We all know the old saying “you are what you eat,” but very few of us truly grasp what that phrase is trying to tell us. Though it might be obvious to assume that eating unhealthy things is a recipe for an unhealthy body, we rarely have a visual representation of this. However, this is a different story with our skin. Unlike our internal systems, we can directly see when our skin isn’t getting the nutrients it needs. In fact, some blemishes can even be a sign that something critical is missing from your meals. This is how your diet affects your skin and a few ways that you can change your routine for the better.

The Relationship Between Diet and Skin Health

It’s too easy to forget that the skin is an organ—and the largest one we have, at that. This is why it’s usually more difficult to see how the things we put inside our stomachs could affect us on the outside. But like any other organ in the body, it needs the right number of vitamins, minerals, and proteins to break down damaged tissue and generate new cells. Since all these resources come from our food, it’s what we eat that dictates how our skin responds to damage. Without the necessary building blocks, the skin becomes unable to recover from damage, and blemishes become more common. This is how your diet affects your skin and the way it looks throughout your life.

Skin Conditions Caused by a Poor Diet

However, the impact of your diet choices on your skin doesn’t end there. Believe it or not, sometimes you can even tell what blemishes you’re going to get based on some of your favorite treats. Ahead, read about some of the most common forms of skin blemishes caused by certain food ingredients and what to look out for during your next meal.

Acne Breakouts

Acne breakouts have been linked to food for years—specifically those of the greasy, salty, and oily varieties. This food can heighten your body’s natural production of sebum on the surface of your skin. This increased rate makes it harder to regulate and leads to your pores clogging much faster than you’d expect.

Dark Circles and Hyperpigmentation

Food can also contribute to the appearance of unsightly dark circles or other signs of hyperpigmentation. This is because it’s rare for us to fully incorporate all the fundamental food groups into our routine. Should we eat more of one thing over others, it can throw off our nutritional balance and hinder our skin’s ability to protect itself.

Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Over time, food can start having an effect on your skin’s overall structure as well. Salty, oily, and sugary foods can sap your cells of essential moisture. In large quantities, you could eventually start experiencing collagen decay—which leaves the skin thinner and makes it start to sag. This will trigger the premature aging process and make it more difficult to reverse.

Tips for Adopting a Skin-Healthy Diet

Now that you know what’s at stake, you should take this chance to learn about how you can preserve your skin through your diet. While you can avoid many of these effects by simply changing what you eat, that isn’t always as easy as we think. In actuality, very few of us stick to healthy diets long-term and even fewer of us enjoy them. We’ve compiled a short list of tips to help you navigate this change without losing your determination.

Incorporate All Essential Nutrients

First and foremost, you must try including all the essential nutrients into your diet. This means finding a diverse quantity of foods that contain things like vitamins C, A, and E and pairing them with other important substances like omega-3 fatty acids and zinc. Fortunately, you can find almost all these nutrients in fruits and vegetables. You can get on the right track by incorporating more of them into your meals. Drinking more water is very beneficial as well.

Start Taking Daily Supplements

If you’re finding that it’s difficult to get everything you need in just a few meals, you can also try obtaining them through supplements. These capsules contain concentrated amounts of certain nutrients and you can ingest them without needing to eat a full meal. This is very helpful for ensuring your skin has the proper nutrients at all times.

Cut Out Dairy and Sugar

Once you’re confident you’re getting all the nutrients you need, you should cut out the ones you don’t. Though dairy and natural sugars are crucial to body's functioning as a whole, consuming too much of them can contribute to skin blemishes. You should reduce your intake of dairy and sugar if you want to see a positive change in your complexion.

Practice Moderation on Cheat Days

Many people believe that taking cheat days from your diet is the most common way to relapse into old habits. But it’s important to remember that changing your diet is a slow and sometimes dull process that can leave you craving some of your former pleasures. Because of this, taking the occasional cheat day to indulge is a great way to curb these desires and rejuvenate your dedication to a healthier lifestyle. However, you should remember that you don’t want to go overboard during these times, since overindulging can cause additional blemishes to develop.

At Flawless Beauty and Skin, one of our core beliefs is that healthy and beautiful skin is something that you create from the inside out. While external treatments and creams can help, it’s the investment in a quality diet that allows us to strengthen our cells and generate the results we’re after. It’s with this philosophy in mind that we set out to formulate the highest quality clean beauty skincare products on the market. Each of our supplements is fully optimized for nutritional value and will supply your body with what it needs to produce stronger, more vibrant skin cells. Contact us or visit our website today.