Have you ever considered how your diet might affect your skin? What you eat is directly linked to your skin clarity, tone, and texture.
You’ve probably heard a lot about the benefits of a vegan diet, but you probably haven’t heard much about the anti-aging benefits! Let’s take a look at the vegan diet and skin aging. Can a vegan diet reverse the signs of aging?
Vegan Diet: The Basics
A vegan diet consists mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants, including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes. The vegan diet excludes any kind of animal products including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.
The typical American diet is varies greatly from a plant-based diet. The typical American diet is very high in proteins, fats, and sugar. Meat and dairy make up the bulk of the average American meal.
Vegan Diet: The Benefits
Vegan diets are beneficial for the skin in many ways. Those who follow a vegan diet eat higher quantities of fruits and vegetables by default, which are high in water. Those who eat lots of fruits and vegetables get extra hydration through the food they eat. Hydration is so important to keep the skin looking healthy and moisturized. If your skin isn’t well hydrated from the outside in, it will look
Increases hydration leads to healthy, youthful skin.
Antioxidants: Powerful Anti-agers
Antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables combat your skin’s natural aging! Antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C, and E make the biggest difference to your skin.
Vitamin A reverses the effects of aging, reduces wrinkles, and helps protect your skin from the sun. Vitamin A-rich foods include carrots, spinach, cantaloupes, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. Vitamin C supports collagen production to tighten skin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and makes up most of your skin. As you age, collagen production slows and you start to see fine lines and wrinkles. Foods rich in Vitamin C include citrus fruits, cauliflower, kale, kiwi, papaya, strawberries, and tomatoes. Vitamin E protects the skin against free radicals and prevents damage from the sun. Most of your skin’s visible aging actually comes from the sun! Foods rich in Vitamin E include sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, avocado, squash, kiwi, trout, and shrimp.
Dairy: Damaging to your Skin
Many people find that dairy harms their skin and causes breakouts!
An article in Insider magazine said, “Studies have shown that removing dairy from patients’ diets improves their acne,” Sarkar said. “This relationship is especially strong with dairy and lower fat milks. In my experience, I’ve found that if patients go off dairy for a month, a significant number of them with mild to moderate acne see improvement.”
Though not directly tied to aging, reduced breakouts will put less stress on your skin and cause it to look overall more healthy, smooth, and glowing!
Conclusion
Your diet has a huge impact on your skin! If you’re looking to combat some of the natural signs of aging, consider trying out the vegan diet. If you feel like you can’t give up everything at once, start slowly reducing your meat and dairy consumption, and add in more fresh fruits and vegetables. You’ll be so happy with the results. Can a vegan diet reverse the signs of aging? We’ll let you be the judge!
