Part 2
What are the Essential Nutrients for healthy skin?
What we are eating, wearing sunscreen, exercising, getting enough sleep and following a good skincare routine determine how our skin looks. The 5 essential nutrients for healthy glowing Skin are:
• Vitamin A.
• Vitamin B Complex.
• Vitamin C.
• Zinc.
• Essential Fatty Acids.
In order to make collagen, you need vitamin C. Eating foods with vitamin C can promote skin healing by stimulating new skin cells to grow in the damaged area. In addition to this, vitamin C can also help the healing process by building new protein for the skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels.
When cells use oxygen to generate energy, free radicals are created. Free radicals are highly reactive and unstable molecules that are produced in the body naturally as a by-product of metabolism (oxidation), or by exposure to toxins in the environment such as tobacco smoke and ultraviolet light.
As the body processes food and reacts to the environment. If the body cannot process and remove free radicals efficiently, oxidative stress can result. This can harm cells and body function. Free radicals are also known as reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Factors that increase the production of free radicals in the body can be internal, such as inflammation, or external, for example, pollution, UV exposure, and cigarette smoke.
Antioxidants are substances that can prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures.
Antioxidants are naturally occurring vitamins and minerals commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Wearing sunscreen, exercising, getting enough sleep and following a good skincare routine determine how our skin looks
Examples of antioxidants that come from outside the body include:
• vitamin A
• vitamin C
• vitamin E
• beta-carotene
• lycopene
• lutein
• selenium
• manganese
• zeaxanthin
Flavonoids, flavones, catechins, polyphenols, and phytoestrogens are all types of antioxidants and phytonutrients, and they are all found in plant-based foods.