How Diet Can Affect Your Skin

Here at Ninja Skincare, we sell… skincare. We provide you creams, cleansers, masks and medication that will improve the clarity and texture of your skin and prevent acne from forming. We even have an age defying line of products that will help slow down the formation of fine lines and wrinkles.

And those products in our skincare line are amazing. Incredible even. People swear by them and continue to use them for years… decades!

HOWEVER.

Skincare does not 100% come out of a bottle.

Yup. You read that correctly. Taking care of your skin is not something you can outsource completely to the chemists working in labs around the globe. There are things you can and frankly, must do in order to have healthy, clear and younger looking skin for years to come.

Of course, the things you have heard us wax on about for years still apply:

• Drink water! Lots of it. 8-10 glasses/day minimum.
• Stay out of the sun. Wear sunscreen. Wear long sleeves and pants. Wear wide brimmed hats.
• Don’t smoke.
• Sleep. A lot.
• Lower your stress levels.
• Exercise.

And then there is this one: Eat a well balanced diet.

But if you are like us, that is so broad and vague it is hard to really understand what it means. So for the next couple of blog posts, we will break it down for you a little more, to make sense of SPECIFICALLY what you should be eating and why.

And today, we are going to talk about FIBER.

First off: What is Fiber?

Fiber is an essential part of your diet. It is the part of a plant that cannot be digested or broken down after ingestion.

Why is Fiber so essential?

There are many benefits of eating a high fiber diet. So many, it is hard to list them all!  A high fiber diet reduces your chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes. It helps you lose weight, relieves constipation, detoxes the body and creates a regular and healthy bowel function.

It helps create healthy gut bacteria, reduces cholesterol, helps you LIVE LONGER and, for our purposes (this is key)….creates healthier skin!

And this list isn’t even complete! Fiber helps lower your chances of heart disease, gastrointestinal disease, CANCER! It helps your body absorb minerals, it plays a key role in regulating insulin levels and increases feelings of “fullness” after a meal.

With positives like that, why wouldn’t someone want to make sure their diet is full of FIBER???

How do you add fiber to your diet?

A diet that is full of fiber would, because fiber is from plants, be vegetable and legume dominant. There are two types of fiber found in plants – soluble and insoluble. Soluble is the type of fiber that dissolves in water, creating a gel like substance and insoluble does not dissolve in water. Each type has different benefits but it is safe to say that a diet that has a mix of both is essential.

High fiber foods include:

• Nuts and seeds
• Beans, peas, and legumes
• Fruit: bananas, apples, oranges, and strawberries
• Dark-colored vegetables: beets, broccoli, Swiss chard, and artichokes
• Low carb, high fiber plants: Alfalfa sprouts, Endive, Watercress, Arugula, Spinach, Bok choy, Lettuce
• Whole grains: brown rice, bulgar wheat, and barley

How does a high fiber diet help your skin?

Clearly, you are reading from our long list of ‘positives,’ the topic of a high fiber diet could easily fill a book. And because this is a blog post and not a book, we will not go into depth on each and every benefit of eating a high fiber diet.

However, we will delve into how it helps your skin a little more.

By having a diet that is rich in fiber, your body will naturally flush out waste products/toxins throughout your body – including your skin. The result is a more glowing visage and a lower likelihood of acne breakouts, fine line and wrinkle formation and rough patches.

So… now that this has all been told, get thyself to the grocery store and load up on all these yummy fruits and vegetables. Eat up!

NEXT UP: The Benefits of Eating a Diet Full of Antioxidants!