These 6 foods are not your friends.
1. Alcohol
Yes, I know it’s very cruel of me to bring up the subject of alcohol right as we’re heading into the festive season, but it’s by far one of the worst substances to be funnelling into your bod if you want gorgeous, glowing skin. It’s dehydrating. It causes broken capillaries. It makes you do stupid things at your work Christmas party. And apart from damaging that rather important organ known as the liver (and sometimes your reputation), it restricts the absorption of vitamins and minerals essential for beautiful, youthful skin. In fact, drinking too much alcohol — more than 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men — restricts most of the key nutrients needed for skin to retain moisture and resist inflammation. How annoying.
2. Coffee
If you love your lattes and skinny caps, you don’t have to give them up, but think about reducing your coffee intake to one or two cups a day, if only for the sake of vanity. All caffeinated drinks (but especially coffee as it’s so high in caffeine) are horribly dehydrating, and dehydration is the number one cause of premature aging of the skin. A high caffeine intake also cause blood pressure to rise, which can exacerbate rosacea and couperose skin.
3. Sugar
Sugar (and that includes all it’s innocent-sounding names like fructose) causes biochemical changes in our cells that lead to premature aging. It also causes inflammation in the body, which ages skin, and it can also bind to collagen and cause the skin to lose its flexibility and resilience. This process, called ‘glycosylation’, occurs when sugar attaches itself to proteins, inhibiting their ability to function. The more collagen that is impaired, the more skin will wrinkle and sag. Excess sugar consumption also contributes to acne and pimples (yes, it’s true I’m afraid). Too much sugar can trigger hormonal reactions that lead to increased sebum production, blocked pores and overgrowth of bacteria that cause acne.
4. Processed food
Apart from all those ominous numbers you often find on the packets of processed food that do god-knows what to your health, another reason to avoid processed food is because it is devoid of live enzymes needed by the body for all its metabolic functions — including keeping your skin in top condition. No enzymes, no life. Enzymes need to be replaced every day through eating fresh (preferably organic) foods. When you don’t eat enough enzyme-rich foods every day, your body cuts back on certain functions, least of all those that keep you looking young and gorgeous. Don’t want dry, aged skin and brittle, cracked nails? Then cut back on the processed food. Most processed food tastes soulless and artificial anyway.
5. Gluten
Is this anti-gluten thing everyone seems to be into just a fad? I think not. While few people are diagnosed coeliacs (unable to process gluten at all), plenty of us are gluten intolerant. Gluten damages the small intestine and prevents us absorbing all the nutrients we need for good health and beautiful skin. It can also contribute to acne because it causes inflammation. If you’re sensitive to gluten, you won’t be able to digest it properly, which means you absorb incompletely digested proteins. The body treats these as invaders and the immune system goes on the attack, releasing histamine, which increases inflammation. Inflammation increases insulin resistance, which leads to blood sugar problems, which can cause acne. Gluten is not just present in wheat products, by the way. It’s also in ancient forms of wheat like spelt and kamut, as well as rye, oats and processed foods like cheeses and bottled sauces. Gluten — be gone with you!
6. Hydrogenated oils
Think commercial baked goods, margarine and fried foods (actually no, don’t think about them or you might be tempted). These foods commonly contain hydrogenated oils, which are polyunsaturated oils that are in liquid form at room temperature and through the process of hydrogenation, are turned into fats that become solid at room temperature (e.g. margarine and lard). Cheap oils like soy, corn, cottonseed and canola are hydrogenated, and this process creates trans fats. Trans fats are highly toxic to the body, but the problem is the body doesn’t recognise them as such and incorporates them into cell membranes, wreaking havoc. Trans fats can adversely affect everything from immunity to fertility and they also block utilisation of essential fatty acids, which are necessary for clear, healthy skin. Trans fats can also cause inflammation, which is the basis of aging in all of the body’s organs, including the skin. OK, put your hands in the air and back away from the bakery…
Image: Nejron/Dreamstime.com
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