What are the best things to eat to improve the condition of my skin and hair?

It's important to try and maintain your B complex vitamins. So that would either be in the form of a B complex multivitamin supplement or otherwise, your whole grains, wheat germ, wheat bran, pumpkin seeds, things like that are very good for your hair and skin. As well as to try improving the vitamin C, so that would be fresh fruit and vegetables, like citrus fruits, broccoli, capsicum and parsley. It would also be a good idea to try and make sure that you are getting a consistent intake of protein because the protein plays a very important role in the strength of your hair as well as the formation of your skin. And there's also biotin, which is very important for your hair and skin.

I'd firstly recommend protein as it provides the building blocks for our skin and hair. It's important that you make sure you eat adequate protein during the day, which can be found in foods such as chicken, beef, pork, lamb, eggs, legumes, as well as fish and dairy.

Other foods that contain nutrients good for skin and hair include brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, oysters and shellfish. These contain zinc which is important for cell membranes, protein synthesis and wound healing.

Vitamin C, which is found in the dermis and epidermis and is involved in collagen production can be found in foods such as kiwi fruits, red capsicum and oranges. It can also act as an antioxidant which may protect the skin from free radical damage.

Other good foods would be those containing essential fatty acids such as salmon, or flaxseed oil as a vegetarian source.

Finally, a great one is water, a simple thing that can be overlooked at times but staying hydrated can help with a fresh complexion.

Things like oily fish like salmon is really great. It's high in protein and protein is the building blocks of our body tissues so that also includes skin and hair. It's also high in omega-3 and omega-6 which are the essential fatty acids. We can't get essential fatty acids them from our diet we actually have to make them ourselves and a lack of these essential fatty acids leads to dry, itchy scalp or skin.

The second type of food that I like to recommend for skin and hair to keep it healthy and lustrous is whole grains, like rolled oats, muesli, whole grain breads things like that, that are really high on B vitamins and also specific antioxidants like vitamin E. Sometimes, these B vitamins are referred to as skin vitamins because their deficiency usually shows up as dry, itchy, scaly skin.

The other thing I recommend for hair and skin is plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, vitamin C which you find in oranges, lemons, kiwi and capsicum. It's full of vitamin C which is great for collagen and collagen is what plumps up skin, giving it support and shape as we age. As we age, we tend to lose collagen and that's where skin loses its fullness.

The other vitamin is vitamin A. It's present in carrots, sweet potatoes and other orange, yellow, red, and green fruits and veggies. It's a really powerful antioxidant and prevents against damaging free radicals which of course are smoking, sun damage and other environmental factors. So that means it's really great for keeping your skin and hair healthy and shiny. Also, water, it's really important to keep hydrated. Water aids in circulation because it delivers nutrients to your body and dehydration makes dull, sagging skin and lifeless hair.

I had a bad acne when I was 18 and my dermatologist recommended me to drink plenty of water, avoid greasy and fry food, eat more carrots, fish, whole grain, nuts, kiwi, eggs, broccoli. Overall, just eat healthy. It helped to clean up my face in 1-2 months. 

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