Tuck into healthy beauty boosters
A VARIED diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is vital – but did you know there are certain foods that are better than others when it comes to improving your skin and hair? And they aren’t all fruit or veg.
Here, dietitian Lucy Jones reveals five beauty-boosting foods and how you can incorporate them into your diet.
ALMONDS
“Most people now know that Vitamin E, an antioxidant, helps to protect cells from oxidative damage, which is really important in terms of beauty. One portion of almonds, which is a handful, contains 60 per cent of your daily requirement of Vitamin E.
“Almond milk tends to be much lower in calories so for anybody trying to watch their weight it can be very helpful.”
AVOCADOS
“Fats are needed in a healthy, balanced diet, from keeping our cells supple right through to our nails. I’d have one slice of wholegrain toast with almond butter, one slice of toast with smashed avocado and an egg and smoked salmon and some mushrooms on the side.”
FISH
“Zinc is the only nutrient with an EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) approved claim of supporting nail health. Sources are meat and fish, and nuts like almonds. For zinc, shellfish is good and organ meats as well.”
OILS
“We have had a generation of people on low-fat diets which is not good for beauty, because fat plays such a role in cell-structure. But most of our fat should come from plant-based foods like olive oil, rapeseed oil, nuts and seeds, and oily fish.”
SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS
“Sun-ripened mushrooms are really high in vitamin D, which is a big beauty nutrient. It plays a role in our nail health, general health, in our immune systems, right through to our bone health.”