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Hey, babe. Over here.
Looking for amazing skin, stat? Have I got some secrets for you...
Here are my 10 (okay, maybe not super secretive) secrets for amaaaaazing skin!
Healthy fats in our diet help to reduce inflammation and rebuild healthful skin cells - two very important things when it comes to improving the health of our skin!
Not sure which of the fats are the 'good' ones? Opt for oily, wild-caught fish, nuts + seeds, avocado, tahini, olive + other cold-pressed oils.
Get moving to get glowing! Moving our bodies on a regular basis boasts a bevy of health benefits - and we're talking mental, emotional and physical health.
More specifically, regular exercise (whether it be a workout at the gym, a yoga or pilates class, a swim, or even a walk around the block) helps to move blood and lymph through our bodies. While the flow of blood brings vital nutrients to the skin, the flow of lymph helps to eliminate wastes (saving them from trying to escape via the skin... hello, breakouts!).
Zinc is an essential nutrient for great skin health. Not only does zinc assist in wound healing, tissue repair, and acne-bacteria-busting; it also helps to boost the immune system, and aids in the production of gastric acid (which, in turn, helps us to properly breakdown our food and absorb all of the nutrients, vitamins + minerals our skin loves so much).
Pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, tahini, nuts, garlic, fresh parsley + basil, spinach, broad + butter beans, red meats and oysters are all great sources of zinc. I'll often recommend a practitioner-only, high-quality zinc supplement to my clients, too - especially if there's a deficiency at play.
Ever heard of a little thing called 'beauty sleep'? As with exercise, the list of benefits for overall health + wellbeing that accompanies a good night's rest is endless. Sleep is when our bodies do their very best detoxifying, replenishing and healing.
For clear, glowing, healthy skin, and an amazing sense of overall health, you'll be wanting around 8 hours of quality sleep per night. To help ensure your sleep is a quality one each night, make sure that you: avoid coffee after lunchtime; don't go to bed too soon after a heavy meal; avoid screens (including the TV and your smartphone!) for at least 1 hour before hitting the hay; and, ensure you've got a cool, dark, quiet + comfortable sleeping space.
Antioxidants help to prevent damage - including both skin damage and the damage caused by ageing. Antioxidant-rich berries, green tea, and turmeric also work to repair tissues throughout the body - including in the skin.
Beta-carotene is one particularly useful antioxidant for boosting skin health. Found in orange foods, like sweet potato, carrots and butternut pumpkin (and actually responsible for their orange colour due to its strong red-orange pigment), beta-carotene converts to skin-loving vitamin A.
Vitamins C + E are to particularly special antioxidants when it comes to boosting the health of your skin.
Vitamin C assists in collagen synthesis for healthy skin, as well as in reducing inflammation and preventing oxidative damage in the body and skin. Foods rich in vitamin C include rockmelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, citrus fruits, and strawberries.
Found in avocado, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds and silverbeet, Vitamin E helps to protect the skin from damage (including sun damage), and keeps skin looking young and supple. Adequate Vitamin E levels can also help to clear and prevent congestion.
H2O helps to keep skin soft and smooth, helps to flush out toxins from the body, and delivers all-important nutrients to our skin cells.
Struggle to get your 2L of pure, filtered water down throughout the day? Try adding some fresh lemon juice for not only flavour, but the added bonus of boosted digestive health (and just watch that skin glow when your tummy's in working order) ;)
Keep. Those. Fingers. Away. !!!
Squeezing and picking breakouts will do two very unhelpful things: a) spread the bacteria, and b) contribute to scarring. Just no.
Depurative, lymphatic and hepatic herbal teas can work wonders for skin.
Depurative herbs work to purify the blood and body by eliminating wastes and toxins, supporting the cleansing powerhouses: our liver and kidneys. Meanwhile, lymphatic herbs cleanse and support the lymphatic system, and hepatic herbs promote wellbeing for the liver (one of our most vital detoxification organs). Think herbs like calendula, burdock, licorice and dandelion.
Many of my clients see me because their imbalanced hormones are causing their breakouts. And our reproductive hormones cop a lot of flack. But the body is actually home to maaaany different types of hormones, and - when they're all in balance - they all contribute to keeping your body running in tip-top, mint condition. Cortisol, for example, helps to control blood sugar and blood pressure levels.
Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone, as the body will produce peaks of it to help you biologically adapt to any kind of immediate threat. In our modern world, the perception of an immediate threat has shifted from lion attack to due dates/phone bill/confrontation/peak hour traffic... Many of us are in a sustained state of elevated cortisol as a result.
And our skin is one of the many parts of the body to suffer: cortisol impairs the production of collagen, weakening our skin; it disrupts our ability to metabolise insulin, contributing to breakouts and acne; it elevates inflammation throughout the body, impairs the immune system, and increases wound healing time (meaning those breakouts take longer to heal and fade); and, finally, it disrupts digestion, leading to a whole host of issues (remember: happy gut = happy skin = happy life)!
Getting stress levels under control is absolutely crucial for the health of your skin, girlfriend! Whether that's meditating regularly, practising yoga, seeing a psychologist or counsellor for regular check-ins, journaling before bed, scheduling in down-time... Find what works for you, and run with it.
Tired of doing all the right things and getting nowhere? Looking for a skin-clearing PIC to jump in the passenger seat en route to skin heaven? Why not book a one on one consult with Emily here
Naturopath Emily Bathgate, offers natural, holistic and evidence-based treatments for a range of skin + general health condition, addressing underlying causes and setting you up for ongoing skin health + wellness.
