We all use various skin care products to conceal wrinkles,
lighten discoloration, get an even skin tone, and fix a whole host of other issues that we may have.
But what’s really important is that all these products will only work well
if your skin is healthy from within.
This requires the right intake of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients
that are extremely essential for our overall nourishment.
Hi, I’m Dr. Geeta Fazalbhoy, a founding member of Skin & You Clinic in Mumbai
and I’ll be sharing some of my secrets for healthy skin with you today.
Vitamins are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle,
and it’s really important to make sure that you do get enough of them.
Having said that, a healthy diet can make sure that this is happening for you.
Now let’s get into some specifics that are beneficial for your skin.
Vitamins C & E are well known antioxidants
that rid the body of free radicals and slow down the ageing process of the skin.
When clubbed together, they protect the skin from UV rays,
which harm your skin by damaging your DNA.
Now this sounds serious and it is, so make sure you’re getting enough of both these vitamins.
One of the many reasons that Vitamin C is so important is because
it’s used by the body to produce collagen.
Collagen is the main protein in the human body and
is responsible for giving skin its elasticity and hair it’s strength, amongst other things.
So Vitamin C can help reduce wrinkles and if you’ve been out in the sun too long,
which is a common thing for most of us here in India,
it can help restore sun damaged skin as well.
So what should you eat?
Well, start with citrus fruits, like oranges, grapefruit, melons, amla,
broccoli, bell peppers, tomatoes.
Try and add a daily intake of 500 - 1000 mg of foods that are rich in vitamin C to your diet,
and this will help keep your skin healthy and glowy.
So now that you’re getting enough Vitamin C
and have started refreshing your skin from within,
let’s talk about Vitamin E and why it’s so essential.
Vitamin E is actually very important for the proper functioning of
a lot of different organs in the human body,
and not getting enough can be really bad for your health.
So take this vitamin seriously.
Now when it comes to skin, it acts as an antioxidant,
which means it fights free radicals, which are basically
atoms that damage your skin.
Now here’s the thing with these free radicals, a lot of the things that we do on a daily basis, form free radicals.
Exercise for a bit, you’re creating free radicals,
the pollution that hangs over our cities, free radicals,
have a glass of wine, free radicals,
so basically they’re a part of our lives, and can do a fair amount of damage.
Vitamin E is right there, fighting the good fight inside your body.
It reduces scarring, helps skin heal quicker, strengthens skin cells,
reduces deep wrinkle lines and can also stop your skin from drying out too quickly.
So again, what should you eat?
This isn’t as delicious as your Vitamin C packed menu,
but start getting used to adding vegetable oil, nuts, sunflower seeds,
olives, flax seeds and soya bean to your diet.
All of these are enriched with Vitamin E and will help your stay moisturised, soft and supple.
Now that we’ve covered Vitamins C & E, let’s look at Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that is crucial for healthy and beautiful skin.
Vitamin A help helps with healthy bones, moisturises and protects the eyes,
improves immunity, and does a lot of other good things as well.
We can supplement our bodies with vitamin A by eating eggs, meat, drinking fortified milk, cheese,
munching on carrots, struggling through a plate of spinach, or enjoying a delicious mango.
All these are excellent sources of Vitamin A
and adding them to your diet will work wonders for your skin by
Promoting cell production and shielding the skin against harmful irritants
Retaining skin’s moisture to give it a radiant glow
Speeding up the skin’s natural repair system and
Slowing down the oil production that clears out clogged pores
A lack of vitamin A can cause skin pigmentation, sun damage,
dry, flaky and wrinkled skin but that doesn’t mean
you should just load up on Vitamin A in the hopes of perfect skin.
If you have too much Vitamin A in your system, the downside can be brutal,
so, it’s very important that you get the right amount of vitamin A in your system.
Speak to your doctor about what the right amount for you should be.
Now, let’s move on to Vitamin B. If you’ve stuck with us so far, we’re almost done.
Vitamin B is the wonder woman of vitamins, in my opinion.
It’s essential for the proper functioning of the human body,
and again if you don’t have enough you will pay a price.
Now, just a quick clarification.
There are a whole host of Vitamin B’s that we group together under the Vitamin B complex umbrella,
so if you’ve ever heard that term used, that’s what it means.
So there a large variety of vitamin Bs and most of them play some role in promoting healthy skin
but the significant ones are B2, B3, and B6.
Vitamin B2, is an antioxidant for the skin that saves the cells from free radicals.
It’s very important for red cell production and is responsible for that skin glow that we all love!
A B2 deficiency can make your lips peel,
so if you’re lips are constantly falling apart, this could be one of the reasons.
Vitamin B3 has the properties to boost HDL cholesterol
which is the good cholesterol, not the bad one.
It helps improve the ability of the skin to retain moisture and
is important for baby soft skin.
A B3 deficiency can lead to dry irritated skin, so be warned.
Vitamin B6 prevents the production of excess sebum responsible for aggravating acne.
Deficiency in Vitamin B6 can lead to seborrheic dermatitis, which is a pain to deal with.
Fish, chicken, eggs, bananas, wheat germ, oats
are some of the natural sources of Vitamin B complex.
So dig in, knowing that it’s all going to be worth it!
Vitamin K has received quite a bit of interest recently due to it’s various health benefits
such as detoxification, digestion, improved immunity etc.
It’s known to improve the health of the skin and keep it elastic
and also plays a major role in improving blood circulation
so it enhances the color and structure of blotchy skin.
Lettuce, broccoli, coriander, spinach, prunes are excellent sources of Vitamin K.
Hopefully this information will set you on your path to naturally gorgeous skin.
So eat well, follow the tips in this video, get some exercise
and try and approach life calmly and with a great attitude.
Every little bit helps!
If you still have questions, do leave them in the comments below
and we’ll try and respond to as many as possible.
Thanks for watching, and until next time, Stay Healthy, Stay Glamrs!