Making a routine lately has been so hard, at least in my opinion. I’m sure some of you feel the same; I find myself skipping meals when it’s the thing I want to avoid the most. Have you been feeding yourself properly? Don’t forget you also have to nourish your skin! Your skin needs nutrients as much as your stomach does. Below are some of the best foods to eat to do you and your skin a favor.
Bunches of Broccoli
My favorite vegetable lately has been broccoli. You can cook them in various ways, add numerous spices to switch them up, and pair them with so many meals. Broccoli is filled with vitamins A and C(1). Vitamin A helps prevent pesky breakouts and even helps heal any current ones. Something interesting about broccoli is that it has a compound named sulforaphane; this compound has been said to have anti-skin cancer results. Grab yourself a bunch of broccoli!
Spectacular Sweet Potato
For the past two weeks, I’ve been on a pretty strict diet, and sweet potatoes have saved me so much when I’m craving something on the sweeter side. Not only are they good for weight loss (in moderation, of course), but they’re excellent for your skin. Like broccoli, they have vitamin C, which is crucial for the production of collagen. This is helpful in the long run. You won’t be seeing wrinkles on your skin when you begin to age. If there’s something I retained from taking a nutrition class here at Berkeley, it’s that sweet potatoes have beta carotene. Beta carotene is vital in vitamin A production; don’t be afraid to indulge in some sweet potatoes!
Tasty Tofu
Now, this isn’t a vegetable, but it’s made up of one. I like tofu because you can use it to your liking, and there is an endless amount of possibilities on how to cook it. It’s a great source of protein, and it also helps with your skin’s elasticity! Tofu also has some calcium in it; it keeps your skin from being dry, which is vital now that the spring is approaching. Keeping it real though, too much tofu intake could be harmful to your hormones. Since tofu is soy, high soy intake messes with your hormones. I could attest to that. My iced coffees with soy did lots of damage.
Crunchy Cucumbers
There’s a reason cucumbers are always involved when you think of a “spa day.” Cucumbers have incredible benefits on the skin since a cucumber itself is mostly water, they’re great at hydrating your skin! Cucumbers also have antioxidant properties, which are the best thing to flush out any impurities. Back in high school, my acne was terrible, and something that I noticed helped my skin a lot was my daily mint and cucumber tea! My skin was very glowy, and within time the acne started disappearing. I genuinely recommend it!
That’s all the recommendations I have. Do you have any you’d like us to know of?
With love,
Michelle
Footnote:
- https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170379/nutrients
