You know that old saying that beauty is skin deep? Well, same holds supreme today especially in the area of skin health and anti – aging. The need for youth is at an all time high and though I am still oppose to cosmetic surgery, I believe very firmly that we must care for our skin, nourish it, nurture it to work in our favour as long as we choose to wear this skin for a really, really long time. Part of the problem with the desire to fight aging is that we do not take proper care of our skin, our body or our health, such that we go into our mature years ill-prepared. Such ill-preparedness exposes us to fast track, quick fixes like cosmetic surgery. If you do not want to look like Joan Rivers, then you must begin early and do right by your body by living right – healthy and giving your skin the right nutrition.

Good skin begins with good nutrition and good habits. There are many reasons why many people today age pre-maturely and this is sometimes due to the lifestyles that besets our modern living. We are working for longer hours, sleeping for fewer hours and adopting lifestyles that do more harm to our body like smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, amongst others. Many more young people are seeing signs of aging like wrinkles, dark circles under the eye, premature greying, among others, even earlier than we should. So whether you are young or elderly; whether you are obsessed with “younger for longer” or seeking to age gracefully, nutrition is your number one resource to living longer, living healthy and looking young.

The right kind of nutrition

As we age, our body depletes itself of necessary nutrients and our hormones level reduces as well, which causes our skin to lose its elasticity or suppleness and expose us to environmental dangers. Our skin becomes susceptible to harm; we start to bruise easily, we find our skin being burnt by the sun and drying out as our skin loses moisture. This is where nutrition comes very useful in rejuvenating our skin through a process of skin cell growth and renewal. As you age, the body becomes deficient in iron, calcium and other nutrients, causing low immunity, hair loss, weak bones and sagging skin, among others.

Our skin cannot do without balanced nutrition, especially Vitamins A,C, D, and E. VITAMIN A: Vitamins A are rich sources of antioxidants responsible for the growth and renewal of skin cells. As you advance in age, you must love Vitamin A rich foods like carrots, egg yolks, spinach, broccoli and dairy foods because they help to fight against skin cell depletion, which is responsible for wrinkles and sagging skin.

VITAMIN C: vitamin C gives the skin structure, tone and elasticity; as well as boosts immunity, which drops as you age. So take foods like tomatoes, citrus, fruits and vegetables. Blue berries are rich in Vitamin C, which contains cancer preventing antioxidants as well as great source of dietary fibre which the body needs.

VITAMIN D: Weak bones are very common with aging so strengthen your bones by taking foods rich in Vitamin D such as dairy foods. Vitamin D is responsible for the development of skin cells which you can also find in egg yolks.

VITAMIN E: Another rich source of antioxidants that maintains a healthy skin. You will find Vitamin E in nuts, whole grains and leafy vegetables.

VITAMIN B: This is your go to vitamin for firmness. Your skin needs all B vitamins and you can find them in eggs, liver and vegetables.

FAT: When you age, your skin loses its elasticity, suppleness and bounce. You cannot do without nuts and healthy fatty foods as they provide the suppleness the skin needs as well as give it shine and provide shine to the hair.

AGE FIGHTING FOODS

When it comes to our skin, antioxidants play a very important role as they have multifunctional roles from skin rejuvenation to clear and brighter skin to protecting our skin. Berries of all kinds are rich sources, as well as pomegranate, dark green vegetables, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and papaya.

Whole grains provide needed fibre, protein and iron that our body needs.

And do not forget water! As we age, we dehydrate, we expose ourselves to the sun, which also dries our skin as well. Water rehydrate our body and our skin, helping to keep a balance between what our body needs and the ones our body takes out in the form of wastes.

SKIN: Because one’s skin tend to wrinkle and dry as you age, foods such as berries – blue berries, strawberry, raspberry, black berry, cherry, among others;  carrots and pumpkins are useful foods in tackling one’s skin.

EYES: You want better vision as you age so make the following foods a treat: broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and spinach.

BONES: Calcium rich foods help our bones as we age like yogurt, soy or soya, milk.

IMMUNITY BOOST: Green tea, black tea, broccoli, cabana and spinach all help your immunity.

Youthful skin is not just about firmer skin, which you can get from cosmetic surgeries. Rather, a healthy body and healthy skin keeps you younger and healthier for longer, as well as fighting to reduce wrinkles and the signs of aging.

Cheers!