What to eat for healthy skin and hair

Inner health, outer glow

"Your skin is an outer reflection of your inner health," Somer says. Somer, a registered dietician suggests peeking in other people's grocery carts as you shop. "We look just like the food we buy. Carts filled with white bread, doughnuts, soft drinks and potato chips are most likely pushed by people with pasty completions and lifeless hair," she says.

In contrast, the person pushing a cart loaded with fresh spinach and strawberries, fat-free milk, whole-wheat bread, fresh salmon and beans most likely has a rosy glow and healthy, shiny hair. "What you eat affects how you look, both today and down the road," she explains.

Beauty diet tips

Some of the worst things we can eat when it comes to appearance include fatty foods (especially when the fats are from meat), full-fat dairy, processed foods, refined grains, excessive added sugar, alcohol and salty foods. Bye-bye beer and extra-cheese pizza! The good news is that the nutrients needed for a healthy glow also revitalize your whole body, so making diet changes to improve your skin and hair will have an even larger positive effect. Somer suggests following these guidelines on what we should be eating every day:

• At least nine colorful fruits and vegetables
  
• Five or more servings of 100 percent whole grains
  
• Three servings of calcium-rich foods
  
• Two servings of iron/zinc-rich foods, such as extra-lean red meat, chicken breast, seafood or legumes
  
• At least eight glasses of water

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The most important beauty foods

Deficiency in any nutrient will cause changes in the skin, hair and nails, as well as in blood circulation, which supplies nutrients to the skin and removes toxic waste products, Somer explains. Here are the most important things we need and what happens when we don't get enough:

• DHA: Omega-3 fats make hair shiny, protect skin from sagging and wrinkling, speed healing, slow aging and reduce skin cancer risk. Get the glow-inducing benefits from omega-3-rich seafood, antioxidant-packed produce, nuts and olive oil.
• Antioxidants: These help protect the skin from free-radical damage (which can cause rough texture, wrinkles and sun spots), but frequent sun exposure and smog deplete them. Since it takes up to three months to accumulate antioxidants in skin, load up on colorful fruits and vegetables every day.
• Zinc: This trace mineral helps maintain collagen and elastin fibers that give skin its firmness and help prevent sagging and wrinkles. Zinc is important in healing cuts and scrapes, while a deficiency causes dry, rough skin.
• B vitamins: Poor intake of almost any B vitamin can cause dry or scaly skin, itching and a burning sensation. Vitamins B2 and B6 also are important in maintaining the oil-producing glands, which keep skin moist and smooth.
• Vitamin A: This fat-soluble vitamin is essential for maintaining epithelial tissues, and skin is the largest epithelial tissue you have. Skimp on this vitamin, and your skin might be dry, scaly and rough.

Easy ways to get skin-healthy and hair-healthy foods into your diet

It's not always easy to eat right. Health often takes a back seat to busy schedules, family commitments and social obligations. But Somer has some suggestions for how even the busiest women can incorporate skin- and hair-healthy foods into their day:

• Aim for two colorful fruits or vegetables at every meal and at least one at every snack.
  
• Switch to 100 percent whole-grain bread.
  
• Pack a cup of spinach into sandwiches.
  
• Grate carrots into spaghetti sauce.
  
• Snack on watermelon instead of chips.
  
• Pop frozen blueberries in your mouth instead of ice cream at night.
  
• Make a rule that 75 percent of your plate will be filled with unprocessed, real foods.

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