in zinc are things  like nutritional yeast seeds especially  pumpkin Sesame and hemp seeds legumes  like beans and lentils tofu and whole  grains it's also important to mention  though that the absorption of zinc from  plant Foods it can be reduced by certain  compounds in the same Foods called  phytates but if we soak our beans grains  and even our nuts and seeds before we  eat them this helps to increase our  body's ability to absorb zinc sprouting  and fermenting can also help and if  you'd like to learn more about how to  sprout your seeds and legumes we've made  a video on it and I'll link that for you  here  if you've ever experienced dry skin you  know it does not feel very nice and our  skin can dry out for a number of reasons  like exposure to dry air prolonged  exposure to hot water abrasive soaps  medications things like that one of the  main ways that we can hydrate the skin  is by using the right moisturizers that  we're putting on the skin but when it  comes to what we're putting inside of  our bodies fats can really help  specifically omega-3 fats Omega is  important because it helps to improve  our Skin Barrier function which helps  our skin better hold on to water plant  foods that are rich in omega-3 fats  include walnuts hemp seeds chia seeds  ground flax seeds and even Omega  supplements made from algae drinking  enough water can also help with skin  hydration but only if you're dehydrated  to begin with in general though drinking  enough water is important for overall  health and when we're overall healthy it  tends to have a trickle-down effect on  our skin  foreign  so let's talk about sebum sebum is an  oily substance that's needed to  lubricate our skin but if our bodies are  creating too much of it it can increase  the chances of developing acne and  blackheads natural fluctuations in our  hormones this can impact our sebum  levels and it's suspected that our food  choices can too especially diets that  are rich in sugar and dairy products  carbohydrates that turn into sugars  quickly these are labeled high glycemic  foods and these can be found in things  like sweetened beverages refined grains  and sweets these Foods quickly increase  the amount of sugar that's in our blood  which then causes our insulin levels to  spike which in turn can cause excess  sebum production on the other hand  though foods that turn into sugars at a  slower rate in our bodies which are  called low glycemic foods these can have  positive impacts on our skin these are  found in things like veggies whole  grains tofu edamame nuts and seeds so in  short to optimize sebum production we  want to enjoy more whole plant-based  Foods while limiting excess amounts of  high glycemic sugary Foods where  possible  it's said that our skin offers valuable  insight into what's going on inside of  our bodies and there's a lot of talk  right now about the connection between  our gut health and our skin Health our  gut is home to trillions of  microorganisms some of which are helpful  and some of which are harmful the more  of the good guys the more diversity of  the helpful guys that we have the better  this is for our skin Health if there's  an imbalance though and we have too many  of the harmful bacteria it's possible  that this can contribute to certain skin  disorders like acne psoriasis and eczema  so how do we get more of the good guys  well probiotics for one there's still a  lot of research that needs to be done  for us to better understand how  probiotics work exactly but essentially  if we're enjoying more fermented foods  like plant-based yogurts kimchi miso  sauerkraut and kombucha it's just one  delicious way that we can help to  support our gut health which in turn  helps to support our skin health  foreign  IC inflammation is linked to a load of  undesirable health conditions like heart  disease arthritis but also acne wrinkles  and rosacea nourishing food choices that  have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial  potential these are obviously really  helpful and this is where the power of  plants shine diets that are rich in  fruits and vegetables which are rich  sources of antioxidants these have been  linked with having a positive impact on  our Skin's elasticity smoothness and  color if you haven't seen it already we  have created a video on  anti-inflammatory foods I'll link that  for you here but as you can see there  isn't one Miracle food supplement or  drink for clear and glowing skin our  skin also typically doesn't change  overnight but if you do find a  particular routine that works for you  and if you stick with it chances are  you'll see some positive changes over  time and do remember that many factors  contribute to our Skin's appearance  which include things like hormones and  stress and medications so nutrition is  just one of the many pillars that we can  focus on but likely it's one of the  controllable ones I hope you enjoyed  today's video that you learned something  new if you did feel free to give it a  thumbs up it always really really means  a lot when you do and thanks so much for  hanging with me today pick up limes  signing off we'll see you in the next  video  [Music]