Good news natural beauties; it’s entirely possible to erase years from your face simply by changing your diet – we know this because we’ve seen significant transformations over and over again in patients on our replete wellness longevity programs. The state of your skin is a clear indication of how you treat your body, and our patients start looking younger and glowing almost immediately after replacing processed junk with these wrinkle-fighting beauty foods.

The following anti-aging foods are packed with essential beauty nutrients that nourish healthy skin, hair and nails from the inside out.

1. Organic Soy: In a recent study 30 women were given soy isoflavones for 3 months. Skin punch tests were then performed before and after measured epidermal thickness, wrinkling and amount of elastic and collagen fibers in the skin. The results showed a significant increase in all categories of skin health, meaning more youthful & glowing skin. Organic soy can easily be found in your local health food store in the form of tempeh, organic tofu, miso, organic edamame beans.
2. Tomatoes + Watermelon: We’ve included these two in the same category since they’re both crazy high in a nutrient called lycopene. Lycopene is the carotenoid which gives fruits & veg their red colouring (add red carrots, grapefruits & papayas to your list) and studies show it helps your skin absorbs & neutralize harmful UVA and UVB rays from the sun.
3. Pomegranates: Atophagy is your body’s ability to clean up and remove old / dying cells and it’s an absolutely critical to support this process if you want to keep your skin healthy & hydrated. Pomegranates help your body make more urolithin A, which can amazingly re-establish your body’s ability to enhance mitochondrial clean-up and recycle the components of the defective cells. This anti-aging molecule is created in the gut via the ‘good’ bacteria that lives in your digestive system so it would be wise to eat some probiotic foods along with those pomegranate seeds.
4. Citrus fruits: Citrus fruits are abundant in vitamin C. This nutrient is vital for skin health because it helps prevent and treat ultraviolet (UV)-induced skin damage. It’s also an important co-factor in collagen synthesis (collagen production declines as we age causing wrinkles and loose skin). Studies show that you can maintain healthy collagen levels by eating a diet rich in both collagen, and vitamin C. The best citrus sources of vitamin C are orange, lime & lemon (as if you need yet another reason to finally start drinking warm lemon water in the mornings).
5. Red wine: [maximum 4 glasses weekly] Alcohol creates toxins in the body that are ageing to the skin, but if you’re going to indulge anyway make sure it’s a glass of dry red wine. Red grape skins are full of antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatory compounds and there actually are a few studies proving that red wine can slow down the aging process.
6. Avocado: Avocados are high in vitamin E and a rich source of the skin-protective antioxidants that are essential for glowing skin and shiny hair. These wonderful fruits also have a high folate content, which is important for skin cell regeneration and can result in a more youthful complexion.
7. Hemp seeds: Hemp seed contain significant amounts of omega-6 fatty acid GLA (known for its anti-inflammatory properties) and vitamin E; which is one of the only nutrients that has been proven to decrease the effect of the sun on the skin and prevent future damage. We throw hemp seeds on just about everything, and especially low how great they taste on a kale salad loaded with vinegar and nutritional yeast.
8. Blueberries: 1 serving (1/2 cup) of this simple super food provides antioxidants that fight free radicals in order to combat wrinkles & sun damage. A diet high in blueberries can also improve your circulation, which is important for skin health; more blood flow to the face = more healing nutrients delivered to your skin.
9. Brazil nuts: Brazil nuts are nature’s richest source of selenium, a powerful mineral that aids in the production of your body’s main antioxidant glutathione. This mineral repairs cell damage and slows down the skin’s aging process. Aim to eat around 3 large nuts daily which will provide around 250mcg selenium.
10. Bone broth: Bone broth is the ideal anti-aging food packed with collagen (the protein responsible for building strong & youthful skin), glycine (known as the ‘anti-aging amino acid – glycine is crucial for forming connective tissue in the skin) & anti-aging minerals (phosphorus, calcium & magnesium). We encourage our patients to also add a daily collagen + anti-oxidant supplement for improved skin outcomes.

If you’re interested in learning more about how naturopathic functional medicine can help you look and feel your best you can book an online appointment with Dr. Sarah here. (note: naturopathic care is only available to patients living in Ontario, Canada).

REFERENCES:

• Dongryeol Ryu, et. al. Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C. elegans and increases muscle function in rodents. Nature Medicine, July 2016.
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31039629
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31370365