Give Me An “A” For Clear Skin!

Yay for vitamin A!

Next to zinc, vitamin A is probably the most important nutrient for clear skin.

This multi-tasking nutrient is an antioxidant (fighting off free radicals and toxins that block pores), anti-inflammatory (helping reduce acne redness) and helps reduce sebum production.

It also acts as a light exfoliant to remove the top layer of skin – our skin cells are in a perpetual cycle of growth, repair and flaking off the surface, and vitamin A can help speed up this process, revealing the clear and glowing skin beneath dead skin cells.

Plants for carotenoids

Plant sources provide carotenoids (a precursor to vitamin A), the best of which is beta-carotene since it is most easily converted into retinol (a derivative of vitamin A).

Plant sources are not as easily absorbed by our body as they are from animal sources, since our body has to work at converting the carotenoids into retinol.

But the NIH states that consuming five servings of vitamin A-rich fruits and veggies daily contributes to about 60% of our daily requirement for the nutrient.  Considering that one serving of most fruits and veggies is equivalent to only 1/2 cup, that’s not too shabby!  And carotenoids from plant sources do provide significantly more special antioxidants that aren’t available in animal sources.

Wondering if you’re getting the power of vitamin A in your diet?

The main signs of deficiency are:

• Dry skin, hair, eyes and nails
• Vision issues such as night blindness

The colour orange is your key to finding vitamin A rich foods – carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, cantaloupe and mango are a good start!  Dried apricots are another well known “orange” food, but when purchasing this vitamin A-rich item, please look for brownish coloured ones – this is the natural colour of dried apricots (orange ones have been treated and coloured artificially for aesthetic appeal).  Don’t worry, the colour doesn’t affect taste!

Another great source of vitamin A are green leafies such as spinach, kale, collards and Swiss chard.

Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient, and so (bonus!) it will absorb better when consumed with fatty foods.  Try combining leafy greens in a salad with extra-virgin olive oil dressing, organic butter or ghee on your carrots, coconut oil combined with mashed sweet potatoes or mix cantaloupe and mango chunks in some Greek yogurt.

Being fat-soluble, it’s stored in the body so it is possible to get too much.  While eating foods high in vitamin A will be no problem, be careful with any supplementation of this vitamin.  Excessive intake can result in symptoms such as dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea and blurry vision.

 

Think Zinc for Clear Skin

Little ‘ol zinc is perhaps the most important mineral for healthy glowing skin.

There is so much to say about zinc – where to start?

Zinc is antibacterial and antimicrobial (killing infections on the skins surface), aids tissue healing (great for the scars that acne leaves behind,) regulates oil production (preventing pores from getting clogged) and reduces inflammation and redness. It also ensures the proper metabolism of testosterone, the main hormone involved in increased sebum production and acne formation. Whew! And that’s not all…..

By releasing and transporting vitamin A stores from the liver, zinc helps carry this other incredible acne-fighting vitamin to the skin for reduced inflammation and skin repair (more on the importance of vitamin A for clear skin in my next post….)

Zinc also facilitates ‘cell apoptosis’, which refers to cell turnover (old cells on the surface of the skin die and flake off, as new ones grow) which is a natural part of skin renewal. If this didn’t occur, cells would stick together and clog pores.

Wondering if you’re getting enough zinc in your diet?

Here are the main signs of deficiency

• Dry skin
• Hair loss
• Frequent colds/infections
• Slow wound healing
• Mental disturbances (such as memory loss, trouble concentrating, etc.)
• Diarrhea
• Loss of sense of taste and/or smell
• Fatigue
• Weak or brittle nails
• White spots on nails

Pumpkin seeds and oysters are by far the highest food sources of zinc.

Other zinc rich foods include dark chocolate (yessss!), garlic, chickpeas, whole grains, sunflower seeds, fish, eggs, walnuts, sesame seeds/tahini, lentils, pecans and quinoa. Soaking beans before cooking and nuts and seeds before eating them helps to make the zinc more bioavailable and easy to absorb (but don’t drink the water – it contains harmful compounds and should be dumped.)