The Diet That Slows Skin Aging

You are, in fact, what you eat. That is to say: your body is made up, physically, of what you have consumed. That’s literally where the matter of your body comes from.

Of course, there are changes that happen along the way. If you eat nuts, that doesn’t mean that you are nuts (silly jokes notwithstanding), but rather that a lot of the nuts’ composite carbs, proteins, fats, and so forth have been repurposed to rebuild various parts of you.

But taking this approach, of remembering that food doesn’t really just vanish once we’ve swallowed and become purely some kind of generic undifferentiated fuel (some of it becomes that! But a lot of it doesn’t) can help us to make much more mindful choices about what we put in our bodies.

Our skin is perhaps one of the most visible representations of that, what with being a fairly sensitive organ that surrounds most of our body.

How to give your skin what it needs

Of course, there are many things besides diet that affect skin aging, including sun exposure, and non-dietary toxins (such as smoking). But today we’re looking at diet.

Specifically, we’re looking at a study by Dr. Marika Cordaro et al., showing what foods make the biggest difference to skin aging—in both directions.

According to their study, the most impactful nutrients for skin youthfulness include:

• Vitamins A, C, and E (support collagen and skin elasticity)
• Polyphenols and carotenoids (such as from berries, leafy greens, tomatoes)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (such as from chia seeds, flaxseed, salmon)
• Peptides and amino acids (especially lysine and proline for collagen synthesis)
• Minerals including at the top of the list: zinc, copper, and selenium
• Phytoestrogens (soy, flaxseed) that, while they cannot be used directly as estrogen for most purposes (incompatible) do benefit skin health
• Probiotics and prebiotics (support skin microbiome and hydration)
• Cranberry polyphenols get a special shoutout aside from other polyphenols, for their unique reduction of collagen stiffening by inhibiting collagen glycation.
• Fermented foods show benefit also in reducing signs of aging, though the mechanism for this one is unclear, and may be a simple result of improved systemic health.
• Moringa oleifera and fermented Agastache rugosa extracts may protect against skin stress and UV damage

We wrote about Moringa here: Moringa Oleifera Against CVD, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s & Arsenic?

And as for cranberries: Health Benefits Of Cranberries (But: You’d Better Watch Out) ← there are a couple of contraindications to be aware of

And for the last word on collagen: We Are Such Stuff As Fish Are Made Of

You may be wondering: what’s that about glycation?

We’ve written about that before too: Are You Eating AGEs? ← it has to do with advanced glycation end-products (which are Very Bad™)

You may also be wondering about chocolate, so check out: The Truth About Chocolate & Skin Health

On which note… What not to eat?

The biggest offenders, according to the study, are:

• alcohol
• refined sugars
• advanced glycation end-products
• trans fats
• omega-6 fatty acids (in excess)*

*unlike the other items in the list, we do need some omega-6 fatty acids, but most people, and especially most Americans, get far, far too much.

Want to know more?

You can read the paper in its entirety here:

Potential Role of Dietary Antioxidants During Skin Aging ← the title really undersells it; it’s about a lot more than just antioxidants

And if you want to really dive deeply into more than just nutrition, then we recommend this book that we reviewed a while back:

Biohack Your Way to Healthy Skin – by Jennifer Sun

Enjoy!