Best foods for healthy skin and hair

True beauty comes from health.

Best food for healthy skin and hair

1. Salmon and trout
2. Broccoli and spinach
3. Nuts and seeds
4. Berries
5. Spinach and other leafy greens

Beauty starts on the inside.

The food that we eat and the drinks that we drink determine how healthy we are. Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, famously said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Every aspect of our physical health is impacted by what we put into our bodies. Cells need certain nutrients to exist, generate new cells and perform their functions.

Without the right nutrients, our bodies start to deteriorate on a cellular level. Let’s jump straight into the best foods that will help you to look after the health of your hair and skin.

Which foods are good for healthy skin, hair and nails?

1) Foods high in Omega 3 

Omega 3 deficiencies are known to cause skin issues like rough, dry, oily or scaly skin. It can even cause hair loss.

Omega 3 is a fatty acid. Unfortunately, most of us don’t eat enough foods that are high in Omega 3, but eat too many foods that contain Omega 6 and Omega 9 (which come from plant oils).

Our bodies need Omega 3 to function properly. Omega 3 deficiencies can lead to hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular and circulatory problems, diabetes, depression and even dry or oily skin. 

Hormonal problems directly affect the skin – too much or too little of certain hormones like testosterone, estrogen and the human growth hormone (HGH) will directly impact how well the skin can keep itself moisturized.

Too much of one of these hormones can either flood your skin with too much oil or dry it out completely.

Hormonal imbalances explain why teens often struggle with pimples and acne when they hit puberty.

Foods that are high in Omega 3 will help the body to balance out hormonal functions. Without the right hormonal balance, your hair can also become too dry or too oily.

Good sources of Omega 3:

1. Oily fish like mackerel, herring, sea bass, salmon, sardines and trout
2. Seafood like oysters, shrimp, seaweed (spirulina is a form of seaweed) and krill
3. Seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds
4. Nuts like Walnuts and almonds
5. Beans like soybeans, edamame and kidney beans

Give your body what it needs.

2) Foods that contain fiber

Fiber is the part of plant foods that we can’t digest. It is eliminated through bowel movements.

Although our bodies can’t break down fiber, it is very important because it adds bulk to the excretion process. Without enough bulk, our bodies don’t have enough matter to eliminate toxins and impurities.

These impurities, if left to build up, can accumulate in the body and wreak havoc on the skin - and block up hair pores.

Foods that are high in fiber will help your body to eliminate these impurities and let your skin glow with perfection. Cleaner pores lead to better hair growth.

Foods that are high in fiber include

1. Fruits like apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, bananas, pears, berries, and melons
2. Vegetables like pumpkin, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes
3. Leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, cabbage and bok choy

Use fiber to stay clean.

3) Foods high in anti-oxidants

Anti-oxidants keep the body fresh by reducing the negative effects of free radicals. Think of free radical damage as the general wear and tear that our bodies go through as we age.

Normal functions like physical movement lead to free radical damage on a cellular level - and unhealthy things like pollution, unhealthy food, smoking, alcohol, illnesses and unbalanced diets increase the damage caused by free radicals.

Free radical damage leads to premature aging and wrinkles. Antioxidants reduce free radical damage. Eating a diet high in antioxidants can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and other age-related beauty problems - like hair loss.

The best way to get a healthy dose of anti-oxidants is from raw plant sources, just like the ones listed above. Tea or coffee is another great source of antioxidants.

Find healthy things that you enjoy

4) Vitamin C

Most people know about Vitamin C’s ability to support immune function, but it does a lot more than that. Vitamin C is also responsible for helping the body to heal itself from wounds.

Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant. It is also needed for the creation of collagen, which is what makes skin supple and flexible. Skin starts to sag as we age because less collagen gets produced.

A healthy diet with lots of Vitamin C will help to slow down the reduction in collagen production.

Good sources of Vitamin C include:

1. Peppers
2. Fruits like oranges, lemons, mandarins, tangerines and grapefruit
3. Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce
4. Vegetables like carrots, tomatoes and broccoli

Get enough Vitamin C

5) Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the most well-known vitamin for skin, hair and nail health. For this reason, many skin creams and hair shampoos contain this Vitamin.

Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that helps to repair damage caused by outside factors like pollution, the sun, stress and harmful chemicals.

When Vitamin E is ingested though food sources, it will help to boost skin and hair health from the inside out. It is also really good at softening skin. Vitamins play a huge role in overall skin, hair and nail health.

Good sources of vitamin E are:

1. Seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
2. Nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, Brazil nuts, pecans and cashews
3. Fish like salmon and trout
4. Fruits like avocado, mango, kiwifruit and apricots
5. Berries like blackcurrants, cranberries and raspberries
6. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, butternut and turnips

Choose healthy food.

Top foods for hair and skin health 

After reading through this article, you might have noticed that there are some foods that will benefit your skin and hair in more than one way.

Salmon, for example, is a rich source of Omega 3 as well as Vitamin E. By combining the different ways that our bodies need different nutrients to look after our skin, we can see which foods benefit our skin in more than one way. 

This is the list of my favorite foods for skin and hair health:

1. Salmon and trout (Omega 3 and Vitamin E)
2. Broccoli and spinach (Fiber, Antioxidants and Vitamin C)
3. Nuts and seeds (Omega 3, Antioxidants, Fiber and Vitamin E)
4. Berries (Anti-oxidants, Fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)
5. Spinach and other leafy greens (Fiber, Antioxidants, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)

External features like the skin and hair reflect internal health and well-being. By looking after your health, you are helping your body to look after itself. 

Drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise, for example, are other fantastic ways to let your hair and skin shine with ageless beauty. Stay Strong!

How to Treat Dry Hair

Quick tips for fry hair

How do you treat dry hair?

There are different reasons for dry hair. They range from over-use of hair styling products to environmental factors like air-conditioning, weather and pollution.

No one likes to have straw instead of healthy, nourished hair. Hair is what people should be proud of. If you aren't the kind of person who can be proud of their hair, you should try these recommendations:

1. Use hair conditioning masks once a week

It is not enough to use only shampoo for your hair.

The main aim of shampoo is to clean your hair. The problem with shampoo is that it removes natural moisture along with dirt when you wash your hair.

As such, it is essential to use hair masks or a conditioner to keep your hair moisturized.

You can apply masks with coconut oil for your hair if you want to make it healthy and shiny.

2. Do not forget about a healthy diet and nutrients like vitamins

We are what we eat. Hair often shows you what vitamins you need to stay healthy.

If you want to have beautiful and healthy hair, it is essential to eat more products with Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

You can find these vitamins in such products as eggs, trout, salmon, poultry, and sardines. Also, you should eat more fruits and vegetables which are useful not only for hair but for the whole body.

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Train Oily Skin To Be Dry and Train Dry Skin To be Oily

I have had dry skin (eczema) my whole life. It sucks! But what if I could train my skin to be oily the same way that I train muscle to grow? If that is possible, what about the opposite - training oily skin to produce less oil? What if people with oily skin can decrease oil production the same way muscle strength decreases when you stop training? We train our muscles to grow by doing the opposite; breaking them down. We know that our muscles adapt as part of a survival mechanism, so why not do the same for our skin?

This idea is based on making homeostasis (the body's adaption mechanism) work to your benefit. 

What if the routine that people with oily skin follow causes them to get even oilier skin? And what if people with dry skin follow a routine that make their skin even dryer?

This is based on the idea that our bodies are constantly adapting to its environment and the demands that we place on it. Please note that this is just an idea and not medical or professional advice at all!

I have noticed that on online forums for people with oily skin; people are advised on what to avoid that causes more oil production. On forums for people with dry skin, people are advised on what to avoid that causes even dryer skin. What if the people with dry skin do what the people with the oily skinned should avoid, and vice versa?  

The usual routine of people with oily skin

People with oily skin tend to shower or bath twice a day because the extra oil created through their skin leads to an environment that breeds more bacteria and faster odor build-up. They generally don't moisturize their skin because they don't need to. They also use harsher soaps to feel squeaky-clean and fresh. By showering more often and using stronger soaps to get rid of all of excess the oil, their skin is stripped of its natural oils. The skin adapts by producing more oil to return to its normal state. This helps to control body odor, but they end up retaining their oily skin. Their bodies probably get used to producing even more oil to meet the daily demands placed on them.

The routine of people with dry skin

People with dry skin don't produce enough oil. This leaves the skin dry, itchy, and in extreme cases (like me on occasion) even painful and skin breaking open. In order to preserve as much of the natural oil already in the skin; they wash less often (only once a day), use gentle soaps (some without any fragrances) and moisturize after washing to replace the lost moisture. By helping the skin to retain moisture and by adding more moisture then what the skin produces on its own, the skin feels a decreased need to produce its own moisture since some oil is always kept in the skin - and more is added every day.

Are we babying our skins into doing the opposite of what we want? By seeking instant gratification, are we fighting a losing battle? 

Assumptions (for my dry skin)

From the above conclusions I assume that higher washing frequency, stronger soaps and avoiding moisturizing the skin when I can will strip the skin of its natural oils. I also assume that if I strip my skin of its natural oils, it will adapt by producing more of its natural oils. For those with oily skin, I assume that by keeping the skin more moisturized; it will decrease its oil production as there is less demand placed on it for more oil.

Changes in daily skin care

According to this idea, it could be possible that if people with oily skin limited washes to once a day, used weaker soaps and moisturized afterwards, their skin would adapt by to producing less oil over time. I also think that there is a possibility that people with dry skin could train their skin to produce more of its own oils by doing the opposite.

This would need to done in small steps over time because if I had to shower twice a day with the strongest soap I could find and try dry it out too quickly, I would definitely damage my skin (like over-training your physical body), making my condition worse.

My personal experiment

I decided to try this out and see if my idea could work on my dry skin. I usually shower or bath once a day with a light soap (and sometimes with just water if my skin is really dry or itchy on that day). I started by showering every morning with a light soap and bathing in plain water every night. I didn't use any creams, oils or moisturizes and just took fish oil pills to help my skin out (which I do from time to time anyway to protect my joints).

The results

After three weeks, my skin did feel oilier on its own and my skin was not itchy - at all. I must say that I am happy with the results so far. After some time I am going to start using a stronger soap in the mornings. Once I'm used to that, I will add light soap to my baths in the evenings as my skin learns to produce more oil on its own. Here's to hoping my next post will be complaining about oily skin!

3 simple ways for everybody to improve skin health

The following things can be done to help with problem skin, regardless of whether you have too dry or oily skin.

Exercise often

Regular exercise has so many benefits (find over 100 of them here), and one of them is healthy skin. Exercise teaches the body to regulate itself in more ways than one and keeps you looking younger - inside and out. It also keeps hormones in check, which can wreak havoc on your skin. To see how hormones are affected by strength training, for example, click here. 

Eat fresh fruit and vegetables

The fiber in vegetables help the body to eliminate toxins that either ends up mixed into oil in the skin or could block oil glands from working properly. The vitamin C is essential for skin maintenance. There are many, many other reasons why you should be eating fruit and vegetables every day.

Sweat it out

Sweating also helps to eliminate toxins and opens up skin glands. It releases oil from underneath the skin. Did you know that you can ease liver function by sweating out up to 30% of its toxins in a good sweat session? There are many other benefits, including improved muscle recovery. If you don't sweat enough during your exercise session (like me), steam rooms might be very beneficial.

Stay hydrated

This is probably the most frequently dispensed advice about keeping skin healthy. Water is needed for almost every function in your body, and having less of it gives your body a hard time at doing what it needs to do. Dehydration can even keep you sicker for longer when you have the flu or cold.

Who would like to give this idea a try and see if it works for you? If you try it out, please let everybody know in the comments below if it has helped you or not. STAY STRONG!

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