Dark chocolate, tuna and muesli among top 10 foods to boost your skin
GETTY Oats and fruit are a winner
Dark chocolate It is rich in naturally occurring compounds epicatechin and catechin. When experts gave women a cocoa drink that was extra-rich in these compounds over a three-month period, their skin improved, revealing better hydration and reduced roughness and scaling. This special cocoa brew isn’t yet available in shops but there are other drinks such as black and green tea that are rich in catechins. Carrots The orange tinge that fair-skinned people can get when they eat a lot of carrots is down to the pigment beta-carotene, also found in mangos, sweet potatoes and apricots. Scientists have found it seems to help protect against sun damage too. One theory is that it acts like a parasol for the skin, helping to scatter harmful rays and boosting the action of sun-protecting creams.
GETTY You can tell you’re drinking enough by the colour of your urine
Water While all fluids will add to your daily total, opting for water or herbal teas means that you’re adding a negligible number of calories while maintaining good levels of hydration – vital for keeping our skin looking plump. You can tell you’re drinking enough by the colour of your urine: it should be a pale straw colour. Tomatoes Tomatoes are bursting with the red pigment lycopene. People given 40g of tomato paste daily, which is just over 1tbsp and provides 16mg of lycopene, showed a reduction in skin redness triggered by ultraviolet rays in the sun. You get lycopene in fresh tomatoes but it’s best absorbed when the tomatoes are cooked, especially with a little oil. Using tomato puree and canned tomatoes in dishes such as spaghetti Bolognese or chilli con carne is an ideal way to up your intake of lycopene.
GETTY Spinach can help improve skin elasticity
Spinach In Italy researchers have shown that taking a supplement with 10mg of the yellow pigment lutein, which is found naturally in spinach (its yellowness is hidden by the more dominant green pigments present), helps to improve skin elasticity. In theory the more elastic the skin, the more it springs back into place after making facial expressions and the less prone it may then be to fine lines and wrinkles. Eating just one 80g portion of kale gives us 17mg lutein. Spinach, spring greens and watercress have 10mg per 80g serving, while one red pepper provides 14mg. Tofu Tofu, soya milk and soya yogurt are all rich in isoflavones. These super-nutrients are similar to the female hormone oestrogen which helps skin to make good quality collagen and lubricating oils. From the work that’s been done on isoflavones so far, skin experts believe they may help to slow down the thinning in our skin, a process that encourages the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.
GETTY All fish is great for protein which is important for making collagen
Tuna Fresh tuna, mackerel and other oily fish such as salmon give us omega-3 oils – essential fats that may be especially helpful for anyone with dry, red and itchy skin caused by conditions such as psoriasis. All fish is great for protein which is important for making collagen. Orange juice Drinking 150ml of orange juice a day is an easy way to get lots of vitamin C, which is vital for helping our bodies to make collagen and repair damage from pollution, sunlight, cigarette smoke and car fumes. We need to eat good sources of this vitamin every day as we can’t store it. Along with oranges (which also give us the protective yellow pigment lutein), grapefruit, strawberries, peppers and dark green leafy vegetables all provide vitamin C.
GETTY Prawns give us copper, the natural dark pigment that helps protect against sun damage