Best Foods for Healthy Skin by Swinyer Woseth Dermatology

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If you have a nutritional imbalance, your skin is often the first area to show signs of damage. As a result, what you eat has a significant impact on the health and appearance of your skin. Here are the best foods to include in your diet if you’re looking to promote healthy skin.

Fish: Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and herring are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical for keeping your skin thick, supple, and moist. Omega-3s also reduce inflammation that can cause skin redness and acne.
Avocados: The healthy fats found in avocados help make your skin flexible and springy, thus reducing the onset of wrinkles. Avocados are even thought to contain compounds that help protect your skin from sun damage.
Nuts and seeds: In general, nuts and seeds are excellent sources of nutrients that benefit your skin. Walnuts, in particular, are a good source of omega-3s. They also contain a small amount of vitamin E, as do sunflower seeds, an important antioxidant for the skin.
Sweet potatoes: Orange vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and carrots, are high in beta-carotene, a carotenoid that protects your skin when exposed to the sun. This may help prevent sunburn, along with the dryness, cell death, and wrinkles that come with it.
Bell peppers: Again, beta-carotene is what gives red and yellow peppers their signature color. Bell peppers also contain vitamin C, a compound your body needs to create collagen, which helps prevent wrinkles.
Broccoli: This vegetable is packed with several vitamins and minerals for healthy skin, including vitamins A and C, and lutein, which protects your skin from oxidative damage. Most importantly, broccoli contains sulforaphane, an antimicrobial compound with cancer-fighting qualities that may help prevent skin cancer.
Tomatoes: Another excellent source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and lutein, tomatoes also contain lycopene, another carotenoid that protects the skin from sun damage.
Soy products: Soy is famous for its isoflavone content, a plant compound that can either mimic or block estrogen in the body. In postmenopausal women, eating soy every day may reduce skin dryness and improve elasticity.
Dark chocolate: If you need an excuse to eat chocolate, choose a dark variety that contains at least 70% cocoa. This delivers a high amount of antioxidants that protect the skin while keeping the added sugar to a minimum.
Green tea: As with other foods high in antioxidants, green tea protects your skin from sun damage. It also contains catechins, compounds that improve the health of your skin by reducing redness and roughness while increasing hydration and elasticity.

In addition to eating a healthy diet, accessing the skin care products and dermatological services at Swinyer-Woseth Dermatology can help you maintain healthy skin. We remove unwanted moles, provide care for conditions like eczema, and diagnose and treat skin cancer. To schedule a consultation at our Salt Lake City office, please call 801-266-8841 today.