During winter, cold weather can cause our skin to lose some of its natural moisture and oil, making it dryer than usual.
But, our skin also gets nourished from the inside out, and the food you eat every day can make a massive difference to how your skin looks and feels like during the cold months too.
Here are three foods and nutrients for healthy skin
that I recommend you include in your meals every day, particularly during winter:
(1) OMEGA 3
Omega 3 fatty acids support the phospholipid bilayer of the skin, which helps the skin to retain more water, making it more moisturised and softer. You’ll find Omega 3 primarily in oily fish and seafood, and to a smaller extent in plant-based foods like flax and chia seeds.
For healthy skin, include oily fish in your meals 2-3x a week and chia and flax seeds every day.
Alternatively, consider a high quality fish oil supplement, but make sure to consult a nutritionist on this first.
(2) Vitamin A
This vitamin supports proper growth and development of the skin cells.
There are two forms of vitamin A – retinol, which your body can use immediately, and beta-carotene, which your body needs to convert into retinol first.
The best sources of retinol are oily fish, dairy products, eggs and liver (the latter is super high in vitamin A, so avoid eating it if you’re pregnant).
Beta-carotene you can get from orange, yellow and dark green vegetables and fruits, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and papaya, and we recommend that you include a good portion of these in your meals every day.
(3) WATER
Hydration matters - including for a healthy, well moisturised skin.
To find out the basic amount of water that you should be drinking every day to improve skin health, multiply your weight in kg by 30ml.
From there it’s then important to monitor your body for sings of dehydration, so that you know whether this amount needs to be increased further or not.
So these are the three nutrients to include in your meals every day to support your skin during winter months.
To learn what else you can do to fully optimise your nutrition and improve your health, apply for a free discovery call with us below and let’s have a chat about how we can help you achieve this goal.
