With growing awareness, people have become more health as well as beauty conscious. In this aesthetic-loving age, it is very essential to let people know that what they consider 'aesthetic' is also related to their skin.
Importantly, manifestations of your nutritional status as well as body's nutritional needs reflect on the skin's health.
Our skin is a reflection of our overall health, so it makes sense that there are such things as the worst foods for your skin. While there are lot of factors that contribute to the way our skin looks, consuming too much of the wrong type of foods can definitely contribute to skin problems like acne or unhealthy looking skin. If you think your diet might be affecting your complexion, take a look at the few worst foods for your skin.
Foods that disturb water balance
Dehydration causes drying of the skin. Wrinkling is a common side effect of lack of moisture in the skin. Dehydration and acne are interlinked because drying of skin and dead skin cells coming together cause acne.
Excess Salt
Excess salt retains additional fluid in the body causing swelling and a puffy look to the skin. The skin texture is spoilt on prolonged salt abuse. Papads, pickles, salted foods, table salt, brined/canned food products are the potential sources of salt to the body.
Excess Caffeine
Caffeine is a known stimulant which increase the cortisol production in the body and enhances the ageing process by thinning the skin. This dehydrates the skin and even leads to wrinkling. In addition, caffeine is a diuretic which further increases the risk of dehydration. So beware when you decide to go for an additional helping of coffee, tea or chocolates too!
Alcohol
Alcohol inhibits the Anti-Diuretic Hormone secretion thus causing dehydration. Furthermore, it also causes vasodilatation, which then leads to excess water loss through the skin. This is also known to be a contributing factor to acute phases of psoriasis as per the American Academy of Dermatology.
Foods with high glycemic load
These foods cause drastic fluctuations in the blood sugar. This leads to excess secretion of insulin and androgens during the high and low bouts respectivel. A major reason to contribute to surplus sebum production, enhanced skin cell division and aggregation of dead skin cells - leading to acne.
Excess Sugar
Not literally only sugar, but even jaggery and honey! Eating a lot of sugar (raisins, soda, honey, agave nectar) or simple carbs (bagels, pasta, cupcakes) can throw off your insulin levels, which can lead to inflammation both inside the body as well as on your face. Giving up sweets and starches can also help you lose weight.
Processed foods
Refined or processed foods like maida (refined flour) and its products, canned and sweetened fruits and juices are low in fiber content, thus increasing the glycemic load. Moreover the processed foods are often high in their salt/sodium content. As a by-product of processing, these also lose the nutrients of the parent food products important for skin health.
Aerated beverages
Aerated drinks can be nightmarish for the skin. Exceptions are the so-called diet-cokes and the family. But their caffeine content makes them the villains for skin health.
Foods that enhance free-radical production
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 use of artificial sweeteners/colours/flavours
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.
Red Meat
Consumption of red meat, especially fat-laden parts can lead to inflammatory reactions. This is by the virtue of saturated fat content of meats. In excess, free radicals generated overpowers the anti-oxidation capacity of the free radical scavengers in the body.Heating meat at high temperatures produces a chemical reaction between the fat and protein that results in compounds called "advanced glycation end products" (AGES). they're linked to oxidative stress and inflammation that can make your skin look ruddier, duller and more wrinkled -- older, in general. (AGES can also increase your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.) These compounds are found in French fries, potato chips, deep-fried chicken and other foods that have been cooked in oil at extremely high temperatures.
Fried foods and Hydrogenated fat
Excess heat application like during frying of foods and production of hydrogenated fat (margarine, vanaspati ghee) leads to oxidation of fatty acids and destruction of anti-oxidant nutrients like vitamin E, omega-3 fats present in the oils/fat. Generation of trans-fatty acids encourages free radical production by fueling the oxidation process. Avoid buying cookies, crackers, baked goods or anything else that has hydrogenated oil or trans-fats on the ingredients list.
Crash diets
Crash diets affect skin health through all the 3 mechanisms discussed before. Dehydration is a side effect of crash dieting. Studies suggest that consuming lot of water throughout this phase barely helps and this is because body doesn't retain water due to nutritional deprivation and lack of balanced meals.
Crash diets are known to cause dramatic fluctuations in blood sugar levels, no wonder acnes are so common amongst anorexics and bulemics. Skin requires antioxidant nutrients (Vitamins A, C, E, zinc, selenium, etc.) that scavenge the free radicals. The Journal of Investigative Dermatology (Feb, 2005) testifies that long term vitamins C and E intake is linked with reduced incidence of sunburns from exposure to UVB radiation. These antioxidant vitamins help protect against DNA damage by protecting the skin structure. Crash diets are known to cause nutrient deficiencies and thereby the lack of antioxidants too.
Many brands of chips, crackers and popcorn are loaded with sodium, which can cause water retention. If you're prone to puffiness all over, it will be most noticeable under the eyes, because the skin there is very thin, and it doesn't take much to cause swelling.these kinds of greasy snacks are likely to have been cooked at high temps, and thus contain AGES, which could result in a double-whammy of puffiness and redness.
Roasted, unsalted mixed nuts can satisfy your snack craving without the side effects.
Consider intake of yogurt insteed of taking skim milk, skim milk shown the strongest link with skin flare-ups where as yogurt seems to have the weakest effect.
You don't need to go on a raw-food diet, but it might not be a bad idea to eat grilled foods in moderation (deep-fried, too, but you knew that).
