12 Easy Diet Changes For Better Skin You Need To Try
Bumpy skin. We all know how it feels: you wake, walk to your bathroom mirror, and are horrified to see your face covered with bumps and pimples. Not only that, but your face feels flared and painful to the touch. It sucks. I know, because I’ve always been prone to skin issues.
I’ve been dealing with acne and irritation since I was ten years old.
Yup, you read that right.
Ten years old; otherwise known as basically half my life.
The worst part is that, no matter how content you usually feel in yourself, breakouts always have a way of making you feel self-conscious, inflamed, and uncomfortable in your own skin (see what I did there? I know, I know, not the time 😉).
It’s not just your perception of how you look, but it’s also that painful sensitive physical feeling.
Even pulling your shirt over your head to get dressed grates over your sore face. Not fun.
This issue would haunt me for years, badly.
Luckily, I’ve managed to never really let my skin bother the way I feel about myself, but I can remember this one time where I woke up with one of the worst breakouts I’d ever had. It was 3 for 3: swelling, dryness, and bumps. I remember there was a horror movie-thon that day at my favourite comic shop that I’d been planning to go to with my best friend, but I didn’t go. I stayed at home the whole day.
One of my worse acne days.
I just felt too embarrassed, and my skin, too agonized.
Because of incidences like this, I’ve always searched for a ‘miracle cure’, trying every moisturizer, cream, face mask, and serum I can find.
I tried treatments from Burt’s bees, Proactive, the Body Shop, and more, but to no avail.
The worst bit is that some of these ‘magical’ ointments are full of nasty chemicals I can’t pronounce, some which even made my face itch.
And here comes the inflection point…🙌
Skip forward to a few years ago. So, when I committed to cleaning up my diet in order to lose some weight and *feel* healthier, I suddenly started to see an amazing difference in my skin. It was early days, but it was clearing up to the best it had been in years, and I was feeling a dramatic decrease in that flared pain I had been suffering through. To sum it up, YAY!
This is when I realised that, when it comes to your skin, beauty is more than skin-deep.
Dietary changes play a HUGE role in the appearance and sensation of your skin. Skin problems, such as acne, wrinkles, and roughness, can sometimes be cleared up, simply by shaking up your diet. Yippee…!
Good Skin Day
And so, through changing my diet over a period of time based on some research suggestions, I’ve been able to pin-point the special parts of your diet you need to tackle for the best skin.
Lucky for you, I understand that sometimes it’s hard to know where to start when it comes to making these kind of adjustments, so I want to share my tried and tested list of dietary changes you should be making for skin improvement.
Let’s get GLOWING (see what I did there?)! 🌟
1. Drink & Eat Less Dairy 😥
This is a hard one. Believe, I love me some cheesy goodness, but it's not exactly your skin's best friend. Skim milk is actually associated with causing acne, and, because cheese tends to be very salty, it may cause your face to swell.
Got Milk?
And there’s more… because has a high AGE’s (advanced glycation end-product) content, it’s considered to contribute to aging. Also, dairy products in general tend to increase inflammation in your body and skin, which results in breakouts.
If you have acne issues, I would suggest avoiding dairy products as a possible solution, and testing to see if you have any improvement.
But keep this in mind: it'll take time before cutting out dairy makes any difference when it comes to your skin.
2. Add More Blends To Your Diet? Yep, It’s Smoothie Time!
Fruits can make a huge difference to your health. They’re not just sweet and delicious: they’re also miracle foods, bursting with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Turns out your fruit salad holds secrets your skin knows but never told you about.
But, you’re probably thinking, some people say fruits are bad – some diets even ban them for fear of calories, sugar, high carbohydrate and more.
My answer to this is, well yes, sometimes some of this is true. Some fruits are even bad for skin.
Confusing huh…!? eh…😕
Hold on, hear me out.
It’s like this: when choosing what fruits to eat, or if you should eat them, you should choose based on what you’re seeking for yourself in that moment.
Consider, are you looking for a low calorie, low sugar diet with more fiber, or are you looking to gain healthier hair, nails, and better skin?
If you do want to go with fruit but are still worried about the nutrition side of things, opt to go for a moderate consumption of a few approved fruits.
This’ll probably leave you with a question like, “so what fruits are approved for better skin then?”
These would be the ones which are lower in sugar, and those where the sugar doesn’t out way the benefits of the antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
Remember, it’s easy to forget that natural sugars can cause the same bad effects that processed sugar can.
In any case, here’s my POWER list of fruits for glowing skin.
These clear skin approved fruits are awesome-tasting and great for you! Oh, and you can blend them in the morning for a skin boosting breakfast.
In fact, I actually share with you my exclusive ‘Sip Your Way To A Glowing Complexion With Smoothies’ recipes in my FREE The 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge, so make sure check that out!
Anyway, here’s the list:
1. Strawberries (Pro tip: The redder your strawberries the better health benefits)
2. Cherries
3. Dried Apricots
4. Grapefruit
5. Blackberries
6. Avocado
7. Tomatoes
8. Oranges
9. Papayas
3. Did Anyone Say Tea & Chocolate?!
Mhhh… a hot cup of coffee in the morning. What could be better?
Hold up! You should probably put that latte down before enjoying that caffeine boost in the morning or during you long day, and replace it with a hot cup of green tea.
It’s not that coffee is bad for your skin, but that there are options that I think are simply better if your goal is glowing skin.
Besides keeping you more hydrated by drinking plenty of pure water, adding some green tea to your daily routine may give your skin a healthy boost.
As well as being an excellent source of antioxidants and alkaloids, green tea is also packed with awesome vitamins, which makes green tea great at helping with reducing inflammation, preventing oxidative stress, reducing acne flares and being beneficial in the ageing process.
Other teas you should drink that’ll make your skin looking younger, longer, that contain high levels of damage-fighting antioxidants are oolong and stinging nettle tea.
Both decrease the appearance and severity of dermatitis related to eczema. ❤️
Dandelion tea is also considered a great alkaline food, which will balance internal pH and’ll help skin conditions clear up faster. Roobios tea is known to naturally exfoliate and reduce wrinkles, and personally, is my favourite tea to drink .
Additionally, chamomile tea can help to soothe irritated skin and help fight infections and bacteria that cause bad skin.
Wait, hold on a second; where does CHOCOLATE come in? 🍫
Here’s my answer: dark chocolate is another source of valuable antioxidants.
Yes, chocolate is good for your skin - can I get a high five ✋?!
Simply add some yummy dark chocolate to your diet. For greatest best health benefits, I recommend raw cacao nibs, which are quite bitter. If eating bitter chocolate is not your forte, try having the darkest chocolate you can tolerate, preferably 70 percent cacao or higher.
If your still interested in working cocoa nibs into your diet, I actually share my delicious way of enjoying cocoa nibs in my exclusive Sip Your Way To A Glowing Complexion With Smoothies recipes in my FREE The 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge. Check that out here!
NOTE: Make sure not to opt for milk chocolate, it’s benefits are worthless as the sugar content is way too high.
4. Change Up Your Fats
Not all fats are created equally! One of greatest strategies you can use to improve your skin health is to make sure you are getting enough monounsaturated fatty acids, which are found in:
-raw nuts
- avocados (my fave)
-coconut oil
-olives
-olive oil
These healthy fatty foods are a fantastic anti-inflammatory for your skin and are great for your health.
Macadamia and pecans contain the most healthy fat while also still being low in carbs. Brazil nuts, on top of being on the higher end in terms of healthy fat, and the lower end in terms of carbs and protein, are a really good source of selenium, which may help protect against sun damage and age spots.
Before you grab a bag of chipotle flavored peanuts 🥜, remember that you need to make sure that you ONLY eat nuts in their plain form – have them plain raw or slightly roasted, but that’s it!
Make sure to be careful if you have skin that really easily breaks out, like mine. I avoid or at least try to cut back on pine nuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, and almonds. These nuts are good because they contain Omega-6 fatty acids, but they may cause people with acne-prone skin to break out and become inflamed.
Something to note is that trans-fats, found in processed foods, some farmed seafoods, trans-fats, fried and baked goods, are horrible for skin. So definitely avoid them at all costs.
Also, I’m a vegetarian, but from some research and getting a couple of close meat-eating friends to try it out, I do believe that proper high quality omega-3 fats are perhaps the richest source of nutrients for skin glow.
One of the best sources of omega-3 fats is ETHICALLY sourced seafood (NOT farmed), which really helps with improving elasticity and suppleness of skin. 🐟 You should look for wild-caught Alaskan salmon (not Atlantic salmon, which is typically farmed), Atlantic mackerel (not King Mackerel) and small fatty fish like Pacific sardines and anchovies. Plus, eating fish instead of meat is will reduce the levels of saturated fat that we normally get by consuming red meat.
If you’re a meat-eater but don’t like these options you could take an animal-based omega-3 supplement (only high quality), such as krill oil or wild Alaskan salmon oil.
PLEASE NOTE: That any seafood you purchase, whether for healthy skin benefits or not, should be wild-caught and sustainable sourced (as well as conventional meat). 🎣 Farmed fish varieties are often loaded with chemicals, GMO ingredients, and other nasty byproducts that will ruin any benefits the fish originally had.
5. Boost Your Vegetable & Seed Intake
Ditch the chips and snack on seeds! Load up on seeds (especially sunflower seeds), because these are naturally rich in Vitamin E, which will do wonders to your skin.
Don’t forget the vegetables and greens. Believe it or not, my entire family loves salad in all forms! In fact, my 5 year-old brother’s favourite midweek dinner is his salad and organic black bean hummus. Adorable right?! 🐰
Eating a diet rich in vegetables every day will benefit your skin and overall health. Especially dark green veggies, because they’re rich in vital minerals and vitamins, and super packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and heart-healthy agents. So, try and enjoy one entire meal of veggies a day.
If you’re not a huge fan of salad, I would at first simply start introducing more and more veggies to your day over time. Add some vegetables & greens to your sandwiches, soups, have a side of steamed vegetables, or even add veggies & greens to your smoothies.
BTW! I’ve got some great ways to eat your veggies in my yummy exclusive Sip Your Way To A Glowing Complexion With Smoothies Recipes included in my FREE The 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge if you wanna ‘sneak’ some veggies into your day! 🥤
Bonus: Increase the amount of tomatoes in your daily diet. They’re full of the antioxidant lycopene, which plays a great part in helping your skin repair. Studies have even shown that lycopene may increase your skins protection and decrease kinds of redness from sun or UV exposure. Other foods high in lycopene are watermelons and papayas. You’ll find some awesome recipes containing them in my 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge. Join here!
6. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant awesome at aiding in your body's production of collagen, which is the protein that forms the basic scaffolding of your skin (making up the skin's integrity).
Collagen breakdown causes skin to become saggy. Vitamin C aids in helping tighten it back up. 🍊
It’s also awesome in helping skin healing for people struggling with any kind of skin problem. The best foods for getting Vitamin C are:
-oranges
-peppers
-broccoli
-strawberries
7. Ditch Sugar
*Dun dun duuuun!*
I know, I love sugar too 😭, but this change is really important. I used to use sugary food to help me through everything: studying, tiredness, stress, you name it, the list goes on. It’s really hard to give up, but in order to clean up your diet and skin, sugar’s gotta go. 😔
Sugar is major reason for weight gain, as well as skin and health problems.
It destroys collagen in your skin and causes nasty wrinkles. Cutting out sugar will save you from a lot of skin struggles. It’ll be hard, but you can do it. If you need some help with quitting sugar, have a look at my Cut The Sugar Program. It’s a full, step-by-step guide I created on working through sugar addiction, which I based off of my own experience abandoning my sugar dependence. Check it out here!
8. Soda: A Big No No
Since you shouldn’t be eating sugar, you shouldn’t be drinking soda.
This is the worst drink for your skin you could possibly have. Soda is full of high fructose corn syrup (a really bad form of sugar), which is even worse for your skin than pure sugar (glucose). It causes inflammation and causes us to age prematurely.
The same goes for most sugar-free and diet sodas, as these contain harmful chemicals in order to make up for flavour.
Don’t worry though, there are plenty of cold bubbly drinks you can enjoy a yummy, just as long it’s a sugar and chemical free ‘safe’ drink. If you’re interested, I’ll share these great swap outs for soda in my FREE The 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge! Click here to check it out!
9. Probiotics… Huh?
Yup: nourish your gut for clearer skin!
You probably think I sound crazy, but your gut health has a lot to do with the appearance and health of your skin.
Probiotics have been shown to impact the immune system which greatly improves skin health; their good bacteria interact with skin (and hair) to produce healthier cells that result in a more radiant outward appearance.
The group of probiotic foods worth mentioning are fermented (or cultured) foods. Fermented foods help promote the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria and aid healthy digestion, supporting healthy immune function, and increasing B vitamins, omega-3, digestive enzymes, lactase and lactic acid, and other immune chemicals that fight off harmful bacteria.
The best high-probiotic foods are:
-kefir
-tempeh (as a vegetarian I love tempeh)
-cultured vegetables, like sauerkraut
-kombucha
-yogurt (sugar-free)
-apple cider vinegar
There’s also a probiotic supplement you can take, just make sure it’s a soil-based variety.
10. Say No To Processed Foods/Refined Grains & YES To Whole Grains
Time to let go of those processed goods!
No-one really knows what’s in processed foods. They’re full of hidden ingredients, so I’m pretty confident in saying that whatever they add in those foods can be harmful to your body and skin. What I do know is that chemical and GMO laden foods are rich in excess trans-fat and high in levels of additives, which act like toxins in your body. A rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat/drink it.
Now for the refined grains. It’s time to cut those out. ✂️
Refined grains have been significantly modified from their original composition. The number one reason refrined grains are bad for your health and skin is because the healthy bran and germ are removed during the refining process, and refined grains tend to contain piles of sugar, additives, syrups, and grains.
The better option would be to opt for whole grains. Whole grain products are a way healthier choice for your skin and body, and they add much more value to your diet for the same amount of calories, containing more fiber and more beauty minerals like iron & zinc. This is always good for your skin – it loves the nutrients in whole grains.
Bonus: whole grains are shown to help you lose weight.
SO, ditch the white bread, pasta, pastries, bagels and rice and switch to whole grain!
11. Say It With Me: Less Alcohol Please….
Say no to that second drink!
I’m a Brit, which means I love my occasional drink (gin and tonic, anyone?), but nevertheless, alcohol is very dehydrating.
No hydration = bad skin.
Excess alcohol drinkers are more likely to have acne and bad pores (along with major health problems, especially to the liver). So, skip that extra glass of wine; your skin will thank you!
12. Spice It Up
Simply powder on some spices to your meals for some awesome skin benefits.
Want skin protection? Spices!
Skin enhancement? Spices!
I love my spices so I’m happy!
The spices that will have the BEST anti-inflammatory acne fighting and anti-aging effects on you are:
-garlic powder
-cayenne pepper
-tumeric
-cinnamon (my favourite!)
I mean, everyone loves cinnamon, right?! Well, except for my mum and older brother. Weirdos. (jk, jk, 😎)
*Drumroll*… We made it, we’ve covered it all!
Remember, not every one food will be the magical cure for your skin, but eating a balanced diet, and including these benefit rich foods can REALLY help keep healthy and glowing.
If you don’t know how to start incorporating these changes, don’t have the time, or want some guidance, I’ve created a FREE The 7 Day Glowing Skin Detox Challenge.
It has easy, step-by-step ways to incorporate these amazing diet changes into your busy day without the hassle of planning (it’s all done for you)! It also has seven of my exclusive Sip Your Way To A Glowing Complexion With Smoothies recipes.
By the end, of you won’t just glow, you’ll shine and feel fabulous!
In my challenge, you get to know all of the foods and changes you need to make for better skin – and you’ll actually start loving them.
By then end of it you’ll start craving these healthy wonderful foods and won’t miss anything you’ve changed, including the processed and refined foods causing the problems in the first place.