Your skin is the largest organ in your body and skin cells are renewed every 15 to 30 days. If you diet is even marginally deficient in any of the key nutrients, your body doesn’t have all the right building blocks to make healthy skin cells. This is very quickly reflected in the condition of your skin.
The right vitamins and minerals – such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, Zinc and Iron – all protect the skin, improve elasticity and help healing. They can be found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses, grains and meat. But that’s not the whole story: your skin also needs protein, found in lean meat, chicken and fish, and omega-3 fatty acids, found in oil-rich fish.
If these don’t sound like the type of foods you normally eat, don’t go for a complete overhaul all at once – it’s more difficult to stick to. Try introducing a couple of new things a week and experimenting with new recipes. To give yourself the best chance at making long-term changes, go with what appeals in the supermarket rather than forcing yourself to eat something you don’t like the look of.