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The Prerequisite for Great Skin? A Healthy Body! - By: Abdullah Salim

Your skin demands respect

The outer surface of anything living or a part of nature tells us the tail of what is on the inner side. Leaves look greener when there is plenty of chlorophyll inside, Fresh running water looks flawless only when it is free of impurities below the surface, the perfect landscape is perfect because it is free of environmental pollutants and all the small contributors to that perfect landscape play their part well. Similarly a blemish free, smooth and glowing skin depicts a healthy individual. Great skin is the cornerstone stone of good looks. A youthful, blemish-free complexion is something you notice about a person before you can notice anything else. For this very reason people care enough about the appearance of their skin to make skin care a multi-million dollar industry. There us an entire spectrum of skin care products you can buy to balance, moisturize, deep clean, tone, or exfoliate your skin. Some will even hire the services of a specially trained aesthetician to squeeze, steam, apply masks and fruit acid peels.

All the topical treatments aside and one fundamental truth remains: great skin is built from the inside out.

If people understand what their skin does for them and how it functions in the body, only then can they begin to support and care for the skin. The skin is a protective coating, a layer that keeps countless harmful foreign particles stay foreign. It inhibits the growth of disease causing bacteria. It also helps eliminate up to 2 pounds of metabolic waste a day.


Sources of Risk
Skin problems emanate from various external and internal irritants:

• External: Smog, environmental pollutants and overexposure to the sun all stress the skin causing premature aging. The sun is the primary cause of wrinkles and of 90% of skin cancers.
• Internal: What we put in our bodies feeds the skin for better or worse.
• Soda, caffeine, alcohol and red meat all dry the skin out.
• Saturated fats, hydrogenated oils (margarine) and junk foods generate free radicals that reduce the elasticity of the skin. Margarine, hydrogenated oils (found in a lot of pre-packaged baked goods, cookies, potato chips and other junk foods) interfere with favorable prostaglandins that keep the skin healthy.
• Smoking ages the skin faster than anything else. Even if you don’t smoke, try to avoid smoky places and ask your smoking friends not to smoke around you. The hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes enter the blood and wind up in the skin as the body tries to eliminate them.



Eating for Great Skin
We are what we eat. Our food has the most profound impact on our skin. Here are the Dos and Don’ts

• Water – Drinking enough is probably the single most important factor. A minimum of 6-8 glasses of water is required for staying properly hydrated through out the day. Modern American dietery patterns are synonymous with low amount of water containing foods, refined foods and fats. Because of this we require extra water to keep the eliminative channels working well. Hydration is the main objective. A great way to increase hydration is to drink Alkaline Ionized Water. It is believed to be up to 6 times more hydrating than normal, bottled or distilled water. Drink more water in hot, dry weather, less in cold, damp climates. It’s best to drink water at room temperature 20 minutes before meals or 1 hour after.

• Fruits and vegetables - High in water and also a great source of fiber. The more we eat them the better our skin gets. Acid wastes hurt our skin healthy very badly, most fruits help flush this acid waste out. Avocado is especially good for skin elasticity. To maximize its cleansing properties have fruit for breakfast when the body is in its cleansing cycle.

• Oils – Getting the right oils in the body is again a critical thing to skin health. Oils can be taken in internally and externally. Avocados are a great source of olive oil which very good for the skin. Olive oil can be applied topically also, and treats problems such as dandruff and dryness.

• Fried fats and hydrogenated oils – A big no. These give rise to free radicals in the body the play havoc with healthy cells and tissue. Such oils are found to be present in several pre packaged food such as chips, cookies etc. Similarly, foods such as French fries, etc. contain oils that have been chemically altered by high heat and are not properly metabolized by the body. They congest the liver and generate free radical damage to the skin and elsewhere. Those free radicals undermine the integrity of the collagen that keeps our skin soft and smooth. Free radicals break down collagen, making it less elastic and less able to hold moisture.

If you want your skin to be healthy, avoid refined, fatty, fried foods, red meat, pasteurized dairy products, white flour, sugar, sodas, alcohol, and caffeine. And eliminate foods that contain hydrogenated oils. Increase vegetable protein foods: beans, soy products, whole grains, mineral rich foods like leafy greens, sea vegetables and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage), sesame and sunflower seeds. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Both are high in antioxidant vitamins and minerals.

Supplementation for great skin
Modifying our diet and completely eliminating foods that we have been addicted to for a very long time is not an easy job. However, there needs to be the willingness. These foods we’ve been have produced certain nutritional deficiencies is which is a major cause of a lot of skin problems. Therefore; supplementation is very important.

Vitamin C - A direct nutrient for the skin! Taken in internally and applied topically in sun lotions, Vitamin C is one of the most protective nutrients for the skin. It inhibits radiation damage when applied topically and slows development of wrinkles and premature aging.

Antioxidants: Vitamins C, A, E, zinc, selenium, taurine, and NAC
• Combinations are much more protective than using only one or two.
• Especially good if you spend a lot of time in the sun
• Good for everyone because of potential free radical damage.

Zinc - especially important for skin health! It is needed for the production of healthy, new skin cells. Seafood, oysters, nuts and seeds are about the only good zinc sources. Many studies have shown that 95% of 50 year old Americans are deficient in zinc.

Essential fatty acids
Flaxseed oil and olive oil are especially good because they have anti-inflammatory properties EPA found in fish oils and cold water fish - salmon, sardines, mackerel and GLA from EPO or borage oil lubricate the skin and keep it soft and smooth.

Water – Hydrating yourself is absolutely essential. 6 to 8 glasses of Alkaline Ionized Water will leave you energized, alert, feeling light and happy. It flushes acid toxins out of the body and is a power natural anti-oxidant. It will do wonders for the skin. Alkaline ionized water is negatively charged so it protects the body and skin from free radical damage. You can easily find a good water ionizing machine to alkalize yourself daily.

About the Author


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Alkaline water is the most natural and the easiest way to start your nutrition for great skin. A good Water Ionizer really gets you on the blemish free great skin bandwagon.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Abdullah-Salim/52196




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