By Cameron Saylor, Recent Arizona State University Nutrition Student
If you’re like me, you have an acne break out from time to time. In fact, nearly 20% of all Americans have break outs. Acne can be a serious cause for anxiety and stress. Nothing like a massive breakout the day before the big event. Not to mention those dark spots that can pool beneath your eyes. Thankfully, with just a little extra effort you can have brighter, younger looking skin in just 5 easy steps.
1. Drink more water.
2. Wash with apple cider vinegar
3. Eat less refined sugars
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables
5. De-stress
- Drink more water
Clear skin starts with hydrated skin. To keep your skin looking young and supple you should aim to drink your body weight in ounces every day. If you are active you will need more than this, but it’s a great start. Water keeps your cells hydrated and your skin from experiencing excessive drying or flaking.
- Wash with apple cider vinegar
Yes, this all-around kitchen miracle finds its way into the beauty world. Washing your face with a splash of apple cider vinegar can help to remove dead skin cells and leave skin looking vibrant and new. For those pesky age spots, use a cotton ball to blot some ACV directly on the problem spots. Leave on for about 30 minuets and then rinse your face and pat dry.
- Eat less refined sugars
We all know that sweets can really pack on the pounds and rot our teeth but they can also be causing that pesky acne. Too much sugar in the diet causing an increase in glucose in the blood and an increase in acne break outs. Next time think twice before eating the whole bag of red vines and limit yourself to just a few.
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
This starts to sound like a broken record after all these years but the science still holds up, eating more fruits and vegetables provides us with many key nutrients needed to promote healthy looking skin. Include more leafy greens and deeply colored fruits and veggies such as these in your diet: broccoli, kale, spinach, eggplant, avocado, and beets.
- De-stress
While this isn’t directly nutrition related, our nutrition plays a crucial role in our level of stress. You may not think that you stress out over food but meal time comes with more stress than most would assume. In order to destress, plan out weekly meals for you and your family. Try out meal prepping to take the guess work out of cooking. With al the time you aren’t spending worrying about what to eat, you can try out that new yoga class you have been looking into.
Remember, if you start to have persistent skin issues that are not normal for you, visit a dermatologist. Dermatologists and aestheticians can help you achieve healthy, happy skin!