How to Eat and Drink for Beautiful Skin

Do you often see men or women with skin that just seems to glow? Perhaps they have no blemishes and you think to yourself, wouldn’t it be great to have skin like that? While some of us simply got lucky when it comes to a clear complexion and healthy glow, others of us have to work a bit harder to keep our skin supple and youthful. In this article, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite foods and drinks that support beauty. As we get older, most of us will want to eat higher quality foods and drink life-giving drinks so as to slow the aging process. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s quite healthy, in fact. Read on to find out what you can eat and drink for beautiful skin and overall vitality.  

Drinks for beautiful skin

Imagine sipping a cup of steaming golden milk—that turmeric drink we know is great for our health. But, then imagine drinking a variety of it that promotes beauty. Enter collagen golden milk. As you may know, collagen is a protein vital for skin elasticity and overall health. Our body makes it. But, as we age, we make less of it. This is when a collagen supplement comes into play. 

Turmeric is great for skin health with the potent anti-inflammatory properties which come from its star ingredient—curcumin. But when you add collagen to the turmeric golden milk drink, your skin gets a major health boost. A high-quality (which typically means grass-fed) collagen supplement is absorbed by your body quite easily. Why? Because these supplements are basically collagen molecules that have been broken down. 

By adding a collagen supplement to your golden milk, you enhance your skin’s elasticity and health because your body makes more elastin and collagen. So, how do you make this superfood skin drink? Here’s what you need:

• 1 ½ cups coconut milk (any milk will do, just choose your favorite)
• 1 tablespoon turmeric powder + a pinch of ground black pepper
• A scoop of grass-fed collagen
• Sweetener of choice, like honey or pure maple syrup or lucuma powder (optional) 

Note: If you suffer from inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea, the anti-inflammatory nature of turmeric helps alleviate these conditions. So, if this particular drink isn’t your cup o’ tea, so to speak, just start adding turmeric to your dishes and you’ll reap the benefits.

Honey lemon tea

This is a great drink for colds and flus, but it’s also a fantastic one for beauty. So, don’t limit yourself to drinking a steaming cup of honey lemon tea to when you’re feeling under the weather. You could sip on this one daily to promote skin health and to keep cozy during the colder months. Why is this soothing drink also beneficial to your skin? 

Primarily, it’s the vitamin C content found in lemons that really boosts skin health. Vitamin C is essential to the production of both collagen and elastin. This vital skin nutrient also helps fight free radical damage. Honey contains so many great nutrients for the skin. It can even be used topically. In fact, the line of skin care I use daily has honey as its primary ingredient. 

All that said, keep lemons and honey on hand and sip on honey lemon tea at least once a day. This soothing beverage will help relax the nervous system while providing great benefit  to your skin. And if you find yourself eating foods and drinking beverages that cause the body to lean towards a state of acidity—think wine, beer, cookies, candies, white breads, white tortillas, and anything processed, you’ll want to drink this honey lemon tea, as lemons help alkalize the blood. This is essential for the health of your skin over the long term.

Bone broth

My boyfriend and I have gotten into the habit of making chicken soup with the bones of our leftover roasted chicken. We typically treat ourselves to one roasted chicken from our local grocery store each week. (And typically eat it with a huge salad and baked sweet potatoes or regular potatoes.) With the uneaten bones, my boyfriend makes a huge pot of broth on the stove, adding carrots, potatoes, herbs, and whatever else we have in the fridge. 

The result is an earthy chicken bone broth, which happens to be great for the skin. Why? Because it’s ripe with minerals that feed your skin, as well as collagen from the chicken bones. Then there are the vitamins from the other veggies we throw in. There’s plenty of calcium, plenty of magnesium, and amino acids, all which make for a steaming pot of beauty. When you simmer your chicken bones in water to make this healing elixir, the collagen in them cooks down until it turns into gelatin. Gelatin is essential for beauty. This simmering process of the bones over the course of hours is what makes bone broth such a treat for the health of your skin, and overall well being. 

Foods for beautiful skin

Some of the foods we consume daily are actually considered skin superfoods. And once you learn which ones they are, you’ll want to eat more of them. Let’s take a look at the healthiest skin foods to see how you’re doing. If these foods aren’t currently on your regular shopping list, slowly add them to it. 

Oatmeal with blueberries, flax, and chia seeds for breakfast

This is a breakfast I have almost every morning. It’s cheap over the long term. All you need is a huge canister of rolled oats, a big bag of chia seeds and fresh or frozen blueberries. Oatmeal is one of the healthiest breakfast foods you can eat because it fights inflammation and helps balance blood sugar. When you add antioxidant-rich blueberries and beauty superfoods flax and chia seeds, your skin gets a real morning treat!

Add a dash of cinnamon as well, as cinnamon promotes good blood flow and circulation. It also helps balance your blood sugar levels. When your circulation improves, all those good nutrients and all that life-giving oxygen goes directly to your skin cells. Then there’s the chia and flax. Chia seeds are one of the only plant-based foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. If you’re a vegetarian and don’t eat fatty fish, then you need to eat chia seeds for healthy skin. 

Then we have the blueberries in this breakfast, which are a skin superfood in and of themselves. Blueberries are high in antioxidants, which help protect our skin cells. They also contain vitamin A, which is believed to be beneficial to those with oily and acne prone skin. What’s more, blueberries have plant compounds known as anthocyanins. Anthocyanins give blueberries their color. They’re a potent antioxidant that helps prevent premature aging. 

Eating blueberries also supports the health of your gut microbiome. There’s a very real connection between gut health and skin health. When people have bacterial imbalances in the gut, they often have skin problems such as psoriasis, acne, eczema, and rosacea. So eat this wonderfully simple breakfast and see the health of your skin (and your gut) improve. 

Avocados

Avocados are well known to beautify your skin due to their polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. These healthy fats promote skin suppleness and firmness. They can also support the regeneration of damaged skin cells that need help. The antioxidant carotenoids found in avocados are also a part of this healthy elixir. They help fight free radicals, maintain the content of water in your skin cells, and also promote your skin’s elasticity. It’s a known fact in health circles that an avocado a day keeps the skin doc away. So, eat up!

Salmon

I love salmon, but I don’t eat enough of it. And while a good piece of wild-caught salmon can be expensive, it’s really worth it when it comes to your skin health. As you probably know, salmon’s omega-3 fatty acid content is what makes it such a potent food for beauty. Eating salmon helps keep your skin supple. It also helps skin maintain its water content. And, last but not least, salmon helps protect your skin from sun damage. What’s not to love about salmon when it comes to beauty? Plus, it’s so easy to cook with. Simply serve a piece of roasted salmon with a big salad and a sweet potato and you’ve got one of the healthiest dinners you could possibly eat! 

Walnuts

Do you eat enough walnuts? I know I don’t. I realized this the other day when I was having a handful of walnuts and thinking I should really eat more of these on a regular basis. Why? Because walnuts are one of the healthiest nuts on the planet, and certainly one of the best for beauty. 

Walnuts help reduce inflammation, which leads to more beautiful skin. They also contain high amounts of essential fatty acids. Namely, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are necessary for glowing skin. Walnuts also contain minerals such as zinc and selenium, two essential minerals for skin health. 

Have fun eating more of these skin foods and sipping on more of these beauty drinks. Not only do they boost the health of your skin, they also keep you feeling vital on all levels, because as you know, your mind, body, and spirit are all connected!