Skincare tips: It is crucial to add essential vitamins to your diet for healthy skin. Here are some of these other than vitamin C you should add to your diet.
Skincare tips: A well-balanced diet can help you maintain healthy skin
Healthy skin and the need to achieve it has been in focus for quite some time now and the love for skincare seems to be growing by the day. From professional help to home remedies, skincare routines have only gotten better. Some like to believe skincare has become an emotion more than a necessity, thanks to the internet. Well, while that may be subjective, it's safe to assume that the internet has contributed fairly to how people perceive skincare and its importance. It has also exposed the public at large to new knowledge about nutrition for healthy skin and the individual benefits of such ingredients.
However, a common ingredient that can be found on every skincare enthusiast's shelf is Vitamin C. It's very common and almost slightly overhyped because of the fact that it becomes primary and sometimes the only ingredient in one's skincare. This, more than a few times, leads to ignoring the combination and consumption of other vital vitamins necessary for healthy skin. Let's look at some of those vitamins that you shouldn't ignore and must add to your diet for healthy skin.
Skincare tips: Add these essential vitamins to your diet for healthy skin
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an essential nutrient for the skin as it helps in boosting collagen production, controlling keratin production, regularizing sebum production and making the skin strong. It also aids in skin healing and skin repair.
Vitamin A is found in food sources like sweet potato, leafy green vegetables, eggs, carrots, pumpkin etc.
Vitamin A rarely needs oral supplementation and is more widely used topically. Orals are used in treating certain skin conditions while topicals are used for both active skin conditions, anti-ageing and maintaining skin health.
Vitamin A also plays an important role in treating conditions like acne, keratosis pilaris, pigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that helps reduce the harmful effects of the sun on the skin. It helps in fighting the free radical damage to the cells and helps in controlling skin inflammation. It also helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles, making your skin look youthful and feel smoother.
Nuts and seeds (almond, hazelnut and sunflower seeds) are a great source of vitamin E that you can include in your diet.
Vitamin E can also be consumed as an oral supplement or applied on the skin topically in the form of creams, lotions and serums. Topical formulas can help in soothing dry and sensitive skin and work effectively well when combined with Vitamin C.
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B Complex is a group of different forms of vitamin B (Vitamin B-3, Vitamin B-5, Vitamin B-6 etc.) that helps and improves the overall health of your skin, hair and even nails. It regularly rates cell turnover and helps the body to efficiently utilize essential fatty acids.
They can be found in food sources like meat, eggs, seafood, nuts and seeds.
B complex vitamins are one of the most commonly prescribed vitamin supplements too.
Biotin is also very important for the overall health of skin and hair. Deficiencies of which will result in brittle nails and hair fall. It is naturally found in food sources like bananas, eggs, oatmeal, rice and sweet potatoes.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is essential in adding to the body's process of blood clotting which helps in healing wounds, bruises and areas where surgeries have been performed. A few studies also suggest the importance of vitamin K in treating under eye dark circles.
Vitamin K also helps in treating stretch marks, spider veins, scars and dark spots to a certain extent in combination with other ingredients and treatments.
It is found naturally in food sources like kale, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, green beans etc.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays a key role in the health of your skin, hair, the skin keratinization process and also helps in treating certain skin conditions, like psoriasis.
It can be found in natural food sources like salmon, tuna and fortified sources like cereals. One can also get adequate amounts of vitamin D by exposing their skin to the sun for 10 to 15 minutes a day. In case of deficiency, vitamin D oral supplementation is given and an injectable source is given for a faster improvement of the condition in cases of severe deficiency.
It is crucial to inculcate all vitamins and nutrients necessary for your body to keep fit and healthy while focusing on healthy skin because what you eat is as important as what you apply when it comes to skincare. It's not the ingredients in your favourite skincare products that make a difference but a holistic approach towards skincare truly does.
(Dr. Priyanka Reddy, Founder and Chief Dermatologist, DNA Skin Clinic and Wellness Centre)
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