We all know the saying “You are what you eat.” Over the long term period, the condition of your skin will reflect the quality of your diet, your nutritional status as well as body’s nutritional needs.

Even if you are using the best, most effective beauty products for your skin type, you’re causing them to be less effective if you’re indulging in foods that are bad for your skin.

Here are a few culprits that you should be aware of and cut back on to help your skin look younger & healthier:

Allergens
Mild food allergies are very common, and many people don’t even know that they have it. The top culprits include dairy, nuts and gluten. The allergic reaction can show up on your skin as rashes, eczema breakouts and odd pigmentation.

Alcohol
Alcohol is a natural diuretic, meaning it causes your body to create more urine, sending you on more frequent trips to the Ladies Room… And when you urinate more than usual, you lose fluid quicker than usual, which in turn can lead to dehydration. The better hydrated the body, the healthier the skin appears. Alcohol also causes vasodilatation (dilation of the blood vessels), which then leads to excess water loss through the skin and can also trigger rosacea outbreaks. Drinking too much alcohol can even result in the loss of vitamin A, which is an important antioxidant that supports skin health and overall elasticity.

Excess Caffeine
Excess Caffeine has long been believed to act as a diuretic also, but its effect has been over exaggerated in the past. It acts only as a mild diuretic, and you would have to consume more than 4 to 7 cups of a caffeinated drink per day in order to see negative effects. So, that morning cup of java is not necessarily a no-no, but you should at least be aware of how much caffeine you’re drinking and what it can do to your skin. Caffeine also lurks in tea, soda and energy drinks and even chocolate, so you may be consuming more of it than you think. Apart from that, caffeine is a stimulant which increases the cortisol production in the body and thus enhances the ageing process by thinning the skin. The thinner your skin, the more prone it is to fine lines, wrinkles, dehydration and a lack-lustre appearance.

Excess Sugar
Excess sugar can weaken our immune system, and when our immune systems are suppressed, our bodies aren’t as effective at fighting off bacteria –a leading cause of acne and other inflammatory skin conditions. Sugar in the body is acidic, which contributes to constipation and other issues in our digestive tract, and this establishes a more hospitable environment for bacteria to flourish. So, in other words, more bacteria means more toxins, leading to worse skin. Excess sugar also damages your collagen and elastin, the ‘building blocks’ that keep your skin firm and youthful, which leaves you more vulnerable to premature wrinkles, sagging and dull skin.

Excess use of Artificial Sweeteners, Colouring and Flavourings
Substances like aspartame, Red #5 and “artificial flavours” are all too common in the standard “weight loss” diet, but these additives are somewhat of a science experiment. They are basically a chemistry set that should not go into our bodies. They contain no nutritional value, and at worst, they can irritate our bodies and create inflammation and histamine reactions. Worse still, our bodies tend to store chemicals like these in our tissues. These chemicals lodge into our systems and are difficult to flush out of our body. Overuse and inability to flush them out in time could be the pre-cursor for free radical production.

Dairy
Many dairy cows are fed hormones to keep them lactating year round, which doubles their milk production. When we drink that milk (regardless of the fat content) we get a dose of those hormones too. Dairy consumption has been linked to acne, and excess oestrogen, often found in dairy products, can cause a cascade of health issues in both men and women. Dairy is also known to be mucus-forming in our bodies, which contributes to inflammation and provides an ideal environment for bad bacteria to flourish. Yoghurt is less likely to cause the same problems, because the fermentation process eliminates about 80 percent of these added hormones.

Fried foods And Hydrogenated Fats
Excess heat application like during frying of foods and production of hydrogenated fat (margarine) leads to oxidation of fatty acids. And, we all know that oxidants are bad and antioxidants are good. These toxic fatty acids can contribute to heart disease, poor circulation of the blood, clogged up pores, acne, bacteria build up and weakened metabolic processes. And, since healthy skin requires healthy circulation and metabolism, a weakened system can lead to a lack of oxygen in the skin, slowing the collagen and elastin production necessary for youthful radiance.

High Glycemic Foods
If a food is a high glycemic item, it means that it causes your blood sugar to spike. High glycemic foods cause drastic fluctuations in the blood sugar. This leads to an excess secretion of insulin and androgens during the high and low bouts respectively. And Androgens contribute to surplus sebum production, enhanced skin cell division and slow shedding of dead skin cells – leading to acne. Studies have found that a low glycemic diet can reduce acne by up to 50%. In addition, too many sugary, refined carbohydrates can lead to a process called glycation, which reduces the flexibility and elasticity of collagen, making the skin appear tougher and more wrinkled. High glycemic foods include white breads, pasta, white rice, potato chips, candy bars, cakes and even corn syrup.

Gluten-Heavy Grains
Gluten is a protein in wheat and other grains and often also falls in the High Glycemic Foods category. Studies have shown that up to 40% of adults have some form of gluten or wheat sensitivity or intolerance, so eating gluten heavy grains, will cause inflammation in their bodies, which will shows up on the skin. Some foods that should be avoided include pasta, breads, crackers, pastries, cakes, oats, pizza, beer, barley, rye and spelt. Excess gluten can also predispose the skin to conditions such as acne and dermatitis because of the high sugar content found in refined carbohydrates.

Poor-Quality, Packaged and Processed Foods
During the making of processed and packaged foods, living enzymes and nutrients are broken down and lost. So, diets that are high in these foods, often lead to nutritional deficiencies, and this will always show up in the skin. Generally, the better the quality of your food, the better your health and skin will be. Unlike fresh foods, boxed foods frequently have low water content, and our bodies need hydration for healthy skin because it assists in skin detoxification and helps to regulate oil production. As a by-product of processing, these also lose the nutrients of the parent food products important for skin health. Overly-processed lunch meats, like hot dogs, deli/sandwich meats and sausages are packed with sodium, which dehydrates the skin as well as saturated fats and nitrates, which leave the skin looking puffy, dull, or dry. In addition, processed meats have been linked to various cancers, so skip preservative and antibiotic-laden varieties and opt for more skin-friendly lean proteins such as chicken, eggs, and fish.

Red Meat
Some studies have shown that cutting down on red meat can lead to improved skin. High consumptions of red meat, especially when it has high saturated fat content, can lead to inflammatory reactions. This leads to the production of free radicals, which in turns overpowers the anti-oxidation capacity of the free radical scavengers in the body. Free radicals are known to disrupt the skin’s structure by destroying collagen and elastin – the fibres that support the skin structure. They also cause damage at the cellular level by disturbing the DNA structure.

Excess Salty foods
While our bodies need some amount of salt, too much salt intake will cause the dehydration of your body’s tissues. Your body then starts to retain additional fluid in the body to counteract further fluid loss, and this causes swelling and a puffy look to the skin. After the puffiness subsides, skin cells deflate and the lasting effect is that the elasticity of your skin is damaged. Iodized salt is especially bad in high doses and has been shown to aggravate acne.

Shellfish
Shrimp, crab, lobster – and also certain leafy greens like seaweed and spinach – are naturally high in iodine, and a diet with too much of this element can lead to acne. The amount of iodine in your body accumulate over time, so you won’t necessary break out the day after eating high iodine foods, but rather after a while of regular high intakes.

Article by: Mariaan Enslin http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/promakeupme