Your skin is the largest organ of your body, so it only makes sense that it reflects your overall health, for the world to see! Beauty really is only skin deep but feeling good about yourself also lights you up from the inside, contributing to a vibrant outward appearance.
Choose a few of the following tips to incorporate into your lifestyle, and then get ready to glow!
Monitor Your Diet
OK, advice to watch what you eat is no surprise. While everyone’s body is different, certain foods are associated with acne and poor skin quality. Processed dairy products, excess alcohol, toxic food additives and smoking overwork the liver and kidneys, which can cause breakouts and make your skin look tired and dull.
To avoid food additives, read labels and limit your intake of processed packaged foods. When you do indulge in dairy, try to go with fermented dairy products, like kefir or Greek yogurt, which are packed with immune-protecting probiotics, nerve-nourishing calcium and satiating protein.
Antioxidants as an Antidote
It’s impossible to avoid all toxins, so ensuring you include foods high in antioxidants in your diet every day helps your body fight back. Vegetables high in antioxidants are: kale, cabbage, chili peppers, parsley, artichokes and Brussels sprouts. Fruits high in antioxidants are: berries, pineapples, pomegranates, prunes and cherries. If you’re running short on time, you don’t have to cut your body short on antioxidants. Remember, convenient Juice Plus+ products are your detoxifying, antioxidant-rich allies!
Sun Protection from the Inside Out
Certain vitamins and nutrients can help protect your body from ultraviolet damage from the inside. Getting enough vitamin D, vitamin E, astaxanthin (found in Juice Plus+ and tomatoes) and other nutrients prevents free-radical damage. Read more about this in Dr. Mercola’s recent article, “Top Nutrients to Protect Your Skin from Summer Sun.”
Green Tea Gets a Gold Star for Skin Health
The antioxidant qualities in green tea make it an ingredient in many skin care products. Specifically, it contains the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and other polyphenols, which help slow down aging, clear up skin conditions and reduce damage from sun exposure. L-theanine (an amino acid) found in green tea has a calming effect; another reason to drink up. Chronic stress makes the body overproduce cortisol, an inflammatory hormone that promotes wrinkling of the skin and contributes to many disease processes.
Water
Adequate hydration is also important for flushing toxins and keeping your skin supple. Most doctors recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces of clean water per day. For example, if you weigh 130 pounds, half of that in ounces is 65 ounces, or about 8 cups of water.
Sunscreen to Protect Your Skin
When you know you’re at risk of burning, use a chemical-free sunscreen. We’ve already provided everything you need to know about sunscreen in our article, “The Sunscreen Debate: What You Need to Know.”
Relax Your Facial Muscles
Turns out, your face WILL freeze like that! Be aware of your facial expressions. It is better to avoid deep wrinkle formation than to use Botox or other neurotoxins to hide them for few months at a time.
Do you need glasses, but refuse to give in? All that squinting could be giving you wrinkles around your eyes! Do yourself a favor–take care of your peepers–put less stress on them and on your skin!
If you frown a lot, try to catch yourself and relax your facial muscles. Touch your face all over and discover where there is tension or where you’re holding trapped emotions. Breathe into the area and release the tension. Focus on all of the key muscle groups and feel them melting into relaxation.
Moisturize Your Skin with Coconut Oil
Coconut oil, nature’s most perfect oil, keeps skin strong and supple, preventing sagging, blemishes, liver spots, dryness and wrinkles. It protects against free radicals and is a natural sunscreen, moisturizer and rejuvenator. It even has the ability to restore damaged skin. It heals and repairs, leaving the skin radiant and youthful.
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