If you’re like me, you take care of your skin. You use sunscreen every morning. You wash your face every night. You even started an anti-aging regimen as a teenager. (Or, is that last one just me?)
But, is your skin the best it can be?
All the topicals in the world can’t guarantee great skin if your diet is lacking. Great skin is helped by great nutrition—specifically, incorporating plenty of Omega-3s and antioxidants. While there are definitely food choices you can make for better skin, today I’m focusing on your drink choices, and how exactly you can drink your way to better skin.
Water. Water is vital for both skin health and overall health. It keeps the body functioning properly and makes your skin look plumper and firmer. Experts agree that the right amount of water for each person is half their body weight (in ounces). For example, if a woman weighs 140 pounds, she should drink 70 ounces of water each day.
Lemon Water. Starting your day with a big glass of lemon water (like I discussed here) can help flush toxins out of the body to rejuvenate skin. Added bonus: lemon water also helps with digestion, increases metabolism and boosts your immune system.
Green Juice. Vegetables, especially kale, are amazing multi-vitamins for your skin. Kale is packed with vitamin A, vitamin C and copper, which are all staple ingredients in anti-aging creams. Kale also helps promote healthy cell growth and healthy cell turnover, getting rid of old, dull skin, and keeping skin strong. Need a little guidance on how to create a green smoothie you actually like? Start with the recipe below, then tinker with it based on your preferences. It provides a perfect combination of natural sugar to sweeten it, and green veggies to hydrate and de-puff the skin.
Combine all ingredients in a juicer or high-powered blender
- 1 apple
- 4 celery stalks
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- 2 carrots
- 1 beet
- 1/2 handful of kale
- lemon and ginger to taste
Soy Milk. Using soy milk instead of regular milk in your morning coffee or tea can help protect collagen and prevent new wrinkles from forming due to sun exposure. The minerals and proteins in soy milk can also help brighten and even-out your skin tone.
Green Tea. Green tea, like I’ve mentioned before, is excellent for your skin. It’s loaded with antioxidants that protect the skin against sunburn and reduce redness and inflammation in your cheeks. For best results, drink two or three cold cups a day. If you do go for cold green tea, be sure to make it yourself. The bottled kind you pick up at the store is loaded with sugar and not much else.
Pomegranate Juice. This super juice is packed with twice the anti-oxidants and polyphenols as green tea, and nurtures your skin’s fibroblasts, which make collagen. Drinking a glass of this a day produces more collagen, results in less wrinkles and fine lines, and evens out your skin tone.
Cucumber Water. Cucumbers are already mostly water, so when you infuse them with a daily glass of water, they help super-hydrate your skin. They’re also filled with magnesium, potassium and other minerals that help keep the alkaline pH of skin and decrease inflammation.
What are you favorite drinks, regardless of health value? (Let’s just say, if Long Island Teas were health, I’d be in a world of trouble.)
Lauren Cathleen 
Great list, thank you for sharing !
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