Is a Raw Food Diet Really Better For Your Skin?

Munch on more raw foods and your skin will love you for it!

In a word… YES!

In fact, eating a diet that consists of 50-80% raw foods is one of the best ways to keep your skin looking young, vibrant and glowing with good health.

Why is it so?

Because raw foods contain enzymes, which are proteins that catalyse (or increase the rate of) chemical reactions in the body.

In plain English, enzymes are the life force in your food. Almost all the chemical reactions in your body are dependent on enzymes to assist them, including those that determine the rate at which your skin ages.

Cooking food destroys its natural enzymes, so the more raw foods we can eat — yummy salads with raw veggies, delicious fresh fruit, protein-packed soaked nuts and seeds — the healthier our skin.

According to Leslie Kenton in her book Skin Revolution:

“When more than half the foods you eat consists of low or medium glycaemic bright coloured fruits and vegetables — the non-starchy, non-sugary kinds which don’t raise the levels of sugar in your blood too far or too fast — you not only provide your skin with the best possible combinations of potent plant-based antioxidants, you supply your whole body with enzymes it requires to metabolise what you eat well.”

One way to get lots of enzymes into your diet is through drinking green smoothies. By blending raw green vegetables with fruit and protein powders, you can really boost your daily intake of enzymes, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Green smoothies are a superb skin food indeed, and they pack a powerful enzyme-filled punch that will really benefit your skin if you tend to eat a lot of cooked foods.

Following a raw food diet can also help clear up acne and even acne scars. In this video, Natasha from RawRadiantHealth tells you how she cleared up her acne through eating a raw food diet and cutting back on the amount of skincare products she was using. (The raw food bit kicks in at around the 4 min 22 sec mark). Natasha is quite inspiring — check her out!

Image: Doreen Salcher | Dreamstime.com