Skin Foods

We hired this woman recently where I work, and I noticed as soon as I met her in her interview that she had perfect skin. I thought it might be weird to ask her right away how she got such it, so I waited. She’s black, but I figure skin is skin so I’d be willing to try whatever was her secret; I’ve never seen such a perfect complexion. Finally enough time passed where I thought it would be fine to ask her, and she called off of work because of a sick kid and then unfortunately never came back. She was great at her job too, so besides my ulterior motives, it was a loss. Then last week I came upon this article about how to get flawless skin on Real Simple.^[1] Dr. Gohara from the Yale Department of Dermatology said to lay off the sugar (yet another reason), because besides it affecting your waistline, it could be aging your face. Foods with a high glycemic index (sweets and processed white carbs) create an increase in cortisol through a process called “glycosylation,” where sugars bind to skin collagen and degrade it.

I started reading articles on beautiful skin foods to compile a consensus of the most recommended. Here are some nutrients your skin loves best and examples of where to get it – and remember to drink as much water as you can:

• healthy fats – yogurt, olive oil, avocados
• omega 3s – salmon (fatty fish), seeds, nuts
• antioxidants – green tea, tuna, kale, spinach, berries
• vitamin C – kiwi, sweet potatoes, lemons
• lycopene – tomatoes, watermelon
• carotenoids –yellow peppers, carrots
• zinc – oysters (shellfish), beans

Here is a nice snack to use as a switch from popcorn when watching a movie or to substitute for chips with sandwiches or as a side dish. It turns out better for me (less burning) when I use lower heat and roast them longer. You can see the kale shrinks a lot so use a large baking sheet. Keep an eye on them after 20 minutes to see how your oven is doing.

Kale Chips
Large bunch of dry kale leaves (stems removed)
1/2 T Avocado or coconut oil
Sea salt or other seasoning, nutritional yeast, etc.

Preheat oven to 300. Tear kale leaves in chip-size pieces. Combine thoroughly with oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Spread in one layer on parchment covered baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, turning the baking sheet around halfway through.