BEST and WORST Foods for Healthy and Anti-acne Skin

Spending hundreds and thousands on Facial products is one way to achieve glowing and bright skin like the Korean celebrity you have been idolizing about. But beautiful and nourished skin actually starts from within your body itself – your food intake.

Some types of food are likely to cause inflammation, or worsen your acne problem especially during the puberty stage.

Like the old saying goes:

"YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT"

What is the best diet for healthy skin cleared of acne?

Food to Eat Regularly:

1. Fruits and Vegetables

The best sources are blueberries, oranges, papaya, strawberries, kiwi, broccoli and sweet potatoes. These foods contain beta-carotenes, which are anti-inflammatory and help to reduce oil on your skin as well as to clear any impurities from your body. Most fruits and vegetables also contain Vitamin C (super antioxidant), a solution to radiant and clear skin, while helping blemishes to heal effectively!

2. 6 to 8 glasses of water per day

Water plays an essential role to the overall health of your body and skin in terms of improved digestion, blood circulation, nutrient absorption and toxin elimination. It also flushes out impurities and toxins out of your body, which could be the culprit of breakouts. This keeps your skin radiant and clear! Besides, drinking more water helps to hydrate your skin.

3. Healthy Fat

Fats are not necessary culprits all the time. You have to pick the correct type of fats. Fish oil in fatty fish such as sardines, salmon, tuna and among many others contain Omega 3, a type of healthy fat that is beneficial to your skin. It helps to regular oil production, reduce inflammation and thus minimize acne breakouts. Other forms of healthy fats include nuts and avocado.

4. Tea Did you know that tea is packed with antioxidants such as polyphenols that is effective in preventing and repairing skin damage? Green tea is rich in nutrients, and is a great detoxifier as they flush out toxins from your skin. Chamomile tea, on the other hand, helps to reduce inflammation of your skin. Other teas like Jasmine tea contain antibacterial properties to reduce pimples and oil.

If you’re not a tea drinker, you may also apply products infused with tea extracts on your skin too!

Food to Reduce:

1. Seafood

Seafood such as crabs, lobsters, shellfish and prawns are high in Iodine content, which are usually associated with pimples and acne. While eating seafood does not directly cause a pimple to grow immediately, accumulation of high iodine content in the body overtime is likely to cause the skin to be more susceptible to acne breakouts. Surely, seafood cannot be the only culprit to bad skin issues, but it is recommended for people with acne-prone skin to reduce their intake.

2. Fried and junk food

A little fast food wouldn’t hurt. But frequent consumption of fast food such as burgers, fries, pizzas and fried chicken will likely cause damage to your skin due to the excess of unhealthy fats. If you have existing skin issues such as blackheads, clogged pores and pimples, the greasy fast food is likely to worsen the inflammation of your skin. Highly processed junk food containing high levels of sugar also causes hormones to stimulate excessive oil and therefore, clogging your pores.

3. Spicy food

Spice can be a potential irritant for the skin as it affects the pH level and increases temperature of your skin, thus causing inflammation easily. If you are looking for a way to reduce your pimples and sensitive skin, try reducing your intake for spicy food and go for something lighter instead.

4. Pastries and Baked Food

Food such as white rice, bread, cookies and pastries may be seemingly unsuspicious, but they actually contain "refined carbohydrates" which could be a potential cause of your breakouts. "Refined Carbs" are processed flour and sugar broken down, which feeds bacteria. This in turn can spike sebum production, causing clogged pores and blackheads. Foods that are baked under high temperature are also considered "heaty food" and contributes to pimples and oily skin.

Just like keeping fit, slimming treatments are complementary to healthy diet plans, not a miraculous problem-solver.

It’s time to make a change in your diet plan and start achieving that radiant glow on your skin, one bite at a time. But don’t expect an overnight miracle as it takes a few weeks for any visible benefits to appear. And note that everyone’s body is different, it’s always best to experiment what works best for you while taking into account any possible food allergies you may have.

Brought to you by:My Cozy Room Boutique Spa (Www.mycozyroom.com.sg)

My Cozy Room is the home of Singapore’s Best Extraction Facial, and a Top Ten TripAdvisor Recommended Spa located just off Orchard Road.