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Food
for Beauty
By
Michael Van Straten
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Food
giant Nestle and beauty manufacturer L' Oreal
have joined
forces
to
launch
the world's first "cosmetic foods " designed to
improve your appearance.
But
beauty
is
more
than
skin
deep.
It doesn't matter how much you spend on potions and
lotions
or
how
many chemically
created food
bars
you eat, none
of it will improve lacklustre
skin,
hair
or
nails
unless you look after
your diet. Here's how to do it.
Skin
Four
nutrients
are
vital for healthy skin. Vitamin A builds new tissue and
heals damage. Vitamin E maintains smoothness and suppleness,
Vitamin C helps healthy regrowth and zinc is important for repair
and healing.
Foods rich in vitamin A or betacarotene are vital,
so
eat
carrots,
liver,
spinach, broccoli, cantaloupe melon, nectarines, sweet
potatoes and dried apricots.
Get
vitamin E from avocados, asparagus, extravirgin
olive
oil, cod
liver oil, wheatgerm
oil, sun-flower seeds and almonds.
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Men
need 9.5mg of zinc a day and women 7mg. A
portion of liver
provides around
9mg, a medium steak
around
7mg, a
tin
of Sardines
3mg, a chicken drumstick
2mg
and
a
generous portion of kidney beans 1.5mg. The richest source
is oysters, containing 36mg per half-dozen.
Processed
and convenience
foods
often
cause skin problems because of the amounts of sugar, salt,
saturated fats, colourings, preservatives and flavourings that
they contain. Excess alcohol and caffeine may also affect skin.
Hair
One of the earliest barometers of
health,
its condition can be improved by diet. Most
important
for
beautiful hair are vegetables,
fruit and salads for betacarotene
and vitamin
C, which
encourages growth and helps protect hair.
Wholemeal
bread, brown rice and oats
provide B vitamins which also help growth.Omega-3
fatty
acids
in
oily
fish help prevent dandruff and eczema. |
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Eat
shellfish
and pumpkin seeds for zinc, which
is
also crucial
for
hair growth, and
low-fat
dairy
products
for
calcium. Brazil
nuts contain
selenium,
which
makes
hair look
glossy, and
vitamin E
--
found
in
avocados,
sunflower
seed
oil
and peanut
butter -- will make it shiny.
Nails
Nails
are
made
of a brittle
material called keratin. For strength and
growth you need B-complex vitamins, zinc and pantothenic
acid,
together with
a
healthy
diet. Most people think white spots mean calcium deficiency
but they' re mainly caused by lack of
zinc.
Eat
a
daily
handful
of
pumpkin seeds.
Fungal
nail infections are common but
you can treat
them yourself.
Eat
plenty
of
garlic
as
this has
antifungal
activity. Bathe
affected
nails
in
half
a
pint
of
warm
water ,
a tablespoon
of
cider
vinegar and two
crushed
garlic
cloves. This
helps
cure
athlete's foot, too.
Eyes
They
won't be a natural asset
if
you
smoke. Smoking
damages
delicate eye tissue and irritates the eyeballs.
There
are four key nutrients for eyes - betacarotene
from
red and yellow fruit
and vegetables, to
help
night
vision;
lutein and zeaxanthine
from
spinach,
greens
and dark
green
cabbage, to
protect
against
macular
degeneration and the antioxidant lycopene
from tomatoes
because
it
helps
protect against cataracts.
Hours
of staring at a computer screen
will encourage crows' feet. Revived tired eyes in 10
minutes
by
laying
cold
used teabags dipped in water over closed eyes or cover each
eye with a slice of cucumber.
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