7 Key Nutrition Factors for Youthful Beauty You Will Love

Radiant beauty isn’t just about what you put on your body – it starts with what you put on your plate.

Because of the healthy habits I teach and practice, my skin doesn't get dry, even though in my 20s, eating my previous garbage diet, I had horrible eczema.

Garbage in, garbage out, right? Think of skin issues as a gut/liver spillover of toxins. What the liver cannot handle shows up on the skin, the body’s largest organ of elimination.

It’s a great clue, or a tap on the shoulder, to eat a better diet.

The most powerful change I made was upgrading what was on my plate.

I believe that consuming a variety of nutrient-rich raw fruits and vegetables – many of which are blended or juiced (my preference, you can chew all of yours, if you want!) – is a key factor in maintaining healthy skin.

What you'll find in this article:

• 7 nutrition factors to add to your diet to enhance your beauty
• Eat more of these 42 beauty foods
• What to avoid if you want healthy skin, hair, and nails?

[Want an easy way to get beauty-boosting greens every day? I love Daily Elements microgreens – the cleanest, most nutritious greens, without blending or juicing! This month only, you can save 30% using my exclusive code: GREENSMOOTHIEGIRL30 when you check out.]

7 Key Nutrition Factors for Enhancing Your Beauty

What you eat directly impacts your skin’s health.

Here are seven key factors to consider if you want youthful, glowing skin:

• Antioxidants: Fight free radicals that can damage skin cells and contribute to the aging process.

• Vitamins: Certain vitamins are essential for healthy skin, hair, and nails.

• Minerals: The beauty boost you’re not getting in modern food.

• Probiotics: Because beauty begins in the belly.

• Collagen-Boosting Foods: The most abundant protein in the body, and a major component of the skin.

• Hydration and Hydrating Foods: Crucial for maintaining healthy, supple skin.

• Healthy Fats: These are soothing and nourishing to the skin, externally and internally.

Nutrients, like antioxidants, vitamins A, C, and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals such as zinc, play essential roles in skin repair, hydration, and protection.

A nutrient-rich diet can enhance your skin’s natural glow – you can think of it as skincare you can eat.

My book Take Daily, coming out in September, will lay out for you how the “vitamins” and supplements you take cannot replace food, and are not even the actual nutritional compounds in food (or from it – they’re synthetically made in a lab).

The vast majority of supplements are made with industrial byproducts, solvents, and other toxic chemicals.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants combat free radicals that cause premature aging.

Some of the foods highest in antioxidants include:

If you want healthy, youthful skin, choose more of these foods.

• Beans
• Kale, beets, broccoli, artichokes
• Blueberries, pomegranate, goji berries
• Dark leafy greens, red or purple cabbage
• Walnuts, pecans
• Dark chocolate (organic, fair-trade, 60%+ cacao, low sugar, naturally sweetened)
• Grapes (contain resveratrol, which may slow skin aging and help prevent dark spots)
• Spices, like ginger, turmeric, garlic, oregano, and parsley

Broccoli is rich in lutein, which helps protect your skin from dryness and wrinkling. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, are high in sulfur, which helps the synthesis of glutathione, which can prevent damage caused by free radicals.

Leafy greens daily are a must due to their abundant anti-aging power. The darker the green, the better, as this usually indicates higher levels of antioxidants.

[Microgreens are 40x more powerful than adult greens. I love Daily Elements for an easy way to get clean, organically sprouted microgreens in your diet every day. I invite you to try them for 30% off – in July only! Use code GREENSMOOTHIEGIRL30 when you check out.] 

[Related: Guardians of Youth: How Antioxidants Keep You Young Inside and Out]

Vitamin A and Beta-Carotene

Vitamin A and beta-carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) support skin health by promoting skin cell turnover and a healthy glow, as well as helping protect your skin from damage caused by UV radiation and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Choose foods such as:

• Carrots
• Mangoes
• Sweet potatoes
• And other yellow and orange produce

Ataulfo mangoes have the highest vitamin C content among the mango varieties commonly found in the U.S. A significant decrease in deep facial wrinkles was seen in postmenopausal women after consuming fresh-frozen Ataulfo mangoes four times per week for 16 weeks.¹

B Vitamins

Vitamins B2, B3, B5, and B7 all contribute to skin health.

Choose foods such as:

• Nuts and seeds
• Seaweed
• Avocado
• Leafy greens
• Broccoli

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is essential for collagen production, which contributes to the skin's youthful elasticity, helps maintain hydration, and prevents wrinkles.

Choose:

• Citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi fruit
• Radishes, bell peppers (especially red)

Radishes are high in skin-beautifying sulfur, silicon, and vitamin C. They are said to be among the best mucus-dissolving foods for the digestive tract, which helps cleanse our systems. The cleaner and freer of toxins our systems are, the more beautiful we become.

[Related: How Vitamin C Supplements Can Hurt Your Health]

Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps protect skin from damage caused by free radicals and promotes healthy hair.

A dietary analysis also showed that higher intake of vitamin E (among other nutrients) correlated with improved skin elasticity.²

Nuts are a great source of this nutrient. The healthy fats also help keep your skin moisturized.

• Almonds, walnuts, cashews
• Avocadoes

Collagen-Boosting Foods

It’s important to eat foods that support the production of collagen, because it’s a major component of skin.

Include foods like:

• Avocado
• Bell peppers
• Brussels sprouts
• Berries
• Papaya
• Nuts and seeds
• Legumes

I’m not a fan of the synthetic, processed collagen products. You can help your tissues, joints, and skin make collagen the natural way!

Hydration

Chronic dehydration is a common culprit for aging skin.

Drinking enough water hydrates tissues on the inside and out, and it also improves circulation, meaning all those great nutrients from the foods above can get to where they need to go.

But I’m not at all convinced we need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. Count a piece of fruit, or a glass of fresh-pressed juice, as one cup. Also, try “structured water,” which is far more hydrating.

Some great choices for hydrating foods include:

• Cucumbers (an excellent kidney cleanser, which helps prevent bloating due to water retention)
• Watermelon, cantaloupe
• Lettuce, tomatoes

Healthy Fats

Coconut oil is a healthy source of dietary fat and can also be used for chemical-free, clean skincare.

Ultimately, though, the source of fats that will make you feel wonderful is from whole foods! Omega-3s reduce inflammation and keep skin supple.

Flax seeds are one of my favorite beauty foods. On top of their anti-aging perks, they have some great benefits for your outer beauty as well.

The omega fatty acids help nourish your skin and hair, strengthening and bringing more shine to your locks, promoting natural collagen production in the body, and relieving dry skin from flakes, eczema, and in some cases, rosacea.

• Avocado
• Flax seeds, chia seeds
• Nuts, like walnuts
• Olives and olive oil (in minor amounts)

[Related: Why I Still Don’t Take Collagen. What I Do Instead]

Minerals – The Beauty Boost Hiding in the Earth

Fulvic and humic acids are ancient, mineral-rich compounds found deep within the Earth. But sadly, they’ve disappeared from most modern soils (and our food).

Adding them back into your diet is like plugging the gaps in your nutrition – and your natural glow.

These powerful plant-derived acids are loaded with antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties that support beauty from the inside out.

They help calm redness and irritation, improve skin tone and texture, and protect your skin from damage caused by pollution and sun exposure.

Fulvic acid in particular has been shown to soothe skin conditions like eczema, rashes, bug bites, and even fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. It also helps your cells better absorb key nutrients, like vitamin C, essential for collagen production and radiant skin.

My #1 beauty and wellness essential? I take very few supplements. Almost none, after all my research. But Ultimate Minerals – our bestselling supplement packed with fulvic and humic acids sourced from pristine, ancient earth–

–is the one thing I never skip, and I plan to take it for life. My hair got thicker, my nails grew twice as fast, the dark circles disappeared under my eyes, and in the 15 years after I started taking it, no new cavities!

No chemistry is involved in using plant-based humus to make this humic-fulvic concentrate full of all the minerals the body needs (and uses up) for every single thing it does.

Probiotics

A healthy gut shows up in your skin.

Probiotics (fermented drinks like kefir, sauerkraut, and coconut yogurt) can reduce inflammation, improve skin tone, and even reduce acne and eczema.

When your gut flora is balanced, your body absorbs nutrients better – and your skin reflects that.

Our unique 3-in-1 for Total Gut Health is called PreZyme Pro – you won’t find anything else like it!

• Almonds
• Artichokes
• Avocado
• Beans
• Beets
• Bell peppers
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cantaloupe
• Cashews
• Carrots
• Citrus fruits
• Chia seeds
• Coconut oil
• Coconut yogurt
• Cucumbers
• Dark chocolate
• Flax seeds
• Goji berries
• Grapes
• Kefir
• Leafy greens
• Lettuce
• Mangoes
• Radishes
• Sauerkraut
• Seaweed
• Strawberries
• Sweet potatoes
• Papaya
• Pecans
• Pomegranate
• Purple cabbage
• Legumes
• Olives and olive oil
• Spices
• Tomatoes
• Kale
• Kiwi fruit
• Watermelon
• Walnuts

Diets consistently mainly of meat, refined grains, snacks, soft drinks, coffee, and alcohol were associated with more wrinkling in women, in a large, population-based Dutch study.

Also, avoid these for healthy skin, hair, and nails:

• Dairy, which can trigger acne and congestion

• Sugar, which breaks down collagen and causes dullness

• Highly processed foods, which increase inflammation

Final Thoughts: Beauty is an Inside Job

Your skin is a mirror of your internal health. By feeding it the right foods, you can heal from within.

When you flood your body with the right nutrients and hydration, your skin will respond. Your plate is a powerful place to reclaim your radiance.

 

Read Next: 9 Green Smoothies For Clear, Younger-Looking Skin From The Inside Out