The 20 Best Foods For Healthy Skin

When aiming to achieve healthy skin, incorporating the right foods into your diet can be the difference between dry, cracked skin and radiant skin. In this blog, we talked to Whitney Crowe, M.D., a family medicine physician at INTEGRIS Health Medical Group Great Plains in Oklahoma City to learn why a nourishing diet contributes significantly to skin health and explore which nutrient-rich foods can help you attain and maintain healthy skin.

The relationship between food and skin

A balanced diet can positively impact your skin, as it needs many vitamins, minerals and fatty acids to repair cells, heal wounds, retain moisture, protect against harmful UV rays and enhance elasticity.

However, a poor diet can also adversely impact your skin. Eating refined sugars, refined carbohydrates, processed foods and foods high in saturated fat can create skin inflammation, lead to premature skin aging, cause skin to lose elasticity, result in wrinkling and sagging and skin conditions such as acne, atopic dermatitis and eczema flare-ups.

Nutrients that are good for your skin

Nutrients are great for the skin because they provide vital nourishment, help renew skin cells, improve skin elasticity, and boost overall skin health. Here are specific examples of how nutrients impact the skin:

• Vitamin A: Plays an important role in producing healthy skin cells and has anti-aging properties.
• Vitamin C: Helps produce collagen, which provides firmness and elasticity of the skin.
• Vitamin D: Controls inflammation, improves skin hydration, supports wound healing and promotes skin cell growth.
• Vitamin E: Serves as an antioxidant and protects skin from inflammatory damage after UV exposure. It also helps moisturize, heal and strengthen the skin’s barrier.
• Biotin: Also known as B7, it helps produce fatty acids to keep skin nourished.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Moisturizes and hydrates the skin to help with conditions that produce dryness or itchiness. 
• Copper: Stimulates collagen production, repairs injured tissue and aids in wound healing. 
• Potassium: Helps keep the skin hydrated by helping to regulate the epidermis’ (top layer of the skin) capacity to hold water.
• Selenium: Minimizes skin damage, improves skin elasticity and firmness and can have anti-aging properties.
• Zinc: Helps heal wounds and smooth skin. There is a higher concentration of zinc in the epidermis.

“We know that a healthy, balanced diet can lead to many potential health benefits. Our skin, the largest organ in our body, is no exception. Start by cutting back on processed foods and adding one or multiple of these fun foods,” says Whitney Crowe, M.D., a physician at INTEGRIS Health Medical Group Great Plains Family Medicine.

Best foods for your skin

• Avocados: Avocados are a superfood for a reason – they’re chock full of fiber, healthy fats, potassium, iron and vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin E and biotin (vitamin B7). The fat content acts as a skin moisturizer, and the vitamins and minerals help keep the skin healthy and protected from inflammation.
• Blood oranges: Blood oranges contain vitamin C and antioxidants, which can protect skin from damage and premature aging. Anthocyanin, a type of plant pigment found in blood oranges, offers antioxidant benefits, while vitamin C is necessary to produce collagen, ensuring the skin stays firm and elastic. 
• Bone broth: Bones and cartilage contain collagen, which breaks down into another protein called gelatin when broth is cooked. This gelatin contains important amino acids that keep skin hydrated, elastic and rejuvenated.
• Broccoli: Broccoli contains vitamin C and beta-carotene, a pigment found in many fruits and vegetables. While vitamin C helps produce collagen to promote skin elasticity, beta-carotene is important because it can be converted by the body into vitamin A. 
• Carrots: Carrots contain vitamin C for collagen synthetic and beta-carotene to provide antioxidant properties.
• Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout): These types of fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat that keeps the skin’s moisture barrier healthy. Of the types of omega-3 fats, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are both considered marine omega-3’s because they’re found in fish. Mackerel has the highest amount of combined EPA and DHA (2 grams per 3 oz. serving).
• Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds provide a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, lignans and antioxidants. The fatty acids come from alpha-linolenic acid, which helps maintain the skin’s lipid barrier to regulate moisture and hydration. Meanwhile, lignans, a type of plant compound similar to human estrogen, can protect against oxidative stress and inflammation.
• Green tea: Green tea is full of catechins, a type of polyphenolic phytochemicals beneficial for protecting against UV damage. They also have anti-inflammatory properties to help provide relief against skin conditions.
• Kimchi: As a fermented food, kimchi offers many health benefits ranging from fighting inflammation to providing a more balanced skin microbiome. Kimchi contains vitamin B12, which can help with dry, irritated skin.
• Kiwis: Kiwis are high in vitamin C to aid in collagen production and promote healthy skin. Don’t peel kiwis, either, as the skin is high in antioxidants. 
• Leafy greens (collards, kale, spinach): Of the foods listed, leafy greens typically have the most bang for your buck in terms of valuable nutrients for your skin. Leafy greens boast vitamin A, vitamin C and B vitamins, along with zinc and selenium. Together, these nutrients play a role in skin healing, collagen production, firmness, elasticity and anti-aging.
• Organ meats (liver, heart, kidneys): Organ meats have a high concentration of iron and B vitamins. Iron helps the body create red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the skin to aid in cellular repair. Iron also plays a role in collagen synthesis. 
• Peppers (red, yellow, orange, green): Peppers contain vitamins A, C and E and beta-carotene to support collagen production and keep the skin healthy. The more colorful peppers, such as red, yellow and orange, contain higher amounts of vitamin C to help heal and rejuvenate skin tissue.
• Strawberries: Strawberries are high in vitamin C, which can heal blemishes and brighten the skin. They also provide a good source of manganese, a mineral that aids in collagen production.
• Sunflower seeds: Sunflower seeds are loaded with vitamin E, which both nourishes the skin and defends against the sun’s harmful UV rays. The seeds also contain oils in the form of fatty acids – linolenic, oleic and palmitic – that assist with collagen production.
• Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E to keep skin healthy, elastic and to fight against free radicals. They also contain beta-carotene, a nutrient that gives plants their pigment (color). Beta-carotene aids in cell growth and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
• Tomatoes: Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, which plays a crucial role in supporting skin repair and collagen synthesis. Most tomatoes are red, and the color comes from the presence of lycopene, a carotenoid that provides antioxidant properties.
• Walnuts: Walnuts contain vitamins (vitamin E and vitamin B6) that keep skin healthy and fight against free radicals. They’re also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids to promote smoother, more hydrated skin.
• Watermelon: Like tomatoes, watermelon is rich in both vitamin C and lycopene to protect skin from oxidative damage and keep skin healthy, vibrant and elastic.
• Yogurt: Yogurt contains lactic acid, a chemical produced when carbs are broken down into energy. Lactic acid helps exfoliate the skin and enhance skin texture.

Whitney Crowe, M.D., is a family medicine physician with INTEGRIS Health Medical Group Great Plains in Oklahoma City. She is accepting new patients. Click here to schedule an appointment.

For more health and wellness content, visit the INTEGRIS Health For You blog.