Can your diet actually affect whether or not you retain a youthful glow as you age?
If you live a busy life, you have little time in your schedule to plan a healthful diet and then actually purchase the foods required to maintain it.
If you find that it’s easy and convenient to grab breads or other carbs, then take a minute to think about some foods that can keep your skin looking young.
Water, Water Everywhere
Just put down that soda–and walk away from the coffee pot! Get into the habit of drinking water throughout the day. The body needs moisture in order to stay supple and youthful, both inside and out, and there’s nothing better than water.
It really is best to drink 8 or 9 cups of water on a daily basis to stay well hydrated. If you can’t reach that goal, just focus on increasing your water intake and avoiding caffeinated beverages that have a drying effect on the body.
Water flushes toxins out of your system and keeps your internal organs healthy. Remember that your skin is the body’s largest organ, and drinking plenty of water per day will give your complexion a clear, moist appearance.
Don’t worry about buying special water, such as alkaline water. Research has so far failed to prove any definitive benefits that good old tap water can’t provide.
Yes, You Can Eat Some Fats!
Healthy fats, of course, are great options in any diet. Fats play an important role in keeping the body lubricated. One of the benefits of monounsaturated 
or polyunsaturated fats is the moisture it provides to the skin.
Like water, it benefits the epithelial tissues of all internal organs as well. The fats you can eat will not harden at room temperature. Try these healthy options:
- Olive oil is a great source of healthy fat. The next time you’re in line at the salad bar, add some Kalamata olives to your plate.
- Peanut butter, but only as long as you buy the kind with peanut oil. Some manufacturers actually remove peanut oil and replace it with unhealthy hydrogenated oil for commercial peanut butter brands. Look for the type of peanut butter that has a layer of oil on top of the product in the jar.
- Salmon is an oily fish, rich in vitamins A and D as well as the all-important omega-3 fatty acids.
- Vitamin A: Retinol and Beyond Most people think of vitamin A as the source of retinol, a good wrinkle minimizer. If you eat lots of liver, your body will absorb useful amounts of vitamin A, and this will have some benefit for your skin.
Other foods from animals, such as eggs and milk, contain the form of vitamin A that can be converted into retinol. You must also consider non-animal sources of vitamin A, mostly fruits and vegetables. They provide a benefit to organ linings and epithelial cells by helping cells to strengthen and mature.
They also allow the skin to fight off invasive bacteria. Besides dark leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, broccoli) consider these yummy additives to your diet:
- Carrots
- Peaches
- Apricots
- Sweet peppers
- Sweet potatoes
Restful Resveratrol
Maybe you can’t say that three times fast, but you’ve certainly heard of antioxidants. They repair aging or damaged cells throughout the body and keep skin healthy and youthful. Which ones work best for your complexion?
You want red-skinned fruits and vegetables, because they contain a healthy phenol called resveratrol. Put some of these into your grocery basket:
- Red or black grapes rather than green grapes (which are actually white grapes).
- Red delicious or gala apples rather than green or yellow apples.
- Berries–blueberries, strawberries, any berries
At the End of the Day… Since you’re doing so much to keep your skin healthy, it’s important to end your day with something rewarding that will really work wonders.
Let yourself relax with a glass of red wine and nibble on a square of chocolate (especially if it’s 65% cocoa or higher). Those two delicious foods are well known for improving heart health–and they are also good for your skin. Enjoy!
Cindi Lewis writes for GLOSSY – a natural skin care products and beauty products online retailer
