The skin of a person may be often termed as the mirror of the internal health of the body of a particular person. Any form of age marks such as wrinkles, dryness, dark spots or any other form of problems that show on the skin such as acne and pimples are actually a reflection of one’s unhealthy habits. It is basically a sign that the person has been avoiding skin-healthy nutrients in their diet while including such types of food in the diet that has a bad effect on the skin.
Unfortunately, majority of the people use cosmetic products that have an extremely harsh effect on the skin of a person. It is important that a person’s skin is not exposed to such harsh chemicals when it is already facing problems. Most people today willingly take in toxins by consuming fast foods. When this damages the skin, they use cosmetic products to get rid of external blemishes. Most of them only take care of the problems temporarily. Some products increase the problems all the more by damaging the skin.
Some recently done research, however, shows that there are certain antioxidants and minerals that make the skin look healthy and youthful. The following minerals and antioxidants are the nutrients that are known for their healthy nourishing effect on the skin -
*Silica: Silica is known to have a positive effect in strengthening the connective tissues of the body such as nails, ligaments, cartilage and even bones. The deficiency of silica in the body of a person can result in the loss of elasticity of the skin. This may often in turn affect the healing quality of the skin adversely. Natural sources of silica are cucumber, mangoes, green beans, strawberries and asparagus.
*Zinc: Zinc is a very important nutrient that is good for the skin of most people. In fact, it is greatly required by people who are frequent sufferers of acne since many medical practitioners believe that it is actually the deficiency of zinc that is the primary cause of acne in a person. Zinc maintains the levels of oil production in the skin and also controls the hormones which if in excess in a person mostly least to acne. Zinc is naturally found in oysters, pumpkin seeds, oats, eggs, ginger etc.
Zinc, however, can also be found in the form of liquid supplements as well as tablets for external consumption as a medicine.
*Essential Fatty Acids: There are basically two types of essential fatty acids. They are omega 3 and omega 6. Many skin disorders such as dry skin, inflamed skin, skin suffering from whiteheads or blackheads can be enormously benefited by the good balance of essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6. Due to the spread of the American culture with the help of globalization – American diet has become the diet of the youth of many nations. However, the American diet is high on omega 6 and excludes the intake of omega 3. This lack of balance causes many problems with the skin. Natural balanced essential fatty acids are found in cold water fish like salmon, fish-oils, cod-liver oil and flax seeds.
*Selenium: This is a mineral which is known for its antioxidant qualities. It is also known to be responsible for tissue elasticity and the deficiency of this mineral cause stretched skin, wrinkles and other such problems. It is one of the major components in the body that help prevent the skin from ultraviolet exposure and repairs it from exposure to the same. It is also an important component that if in the body in proper amounts prevents skin cancer. Selenium is naturally found in food like salmon, tuna, eggs, brown rice, whole wheat bread etc.
Other than the intake and the maintenance of the correct levels of the above mentioned minerals in the body, it is extremely important that a person avoids the usage of harsh cosmetic chemical based products such as lotions, creams, washes and other apparently skin nourishing and treatment products. Most problems of the skin can be solved with a proper diet and use of natural extracts from plants if need be. Use of chemical based products only damages the skin further.