Here’s to new beginnings. Refresh your habits while staying true to what matters: living in the moment. Being kind to yourself. And taking time to recharge. Because nothing is as refreshing as feeling comfortable in your skin.
Nourish Yourself From the Inside
In order to provide your skin with the nutrients it needs, it is recommended that you are incorporating complete proteins in your diet, such as meat, fish, miso, tofu, and dairy. Eating protein allows for the consumption of collagen, which provides anti-aging properties as a result (Blake). By absorbing collagen, your body can reassemble the amino acids to meet all of your body’s protein needs, such as by creating specific hormones, enzymes and the collagen in your bones, tendons and skin. At the bottom line, the most important aspect is to make sure you are getting the right balance of amino acids in your diet.
One of the worst offenders of good skin is sugar. Eating excessive sugar leads to glycation of the skin, which causes collagen and elastin to become brittle, thus causing wrinkles (Nguyen and Katta). Increasing your essential fatty acids via food or supplements will assist in keeping your skin plump and hydrated. The A.G.E. products from Skinceuticals are specifically designed to target advanced glycation end products, and address the effects of glycation.
One of Sonia’s dessert recommendations is Spiced Poached Pears with Crème Fraîche. This delicate dessert addresses a craving without an overload of sugar. By eating natural sugars from whole foods, such as fruits, you are incorporating natural fibers that slow the breakdown of sugars, thus slowing the digestion and extending your sugar satiation. In the same token, fruit juices would not provide the same benefit, since the juice has been separated from the fibrous material (Levey). Regardless of how you get your sugar, the main goal is to try and cut back as a whole. Being aware of how much sugar you're having and in what forms can help you be mindful in your every day life.
How is your sleep health and hygiene? We’ve found a great book called Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival that covers how light and sleep are connected to our hormones, appetite, fertility, and mental and physical health. Your cells' natural regeneration process occurs during sleep, which is just one of the reasons why your body needs an adequate amount of sleep. In other words, your body is able to repair itself better when it is cared for.
As always, drinking plenty of water will keep you and your skin healthy. Our skin is a reflection of our internal health, and the skin provides nutrients to any of our internal organs that need it (Holick, Smith, Pincus). Thus, our skin will be the first depleted of its water, vitamins, and minerals, and is another reason why drinking water is so important ("What Does Water Really Do").
Works Cited
