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An
optimal beauty diet includes vital vitamins, mighty minerals, and
generous quantities of antioxidants. These are the substances that combat free
radicals, compounds that are formed from normal activities like breathing and
digesting, as well as sun exposure, air pollution, radiation, toxins, food
additives, pesticides, smoking, stress, excessive exercise, drugs, alcohol, and
more. Free radicals cause damage—not only in our skin, where everyone can
see the results, but also inside our bodies, where the damage is hidden but
just as harmful.
Free
radicals are no joke. The “free radical theory of aging” holds that free
radicals wreak havoc on a molecular level, and over time this damage
accumulates to the point where we develop problems like wrinkles, cataracts,
cancer, and various other diseases and disorders of old age. The good news is that
there is a way to quench free radicals and to minimize the harmful effects they
cause.
Antioxidants to the Rescue
Antioxidants
are substances that take hungry free radicals out of circulation by supplying
them with the electrons they are seeking without doing any harm to the body.
Often, the antioxidant is itself oxidized and can no longer function as an antioxidant—unless
it is regenerated by another antioxidant. This is why you need a constant
supply of refreshing antioxidants!
It is
impossible to live a life that is completely free of all negative influences,
so it’s important to keep up your intake of antiaging antioxidants. Consuming
these powerful beauty nutrients is one of the simplest, most natural things you
can do when it comes to enhancing your health and beauty.
When you
eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, you take in natural antioxidants
such as beta-carotene and vitamin E, both of which are fat soluble and
therefore help protect the fatty membranes of cells, and vitamin C, which is
water soluble and helps protects cells from the inside. The more of these natural
antioxidants you consume, the greater protection you have against the effects
of aging, both health related and cosmetic.
Phenomenal Phytochemicals
Ancient
cultures have known about the medicinal qualities of plants for thousands of
years. Plants contain many substances that are biologically active. Some have a
direct effect on the body, while others are called biological
response modifiers because they somehow stimulate the body to help itself.
Neither
vitamins nor minerals, phytochemicals are simply chemicals produced by plants,
and some of them are very beneficial—especially because they have antioxidant
properties.
In
addition to fighting free radicals, they can enhance the immune response,
repair DNA damage, fight carcinogens and toxins, boost metabolism, and enhance
cell-to-cell communication. Phytochemicals include polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoids,
lignans, and many more. Foods rich in phytochemicals include onions, broccoli,
apples, red grapes, grape juice, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries,
blackberries, cranberries, cherries, plums, olive oil, chocolate, red wine, and
tea.
Beauty from the Inside Out
By now I
hope you have a solid understanding of the basic nutritional aspects of food
and how the nutrients in food contribute to your health and beauty. In
the next post, you’ll find all kinds of fascinating information about
the rejuvenating powers my Top 10 Beauty Foods. I’ve done the research for
you, so all you have to do is read up—and enjoy the delicious recipes that are
part of your Beauty Diet! Get ready to learn how you can achieve beauty
from the inside out, as I reveal to you the anti-aging secrets of my Top 10 Beauty Foods. Looking great has never been so delicious!
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