by A. C. O'Brien

Created on: December 19, 2010

The health and beauty benefits of eating right

Do you want to have lovely healthy young looking skin? Do you want to avoid itchy dryness and facial wrinkles? Of course you do, if you eat right you can achieve these goals with a minimum of cosmetic application. 

Some foods contain the natural elements that allow our skin to stay dewy soft and healthy, barring of course harsh cleansers and excessive sunshine. 

There are food groups as well as individual foods that help to maintain great skin, these foods are easy to include in your diet. For rosy healthy skin eat red vegetables, those containing red pigment. The most important of these red foods are; tomatoes, sweet potatoes, red and purple cabbage and chard, carrots and beets. The beta carotene in these vegetables will help your skin tolerate exposure to natures harsh elements and free radicals that can cause damage.

While discussing red vegetables fruits may come to mind, these are all good but not all fruits are created equal. The kiwi is an amazing little powerhouse of vitamin C, it provides more of this nutrient then any other easily available food. This enhances among other things, our immunity, heart health and our complexion. The other super fruits for your skin are berries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and the rest of the many berries. If they are available fresh or frozen, add them to your breakfast when ever possible. Melons come to mind, full of water to moisturize your skins cells and loaded with great red and orange pigments, these sweet treats are sure boost your skin's health.

Flax seed, this one is huge – it is available by the pound in most health food stores, along with salmon, walnuts and canola oil keep the skin on the face, the lips, the hands and feet healthy and injury resistant. They strengthen the skin's cell walls so that they do not break down in the cold dry winter air. Your lips will not split and flake, your feet will not crack and peel and your knuckles and cuticles will not redden, split or bleed if you take these foods regularly. Flax seed alone can achieve this miracle of skin maintenance but adding the other three, pushes the whole skin health and beauty diet even further. Try it this winter. Chew just a quarter to a half teaspoon of flax seed a day, you'll be amazed at the results. Your heart will thank you too as the omega fatty acids help to maintain your heart health. As a bonus, your belly will be happy as the fiber in the flax seeds will

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