As much as we love to keep our bodies healthy, we need to also pay attention to our skin health, because it is often neglected and is the part which is always exposed.
Here are some foods which can boost skin health and keep your skin hydrated and give it a natural glow, from within!
- Cucumber:
Eating plain cucumbers or even by just drinking cucumber infused water (recipe below), you can soon be on the road to acne free and glowing skin. Cucumbers help the skin retain hydration and help flush out the toxins from the body, in turn helping to maintain a good complexion and enhanced skin health.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
500 ml filtered water
10 – 12 slices of cucumber
Juice of one whole lemon
(Or 5 to 6 lemon slices)
10 – 12 mint leaves
Honey (to taste)
Method:
Take a jar or bottle of 500 ml filtered water and add in the slices of cucumber, lemon juice/slices, honey and mint leaves. Give it a stir and the drink is ready to consume. You can also keep it in the fridge to cool and then drink it after it is cool. Strain out how much water you want to consume or sip with a straw directly, but do not remove the cucumber, lemon slices (if you put in slices) and mint leaves from it, as it will continue to soak in and infuse into the water.
Tip: You can also skip all the other ingredients and only use double the quantity of cucumbers, added to the water.
- Chia Seeds:
Adding chia seeds in your water can help promote better skin health, as chia seeds are loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can keep acne at bay, reduce acne scars and keep the skin healthy and radiant. It also has omega-3 fatty acids that can fight skin ageing.
How to consume: Into 200 ml of water, add in 2 tsp of chia seeds and let it sit for half an hour. Then it is ready to consume. You can simply sip on this instead of water, every time you are thirsty.
Tip: If you find that the chia seeds have bloated too much, you can add in more water.
- Watermelon:
Watermelon juice tastes as yummy as it looks! This fruit can be eaten or even made into watermelon juice and consumed. Watermelon is packed with antioxidants like lycopene and is rich in vitamin C and vitamin A, which can reduce the effect of free radicals in the body and slow down the signs of ageing. It can also help promote collagen production, which is an important protein to enhance and protect skin health.
How to make watermelon juice:
Recipe:
1 cup freshly chopped watermelon pieces
¼ cup water
Sugar to taste
Method:
Into a mixer blender, add in the watermelon pieces and sugar to taste. Blend until it becomes a fine paste. Then add in the water and blend until it becomes completely liquid. Strain this into a glass and it is ready to consume.
Tip: If you wish to drink it without straining it, incase you like it pulpy, then remove the seeds before blending it.
- Walnuts:
Walnuts are rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) (a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid) and have anti-inflammatory properties that can boost skin health and help combat the signs of ageing, like fine lines and wrinkles, as they are rich sources of vitamin B and also have antioxidants. It can also help keep your skin moisturized and hydrated, because it is packed with nutrients.
Tip: Other than consuming walnuts, you can also add ½ tsp of walnut powder into milk and consume it as a protein drink.
- Hemp Seeds:
Hemp seeds are rich in healthy fats like omega-3, which is good for skin health and can provide relief from skin diseases. They can help keep the skin hydrated and moisturized and reduce the risk of getting skin infections. They are rich in antioxidants and can promote better and enhanced skin health and prevent acne as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
Tip: You can consume hemp seeds by adding coarsely ground hemp seeds into your smoothies, cereal bowls or even sprinkle some into your salad bowl.