Looking for that special glow? Our skin reflects our inner health, and we want both to be stunningly beautiful. Lifestyle choices and the foods we eat day in and day out can keep our skin looking healthy and vibrant for years to come. Whether you are 16 or 60, providing your skin with nutrient-dense foods will help you age gracefully, keep your skin smooth and supple with an even tone, and will add that little sparkle that radiates from the essence of true health.
While our Beyond Greens, Beyond Brew, and Beyond Collagen are all incredible for skin health and great additions to your daily beauty routine, supplements won’t take the place of providing your body with a healthy diet that supplies the essential nutrients that your skin needs to stay beautiful.
Important Nutrients for Skin Health
♦ Vitamin C and other antioxidants
♦ Biotin
♦ Vitamin E
♦ Minerals (especially selenium and zinc)
♦ Flavonoids
♦ Polyphenols (found in many fruits, veggies, and herbs)
♦ Healthy fats
♦ Protein
♦ Vitamin D
♦ Vitamin A
Our Favorite Foods for Healthy, Glowing Skin
Green Tea
Green tea is a gem among plants. It has unique properties that protect our skin from everyday sun exposure, pollution, and other environmental threats that are daily challenges for the skin. It can assist the body in typical cellular regeneration and can calm skin cells from everyday irritation. As green tea’s potent polyphenols help to reduce the effects of common oxidative stress, which contribute to the aging process, it may help the skin to retain its youthful appearance.
Drinking green tea on a daily basis is a top priority when you are trying to keep your skin radiant. We love getting ours in a delicious dose of matcha featured in our Beyond Greens superfood blend. Plus, you are getting plenty of other skin-supportive ingredients, such as milk thistle and probiotics. You can also cook with it! Try our Matcha Crepes Recipe or an energy-promoting Matcha Chia Pudding for a new twist on your morning matcha routine.
Sweet Potatoes
Those bright orange roots aren’t only for Thanksgiving! With a hefty amount of carotenoids, including beta-carotene, sweet potatoes are one of the best foods out there for skin health. The vibrant color indicates plentiful nutrients essential for giving your skin that healthful gleam. Eating sweet potatoes and other orange foods such as carrots and pumpkin that supply beta-carotene help to promote the skin’s elasticity, assists the body in synthesizing collagen, and protects your skin from everyday sun exposure.
You can add cooked sweet potatoes to smoothies or eat them along with any meal. You can cut them up, roast them in the oven with a little butter or oil, and use them up throughout the week. For a delicious recipe that incorporates Beyond Collagen, try this Conscious Pumpkin Spice Smoothie Recipe. You can replace the pumpkin with cooked sweet potatoes or add them both for two times the skin benefits!
Mushrooms
Shrooms for your skin? Oh yes! Our fungal friends are powerful when it comes to protecting the health of your skin and helping to enhance that glow. They are not only rich in polyphenols, which have skin protective qualities, but they provide zinc, selenium, and ergosterol, which is a precursor to vitamin D. They also provide potent prebiotics that nourishes the microbiome. There is a direct link between the health of the microbiome and skin health, so keeping your gut happy can translate to clear and luxuriant skin. The benefits mushrooms provide to the immune system can also help to promote the health of the skin.
It’s a good idea to eat mushrooms several times a week if possible, or you can take a daily mushroom supplement. We start our morning off shrooming with Beyond Brew or Beyond Greens, depending on our mood. Both are fantastic as a morning beverage or an afternoon pick-me-up. Try these Beyond Brew recipes that incorporate Beyond Collagen for potent skin support that tastes delicious and keeps you clear and focused throughout the day.
Chia Seeds
Chia seeds really do have it all. Tons of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and even protein! They are a potent source of polyphenols, including rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid, which help to protect the skin cells from typical signs of aging. Chia has B vitamins, vitamin E, and trace minerals such as iron, zinc, and selenium. They have pretty much everything you need all in one tiny package! If there ever was a food that embodies skin health, it’s chia!
The usual amount of chia seeds recommended for health benefits is 2-3 tablespoons a day. We like it mixed with Beyond Greens in the delectable Matcha Chia Pudding Recipe we already mentioned or with Beyond Brew in our Glorious Morning Overnight Oats Recipe. Chia is also featured in our couldn’t-be-easier Protein Workout Bars. Protein is also essential to support the strength and structure of the skin, so it’s great to get that in the mix too!
Cacao (Dark Chocolate)
Wasn’t this exactly what you were hoping for? Another reason to eat chocolate! Cacao is chock-full of skin-loving nutrients, and it’s no secret that we love any excuse to indulge. Cacao is beneficial for promoting microcirculation (blood and lymphatic flow) to the superficial and deep areas of the skin. It supports the structure, density, and hydration of the dermal area. It’s got plenty of special flavonoids that help to reduce everyday oxidative damage, helping to keep your skin looking lovely over time.
Look for dark chocolate or cacao to get the most skin-loving benefits. While you can simply open a dark-chocolate bar and devour it, we like to get creative with our chocolate intake. Try Beyond Brew brownies, no-bake cookies, and a drizzling of this dark chocolate syrup that is infused with the potent benefits of 6 different kinds of functional mushrooms. Not only will your skin love you for it, but your digestive and immune systems will also be happy and harmonized.
Passion Fruit
This vibrant tropical fruit boasts loads of vitamin A and vitamin C, making it a juicy delicacy for skin health. There is also plenty of lycopene in the fruit, which protects the skin from typical sun-related aging. Passion fruit contains an interesting compound related to resveratrol called piceatannol, a dynamic powerhouse for skin care. It assists the body in collagen production and promotes abundant hydration in the skin. It has impressive protective qualities and, along with the rest of the compounds found in the fruit, helps the skin to retain its firmness and elasticity.
If you are able to find fresh passion fruits, you can simply cut them in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon, but we love to add them to smoothies, sorbets, and chilled tropical drinks. You can often find it as a frozen puree, which is easy to use in a variety of recipes.
Goji Berries
Not just for your acai bowl! Skincare experts recommend this nutrient-rich berry to provide your body with what it needs for lovely skin. Goji has loads of vitamin C, which is essential for collagen production, and works with the body to help your skin stay young and vibrant. The amino acids in goji are also great for supporting a healthy structure within the layers of the skin. Goji’s are powerful for the immune system, which is interconnected with your skin health. It is also popping up in topical skincare products so that you can get those benefits directly on your skin.
Goji’s are great as an on-the-go snack you can bring with you anywhere. You can add them to smoothies, smoothie bowls, granola, and parfaits or mix them into muffins or other baked goods. You can even make a nourishing tea with them by soaking them in hot water for about 15 minutes, drinking the tea, and eating the soaked berries after — delicious!
Fatty Fish
While not everyone loves fish, your skin certainly does! Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and anchovies are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Your skin relies on these special fats to stay healthy and retain elasticity. Getting enough good fats can help your skin to regulate oil production and soothe everyday breakouts. Beneficial fatty acids help to keep the skin hydrated and aid the skin in looking and feeling youthful. It can be hard to get enough high-quality fish in your diet, so you can always add a fish oil supplement to your routine to help out. Our Live Conscious® OmegaWell provides 800 mg of EPA and 600 mg of DHA in every serving, plus it’s from a sustainable source!
Tomatoes
While tomatoes provide many nutrients that benefit health, one of the most important may be the lycopene found in these fruits. This special kind of carotenoid provides protection against daily UV exposure and is beneficial for preserving the texture of the skin. Lycopene can help to reduce the appearance of fine lines and common skin discolorations while protecting the collagen structure throughout the dermal layers. Tomatoes also are a good source of lutein, which not only benefits the health of your eyes, it helps even out the skin tone and maintains the skin’s hydration and flexibility.
Broccoli
This everyday vegetable is powerful! Don’t let the ordinary-ness fool you; broccoli is one of the most nutritious foods we can eat. Not only does it have more vitamin C than oranges (it’s true!), broccoli has copious amounts of vitamin K and vitamin A, which help with vitamin D metabolism. In case you forgot, vitamin D is essential for healthy skin! Vitamin K also helps to protect collagen and elastin levels, which benefits the skin’s resilience and may assist in keeping fine lines at bay. A special compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous veggies is called sulforaphane, which helps the body with everyday detoxification and helps the skin with common reparative functions.
Olives and Olive Oil
It should be no surprise that olives are great for your skin. Olive oil is one of nature’s best moisturizers, inside and out. Consuming olives and olive oil provides the body with vitamin E, which deeply nourishes the skin, hair, and scalp. The oil found in olives can help keep cells throughout the body healthy and has special properties that benefit the normal regeneration of skin cells. As the polyphenols found in olives protect from everyday oxidative damage, eating them on a regular basis can have profound effects that include reducing the normal aging process of the skin. One such polyphenol, oleuropein, is especially beneficial for soothing the skin and causing common irritations.
You can use olive oil for sauteeing veggies, drizzle it onto salads, add to soups, spread onto bread with a little salt and garlic, or mix it into mashed potatoes. You can also use it as a replacement for butter in a lot of baked goods, such as brownies, cookies, and cakes. It is quite versatile; just make sure you are getting high-quality, extra virgin olive oil from a reliable source to get the most health benefits.
Waking up to Wellness
Eating for skin health doesn’t need to be a chore or something you add to a never-ending to-do list. Caring for your skin can be simple, with a few nutritious additions to your diet and strategic supplements that help make it even easier. We are here to help you stay on the path to wellness, and that may mean something different for everyone. Whether you choose Beyond Brew or Beyond Greens for your morning brew (or both!) is going to depend on what is the best match for your tastes, your health goals, and your routine. Whichever you choose, you can always mix in Beyond Collagen for countless skin health benefits in one delicious cup. Let these skin-supportive foods become a part of your daily self-care ritual that brings you health and beauty, inside and out!
