5 Super Foods You Should Eat to be Beautiful
What does beauty mean to you? Is beauty flawless skin, white teeth, and un-chipped nails? Is it a fit body draped in chic clothing? Or is it simply feeling better about living in your own skin?
What if I said you could eat your way to all of those things? You wouldn’t believe me, right? “I have to EAT and I can be beautiful? Psh. Whatever.” We are taught from a young age as girls to not over eat and to watch what we consume. Now it’s true that you can’t eat whatever you want and still look like Candice Swanapoel. But there are ways that you can contribute to a better body and beautiful face by choosing to eat certain foods. Here are just a few that you can start enjoying today to start looking and feeling better!
1. Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherry juice is a simple step in the right direction for improving your overall health and beauty. It’s full of vitamin A in the form of retinol, which is a common additive to many beauty products because of its use in treating acne. For those who suffer from acne, this can be an easy addition to your routine that can help lessen the severity of flare-ups. It also contains the hormone melatonin! Melatonin is not only great for its anti-aging properties but is also a natural sleep aid. Studies show that drinking the tangy sweet juice can help you to fall asleep sooner and help your muscles recover at the same time. Sipping on this juice has wonderful benefits for your body as well as being a great natural lip color. I mean what girl doesn’t love a good cherry color on their lips?
2. Spinach
Okay so maybe Popeye wasn’t the cutest guy out there, but he was certainly on to something with the spinach intake! Spinach is one of the best and easiest to use health foods out there. It’s great for us women especially with its high iron and folate content; both of which are essential during our childbearing years. There are plenty of the vitamins A and C in it which contribute to a healthy complexion, as well as vitamin B which protects the skin from UV rays. Not only is it another skin saver, but it is great for maintaining healthy hair! The combination of omega-3’s, iron, andvitamins are key to healthy hair growth and combating hair loss.
3. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has been a staple in many natural beauty recipes both for external and internal use. Its full of lauric acid, which is a medium chain triglyceride (aka good fat) that has a positive effect of the body’s overall health. It has numerous skin, hair, and nail benefits when applied topically and can be put to good use in the kitchen as well. Swap out things like vegetable oil and butter in cooking for coconut oil and reap the rewards of better blood sugar control as well as combating infections. A double whammy of smelling good and cooking with good for you ingredients will have you feeling beautiful inside and out!
4. Citrus Fruits
Who doesn’t love the zingy, upbeat smell of a good orange or grapefruit? Simply the smell of citrus has been shown to elevate your mood and energize you as well! Oranges in particular are proven to have a great effect on your health. Oranges, and other citrus fruits, are full of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is not only good for your body’s immune system but can also improve the overall color and texture of your skin. Not to mention the surprising amount of calcium found in oranges will contribute to having strong pearly whites! Oranges are full of antioxidants that help to fight the sights of aging and slow the destruction of collagen too. So make sure you’re grabbing that glass of orange juice before you head out the door for work. Need more of a power pick-me-up in the morning? Try this smoothie to get things started on the right track. It’s not too sweet and perfect to stick in the fridge pre-made. You know, for those mornings you got a little too much beauty sleep and now have to sprint to work.
5. Honey
For many many years people have used honey as a natural beautifier. Not only is it great for you internally (locally sourced honey can potentially reduce your allergy symptoms) but also applying to your skin on a regular basis can really help you to have smoother skin. Honey is one of those awesome foods that naturally have antimicrobial properties as well as being antioxident. It has a soothing effect on the skin and can be added to just about anything for a light natural sweetness. Use it in your morning coffee with a little almond or soymilk for a healthier latte. I like to drizzle it on fresh fruit and yogurt for a mid-afternoon snack.
There are tons of ads out there in the world today that promote products touting their beauty benefits. We’ve seen it all, from miracle pills to face creams and plenty of gadgets in between. You can’t go very far without seeing some sort of connection between these products that are advertised and our concept of physical beauty. Don’t fall victim to the glossy ads! Now you have a head start on some great foods to boost your beauty confidence. And these are just a few of the many awesome foods to eat that do great things for your face and hair. The reality is you can be eating your way to glowing skin, luscious hair, and sweetly tinted lips. Spend your time and money wisely by killing two birds with one stone.
Now you can feel better knowing those beauty benefits that cost and arm and a leg can be readily found in the local produce department. When we eat better, we feel better; especially knowing what we’ve put into our system is beneficial to our health and our vanity.
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Eating Well
