“Dinner in the sunshine. Natural fiber place mats, retro tin camping plates, spinach soup, lotsa veggies, grilled fish. #healthyeats #eatarainbow” via @LauraAtVMV

It’s not just what you stop eating — great skin comes from what you DO eat.

The junk is gone, yay for you! Now what?
First, let’s over-emphasize how thankful your skin is (and body and brain are!) for dumping the junk. Junk food is pro-inflammatory and so many health and skin problems are linked to inflammation, including acne, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, and aging. Considering how addictive bad food can be, cutting it out of your diet is an achievement worth the extra pom-poms.
Leveling up means not only not eating bad food but choosing powerfully healthy foods for even more dramatic benefits — you’ll feel better, sleep better, have more energy and your skin will look its best, ever.
A great “skinvestment” is to talk to a nutritionist who can help you plan a menu that works with your lifestyle — work, kids, travel, whatever. If you can’t or prefer not to, you can go by some basic rules of thumb to make your diet work more powerfully for your skin (and body and brain!):
• Eat your antioxidants and anti-inflammatories: there are several studies now showing that many antioxidants and vitamins do not survive even minimal processing, and do not make it into pills, capsules or other nutritional supplements (and many are too delicate even for skincare). You get the actual goodness by eating the actual foods — nothing beats fresh vegetables and fruits.
• Multitasking works with power foods: sweet potatoes, for example, are great vegetables and packed with antioxidants…that also make for yummy desserts and potato substitutes!
• Having trouble getting the kids to eat raw veggies? Try sweeter options like sweet potatoes. Or, blend veggies into a soup with some chicken stock and coconut cream. Or, get even “naughtier” by blending spinach with cheese into a delicious dip.
• Up your intake of omega 3 oils — find them in small fish like sardines and herring…which also have great protein.
• Moderate intake of wine and pure coffee (sweeten with a bit of coconut sugar) may have antioxidant benefits.
• If you eat meat, look for smaller fish and free-range, organic meats with less or no antibiotics, no growth hormones, and raised in healthier, hygienic, humane conditions.
• Healthy proteins can also be found in Greek yogurt, goat’s milk, coconut milk and cream, amaranth or quinoa and other complex grains (which are great for fiber, too).
Your skin is an excellent reflection of how your insides are doing. So much so that your skin can sometimes reveal internal health problems before a blood test or MRI can. Similarly, if you’re healthy on the inside, it shows — really beautifully — on your skin! On absolutely every level, it pays to eat well.