Your body’s largest organ, your skin, requires a lot of nutrition to help it stay clear and maintain elasticity. Foods you eat will also have an effect on the overall health of your skin.

Your skin health is dependent on foods that are high in vitamin A. Low fat dairy products such as yogurt are a great source of vitamin A. Yogurt is also a good food to ingest for intestinal health due to high amounts of the live bacteria acidophilus. Other foods to ingest that are packed with vitamin A are sweet potatoes, carrots, and green leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and swiss chard.

Skin cellular health is also highly dependent on ingestion of EFAs or essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Skin cells are protected from damage by antioxidants and phytochemicals will keep looking younger longer and affects premature aging of the skin. Fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants are plums, prunes, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, pomegranates, artichokes and many different kinds of beans. Pecans are also high in antioxidants. The skin cell membranes that allow nutrients to pass to the skin cells are kept healthy by the essential fatty acids found in walnuts, salmon and flax seed. Essential fatty acids can also come from olive oils and can work to keep your skin lubricated and moist which serves to the overall health of your skin.

Selenium is an important component in the health of skin cells and can evade damage to the skin by the sun. Good foods to eat that are high in this mineral are whole wheat breads and cereals, brazil nuts, turkey and tuna. When choosing grains, it is important to go with whole grain foods that will be rich in complex carbohydrates since the high insulin levels created by processed or refined sugars or “simple carbs” can cause inflammation and could lead to skin breakouts such as acne.

Staying well hydrated is a crucial ingredient in your goals for overall skin health as it contributes to better elasticity and flushes more of the damaging toxins out of your skin. Drink lots of water for this. An even better way to hydrate is by drinking lots of green tea. Green tea helps to protect the membrane of the cell with anti-inflammatory properties and may even assist in the overall prevention of skin cancer.

High Fiber Blueberries