Skin health is about more than just what you put on your skin. It's about what you put in your body. Last month, we discussed some of the top nutrients to fill your diet with for an anti-aging diet plan - vitamin C, high-quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and carotenoids. It doesn't stop there, though! We're about to discuss several more skin-protecting foods.
While most of the nutrients we discussed in last months issue and in this months issue can be found in topical creams, including them in your diet is still essential.
In fact, the British Journal of Nutrition mentioned that the advantage of getting these nutrients via food (or possibly even supplementation) is that the bioactive compounds are metabolized and presented to the entire tissue, likely in an active form. Also, when these nutrients go through the gastrointestinal tract and pass the intestines, they reach our blood stream. The blood can continuously supply the skin with these bioactive nutrients and can feed all parts of the skin (the dermis, the epidermis, the subcutaneous fat, and even the sebum). 2
So what other nutrients do you need to make your anti-aging diet plan complete?
Quercetin
Meet one of the most abundant flavonoids in nature - quercetin. A flavonoid is a natural compound found in plants that gives them their vibrant colors. Because of their high antioxidant activity, flavonoids protect plants against insect pests and even sun damage. In fact, studies of foods high in quercetin, such as apples, have shown their ability to provide UV-B ray protection. 1
Other foods high in quercetin include onions, broccoli, beans, grapes, raspberries, cranberries, dark cherries, buckwheat, nuts, capers, grapefruit and other citrus fruits, asparagus, green tea, romaine lettuce, and even red wine.
Selenium
What role does selenium play in skin health? Its antioxidant activity may help protect against wrinkled skin from sun damage.
Selenium is present in skin cells as part of several antioxidant enzymes that inactive free radicals. 3 Interestingly, the skin has higher levels of one of these enzymes -thioredoxin reductase or TDR - when it is more susceptible to damage from UVB rays. 3
Rich sources of selenium are Brazil nuts, crimini mushrooms, cod, shrimp, sardines, yellowfin tuna, and halibut.
Water
Like a withered plant or dried fruit, dehydrated skin appears wrinkled. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep your skin hydrated and vibrant. Adequate hydration also ensures all the other nutrients you're consuming get transported to the trillions of cells throughout your body!
Linoleic Acid
Many studies, such as one published in the Journal of Korean Medical Sciences, find that levels of essential fatty acids in skin increase when the skin is exposed to UV rays. This may likely be because of the sun-protecting properties of essential fatty acids. 4
Fatty acids are essential for both the structure and function of skin. They are found in the outermost layer of skin - the stratum corneum - and also the membrane of each cell. 5
Linoleic acid is the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid found in the skin. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that subjects with higher intakes of linoleic acid had better skin-aging appearance. 6
Many cosmetic products have linoleic acid in them as thickening agents or emollients. However, some research shows it to be useful as an antioxidant.
Linoleic acid is the main omega-6 fatty acid in the typical American diet. It is found in foods such as edamame, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and flax meal, hempseeds and hempseed oil, grapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, and black currant seed oil. It is also found in corn, canola, safflower, sunflower, and soybean oil. However, these oils are typically refined and may be low in important nutrients.
References
1. Alexei Solovchenko, Michaela Schmitz‐Eiberger, Significance of skin flavonoids for UV‐B‐protection in apple fruits, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 54, Issue 389, 1 August 2003, Pages 1977–1984, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erg199
2. Br J Nutr. 2006 Aug;96(2):227-38.
3. McKenzie RC. Selenium, ultraviolet radiation and the skin. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2000;25(8):631-636.
4. Kim, E. J., Kim, M. K., Jin, X. J., Oh, J. H., Kim, J. E., & Chung, J. H. (2010). Skin aging and photoaging alter fatty acids composition, including 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid, in the epidermis of human skin. Journal of Korean medical science, 25(6), 980–983. doi:10.3346/jkms.2010.25.6.980
5. Hansen HS, Jensen B. Essential function of linoleic acid esterified in acylglucosylceramide and acylceramide in maintaining the epidermal water permeability barrier. Evidence from feeding studies with oleate, linoleate, arachidonate, columbinate and alpha-linolenate. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1985;834:357–363.
6. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Oct;86(4):1225-31.