Skin Care Expert proposes “Skin Snacks” to keep the glow

There are have been much talk about the connection between diet and skin complexion. While everyone’s bodies are different, and thus react uniquely to foods or triggers, there’s a growing consensus among skin care experts that improving your gut health will absolutely have beneficial effects on your skin. Additionally, loading up on skin-supporting foods will give your cells the nutrients they need to thrive.

This connection is so important, notes dermatological nurse and celebrity aesthetician Natalie Aguilar, that she encourages her clients to have skin snacks. “I always ask my clients to have three skin snacks a day, preferably berries,” she tells us about brightening skin. “Berries contain antioxidants that can protect your skin from the sun as well as vitamin C that can brighten your skin.”

You may already be folding skin snacks into your diet without realizing it (those egg whites in the morning? Great for collagen production. The olive oil and lemon dressing in your salad? Great for antioxidants and fatty acids.). But if you’re using this time of year to reevaluate your nutrition goals, this can be a useful reminder that gives you a youthful glow in the process.

Here are a few additional snacking ideas:

Fermented foods, like kimchi and kombucha, can help improve your gut microflora. A thriving microflora translates to better skin barrier health.

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants. Research shows that it supports your skin against environmental aggressors—the primary cause of wrinkles.

A cucumber is more than 95% water, so if you have a hard time remembering to drink water throughout the day, try noshing on some cucumber.

We can all benefit from eating more healthy fats—and getting those from avocados gives you other benefits, like over 14 minerals, protein, soluble fiber, phytosterols; polyphenols; carotenoids, and omega-3s.

Pomegranate seeds and pomegranate seed extracts are very useful for environmental aggressors. Take this randomized controlled trial, for instance, which found that pomegranate extract increased skin’s resilience against UVB rays; or this double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, which found that taking pomegranate extract orally could help with common sun-induced pigmentation.*

Ultimately, there are lots of foods out there that can support your skin—whether that be through collagen production, hydration, antioxidant protection, or gut support—and finding a nutrition program that works for you is about listening to your body. Eat up; your complexion will thank you.