THE VEGAN GLOW
The Vegan Glow!
The holidays can wreck not only your wallet but your skin as well. We Know! Diet has a direct effect on the health and appearance of my skin and hair. While we love and respect our Vegan and Vegetarians many of us still love our steak, chicken fish, and even our standing Friday night peperoni pizza or orange crispy beef. It can be hard to maintain a healthy diet during this time of year from our Thanksgiving meals followed by endless parade of Holiday parties. We get it, eating better leads to a healthier life and in turn more beautiful skin. But what if you’re not a Vegan or Vegetarian what can you do?. We asked our resident office Vegan, Nikki (who has gorgeous skin by the way) to give us some tips on how she has that Vegan and J21 Skin Care Glow!
Simply put Vegans and Vegetarians eat more fruits, vegetables and fiber and their plant-based diets are typically low in fat and devoid of pore-clogging saturated fats. Fruits and vegetables are high in essential vitamins and antioxidants, which are key building blocks for radiant skin and fiber and whole grains boost that healthy glow by flushing out harmful toxins.
Not A Vegan or Vegetarian You Say? Here is Nikki’s advice.
1. Have a zinc-rich diet. Zinc is a powerful anti-inflammatory that helps to clear acne and prevents the signs of aging. Zinc is so important it is one of the few supplements I myself take. Food sources of zinc are poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, sesame seeds, leafy green vegetables, lentils, tofu, almonds, and whole grains.
2. Make sure you are getting enough iron. Iron-rich blood produces a soft glowing tint visible to the skin, you start to glow from within. Leafy green veggies such as spinach, Swiss chard, and parsley are rich in iron, as are Jerusalem artichokes, beans, lentils, millet, figs, apricots and dates. To best absorb the iron from these foods, you must eat them with Vitamin C rich foods. And note that drinking coffee close to meals inhibits iron absorption, so skip the Starbucks for at least 2 hours before or after an iron rich meal or snack.
3. Eat sulfur rich foods. Sulfur-containing foods can make your skin absolutely radiant and give it a beautiful tone. Sulfur is also crucial for healthy, hair, and nails, and is said to heal scars and acne. You can bathe in sulfur-rich hot springs and use cosmetics containing sulfur, and you can eat it too: arugula, onions, garlic, radishes, pumpkin seeds, brussels sprouts, hemp seeds, kale, mustard greens and watercress. You can easily incorporate these ingredients into your salad; try using leafy greens instead of regular lettuce!
4. Eat foods rich in silicon. Known as the “Beauty Mineral” silicon promotes youthful, elastic skin and connective tissue throughout the body. It also reduces wrinkles, improves the strength and thickness of the skin and gives hair and nails shine and strength. Silicon-rich foods are nettles, radishes, spinach, and cucumbers, bell peppers with the peel, tomatoes, and oats, oats.
5. Minimize or eliminate sugar junk foods and processed foods. Play the grocery cart game. Look in people’s grocery carts and then look at their skin. You will see a direct correlation. The more fresh, unprocessed foods you will eat the better your skin will look.
6. Eat food with a high water content. Watermelon and Cantaloupe help hydrate our skin, plump out fine lines and brings on a radiant glow. By adding cucumbers and celery to your daily meals not only does their H2o content help hydrate, they also fill you up so you’ll eat less.
