Essential Beauty Foods

When it comes to fostering great skin and a healthy glow, external beauty products take a back seat to foods and their minerals. Adding foods that boast high concentrations of particular minerals, as well iron and magnesium can offer big beauty benefits.

From avocado to tumeric, wholefoods considered as beautifying are largely due to the alkalizing affect they have on the body. Beauty foods also contain high levels of antioxidants and are also loved for their anti-parasitical and anti-inflammatory properties.

Being in a balanced state—physically, mentally and emotionally—is also important, as it allows the food you’re eating to be absorbed properly by the body. I’ve experienced this myself: eating a brilliant diet, but not functionally properly in order to absorb the nutrients (hello gray hairs!).

Here are some of my health and beauty essentials, many of which make great smoothie ingredients and on-the-go snacks.

If you have a beauty food you love, please share in the comments!

Avocado: Containing high amounts of lutein, which works as an antioxidant, protecting the skin for UVB damage, the avocado is also a super beauty food thanks to its high concentrations of skin-loving Vitamin E, Vitamin C and oleic acid.

Aloe Vera: Believed to be a food of long-lasting youth and rapid healing. The anti-inflammatory power in acute inflammation is one of it’s best known actions. The gel of the Aloe Vera can be used topically or add to your daily juice.

Bee Pollen: Composed of 22 amino acids with higher amounts of the eight essential amino acids than most high protein foods, bee pollen is rich in B-complex, vitamin C, D, E, lecithin, cysteine, RNA, DNA, good calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, and selenium. It reduces the production of histamine and lowers the allergic response. Bee pollen improves beauty as it helps clear acne and reverses aging and wrinkling. Athletes take it to increase strength, endurance, energy and speed.

Cacao: Listed as the world’s top antioxidant food, cacao’s beautifying properties are from the high levels of magnesium, chromium, iron and manganese. It’s also rich in tryptophan, serotonin, anandamide and “love chemicals” PEA, and is known to extend life.

Coconut Oil: The most versatile beauty food, coconut oil is high in antioxidants and helps control blood sugar levels, assists the thyroid gland and repairs the skin. Eat it straight off the spoon, blend it into smoothies, use for high-heat cooking and all over the skin following a bath or shower. Coconut oil is also a great alternative to toxic sunscreens, as it naturally contains a sun protection factor of approximately four.

Cucumbers: A powerful internal cleanser, cucumbers foster smoother, clearer skin thanks to the high levels of silicon found in the vegetable’s skin. Juice or blend, but always choose organic.

Figs: Alkalising and high in minerals such as calcium, figs are great for the digestion thanks to large amounts of fibre. When the digestion is working efficiently and the gut itself healed, clearer skin is guaranteed.

Hemp Seeds: One of the most nutritionally complete foods, high-protein hemp seeds contain all nine essential amino acids. While their Omega 3 and 6 properties promote healthy skin.

Macadamia Nuts: High in selenium, zinc and fatty acids, macadamia nuts are highly beneficial for the skin.

Pumpkin Seeds: Mineral-rich and a great source of B vitamins, pumpkin seeds also boast phytonutrients and fatty oils, which help to foster clear skin.

Tumeric: Anti-inflammatory, tumeric is also known for its antioxidant, anti-cancer and anti-microbial properties. It’s also revered for its ability to purify blood, which is essential for clear skin.

Best Beauty Minerals

Zinc: If you suffer from hair loss, acne and other skin-related issues, zinc could be missing in your diet. This mighty mineral promotes cell repair, division and growth, as well as production of white blood cells. A powerful cleanser, it clean sweeps the liver, repairs tissues and oxygenates the body while it’s at it.

Sulfur: If it’s glowing skin and gorgeous hair you seek, add sulfur to your every day. An essential mineral within the connective tissue of the human body—tissues which in turn support and connect all of the body’s organs. Sulfur also drives nutrients in and out of cells, helps regulate blood sugar, strengthen the immune system and repair tissues. It’s also responsible for rebuilding keratin and collagen: important ingredients to foster glowing skin, shiny hair and strong nails.

Silicon: Many nutritionists list silicon as one of the best beauty secrets around, thanks to its ability to keep cells walls “elastic”, therefore preventing early aging.