Welcome June! It’s amazing that we are just about halfway through the year. This is my birthday month and I am currently on a 3 day cleanse and have been researching foods that help with aging, your skin and overall health. Today, let’s check out eight foods that protect your skin along with a few recipes thrown in along the way. These foods will help prevent skin damage and fight premature aging with healthy foods in a range of colors – the brighter the better! They contain nutrients that are most beneficial to skin health. I couldn’t help but throw in a few outfits that have been on repeat for me this season so far!
Top || Jeans || Sandals || Bracelet
Avocados – I love avocado toast for breakfast and since finding out how good they are for your skin I have been trying to eat a half to a whole avocado a day. They are HIGH in Vitamin E, which helps you to have healthy skin growth and protects your skin from cell damage. This fruit [yes, it’s a fruit, I was surprised too] is a source of healthy fats that improve the skins elasticity. So pile it on your salad and have an extra scoop of guac! Have you ever heard of eating the seed? Here is a post all about that…very interesting.
Carrots – we have all heard from our Mom’s to eat our carrots so we will have healthy eyes, but did you know that carrots are rich in beta-carotene? It is a highly effective antioxidant and have been show to have photoprotective properties to help prevent UV damage. Around our house we love our carrots roasted [toss in olive oil and a little garlic salt, then roast at 425 for about 15 minutes] and recently discovered that if you drizzle some fresh squeezed lime juice over them after roasting it elevates the yumminess!
Leafy Greens – this one was pretty easy for me because I love a good salad [it’s an easy way to use leftovers as well, just pile them on your salad] and spinach, kale and other dark, leafy greens contain lutein and beta-caroten again! They amp up that UV protection and help to reduce the risk of wrinkling and skin cancer. Those leafy greens are great on top of pizza as well!
Kiwi – Kiwi is really high in Vit C, a super antioxident that is needed to produce collagen for healthier skin and to fight wrinkles. So throw some extra in your next fruit salad! Here is a quick and easy way to peel those little fruits!
Salmon – this fish is a regular around my house and I’m so glad everyone likes it! Salmon and other fatty fish are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which fight inflammation and it’s aging effects. YAS! Omega-3’s also help keep skin firmer by preserving collagen. I love it because it makes a quick dinner and leftovers the next day are great on a salad. My go to recipe [if you want to call it that]:
- Heat your oven to 425
- Line a baking sheet with foil [makes clean up so much easier]
- Place your salmon on the pan skin side down OR if it is skinless lay the smoother side down
- Drizzle a little olive oil [just enough to help your spices stick]
- Sprinkle with garlic salt and smoked paprika
- Bake for 10 – 12 minutes depending on the thickness of your salmon and how “done” you want it
- We like it with rice and a green veggie on the side
- After you have plated it drizzle with a little honey
Sweet Potatoes – the sweet potatoes, especially with the orange flesh are a great source of beta-carotene which is a precursor to Vit A. Beta-carotene may prevent UV-induced skin irritations. So noosh on some sweet potato fries and do your skin a favor! They are so good roasted in the oven and drizzled with lime juice when they are done.
Tomatoes – Tomatoes contain the antioxidant lycopene, which can help keep the skin smooth. Think of the smooth skin of a tomato! It’s believed that lycopene helps to mitigate oxidative damage in tissues. So what it does is offers some protection against sun damage.
Tomato Cucumber Toss
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro [plus a little extra for garnish]
- 1/2 small jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 cups sweet grape tomatoes halved
- 1 English cucumber sliced 3/4 in. thick and quartered
- 1 avocado chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced red onion
- black pepper for garnish
Instructions
- Make the dressing: place yogurt, 1/2 cup cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, lime juice and salt in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Combine: tomatoes, cucumber, avocado and onion in a large bowl. Add dressing. Gently toss all together until combined. Cover and chill for 30 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and some pepper, if desired.
Watermelon – Watermelon, like tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which acts as a natural sunscreen. So it guards against premature aging by protecting skin cells from sun exposure! My mom always added a little salt to her watermelon. Do you add salt to your watermelon? She did it to cantaloupe, too! I wonder if it was a generation thing. I never did like it that way and so my kids don’t either. It’s funny how things get passed down through the generations.
Dress || Sandals || Bracelet || Chair
I found a few other interesting tidbits about Cashews and Pistachios…we always have these around for munching on.
Cashews are rich in antioxidants that promote the growth of new cells in your skin. This enables your skin to regenerate faster and helps maintain the elasticity. Think collagen builders! Grab a handful a day and enjoy while doing something good for your skin.
Pistachios are an excellent source of antioxidant like vitamin E, which fights with the free radicals of our body, stabilizes them and thus prevents them from doing damage to our body cells ( including the skin cells). By doing so, it also protects us from fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, etc. and thus reduces the risk of premature aging. Gimme all the pistachios!
*Beta-Carotene: [from webMD] Beta Carotene is a compound that gives vivid yellow, orange, and red coloring to vegetables. The body converts Beta Carotene into vitamin A (retinol). Vitamin A, known as a vital nutrient for vision, plays a critical role in cell growth and in maintaining healthy organs like the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Beta Carotene, which gets its name from the Latin word for carrot, is an antioxidant that is extremely good for your eyes and skin.
**Omega-3: [from webMD] Omega-3s are nutrients you get from food (or supplements) that help build and maintain a healthy body. They’re key to the structure of every cell wall you have. They’re also an energy source and help keep your heart, lungs, blood vessels, and immune system working the way they should.
***Lycopene: [from webMD] Long-term lycopene consumption is also linked with skin cancer prevention. Several studies show that people who included tomato paste in their diet daily experienced up to 40% less ultraviolet (UV) skin damage from sunlight than those who did not.
****Disclaimer: I’m not a nutritionist or doctor in any shape or form, just sharing some information that I have found and happily sharing it with you!
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