The festive season brings along many celebrations with friends and family. The weather is warmer and time away from work is ideal to rejuvenate for the year ahead.

But with these festive times, diet is often altered and the result may be changes to our health and more visibly to our skin. Here are some tips to keep your skin looking healthy and radiating this festive season.  

Avoid inflammatory foods

Foods that generate inflammation in the body tend to cause more redness on the skin and also accelerate the ageing process. You will find a diet high in refined foods, greasy fatty foods and hot spicy foods will lead to skin that looks dry and thick.

Common intolerances include wheat, yeast, dairy, sugar, gluten, and fructose or perhaps a more specific food allergy can exist.

Whatever the intolerance, your body can not process it effectively so your best bet for great looking skin is to completely avoid it. If you have avoided it over a lengthy period of time you can enjoy these foods in moderation on special occasions.

Meditation/Relaxation

During this time of year stress may be heightened. Stress initiates the release of inflammatory chemicals in the body.

Short term stress is not a problem as a brief release of these inflammatory chemicals can help you get the job done effectively and quickly. The problem arises with continual stress, which increases cortisol levels and then affects hormonal regulation. Some women and men will experience acne around the mouth, jaw, neck and back. Many people often comment on stress being a part of their life so the answers lie in what do you do to manage stress?

The answer should be something that you find enjoyable as well as relaxing such as yoga, meditation, walking or perhaps just being outside with nature and relaxing

Supplements

Incorporating some vitamins into your health regimen could assist with improving skin health. Note: It should always be known that vitamins can be potent medicines and should not be taken without advice from a health care professional.

Vitamins known to improve skin health include:  

Zinc – reduces inflammation in the skin, promotes the healthy rejuvenation of skin cells and assists the healing process in the body. It is also a great mineral to improve immune health. Foods that include zinc are: asparagus, endives, green peas, snow peas, zucchini, eggs, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts.

Vitamin A – Promotes healthy looking skin. A deficiency in vitamin A can result in dry, flaky skin. Foods orange in colour contain beta carotene which is then transformed into Vitamin A as the body recognises it needs to.

Vitamin C – Is an anti-oxidant that protects the skin from free radical damage. This assists with slowing down the appearance in all skin types. Also Vitamin C improves the immune system to help fight off any pathogens that might invade the body. All this transpires to having healthier looking skin. Foods containing vitamin C include tomatoes, oranges and other acidic fruits as well as green leafy vegetables, bell peppers, and fresh herbs such as thyme and parsley.

Vitamin E – Is an antioxidant that acts similarly in the body as Vitamin C to improve the immune system, as well as having an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin and promotes skin health. If applied topically, Vitamin E has the ability to moisturise the skin and has been shown to assist various skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis when taken orally or applied topically. Foods containing vitamin E include green leafy vegetables, seeds, and oils such as wheat germ oil.

Essential Fatty Acids – Maintain healthy looking skin by reducing inflammation in the skin and improve the immune system. These fats need to be incorporated into your diet as the body can not manufacture them and as they are essential to maintain health they need to make up part of your diet. The best source of essential fatty acids is through fish.

Water

Water is an ideal way to hydrate your body. As we are made up of mostly water, water is essential for various physiological functions to occur. Also having small quantities of water can increase inflammation, hunger, dizziness and the list goes on. Water also has an impact on our appearance. Incorporating 2-3 litres of filtered water per day will assist hydration of the skin and body and reduce the impact of inflammatory drinks and foods such as alcohol and bbq’d meats

Healthy Foods to improve your skin Celery, beetroot, parsnips, leafy greens, endives, broccoli, silver beet, salmon, extra virgin olive oil, turkey…..