5 Foods to Eat for Better Skin

Hey friend, welcome to The Fit Flamingo Podcast. In this episode, I share 5 foods to eat for better skin. My favorite thing about this topic is that when you focus on incorporating more of these 5 foods into your diet, your gut health and overall health improves too.

So, if you want to know what foods will help you have glowing, radiant skin from the inside out this episode is for you!

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01. Hydrating Fruits

Fruits high in antioxidants help boost your skin’s glows while also fighting off oxidative stress and free radicals in the body. Reach for fruits like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, cranberries, goji berries, and açai berries for an antioxidant boost.

Fruits high in Vitamin C (things like oranges, grapefruit, pineapple) are great for the skin too!

With fruit, take a deep breath and tune into your cravings. Your cravings are usually spot on when it comes to foods and vitamins that your body may be needing more of. Trust your gut!

Fruits are especially healing when it comes to the skin because of how hydrating they are. So if you’re someone who struggles to drink enough water throughout the day, lean into fruits. They count as water too!

02. Dark Leafy Greens

Spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, and collard greens are hydrating, packed with fiber, and contain Vitamin A, which helps boost radiant skin from the inside out. Dark leafy greens can help to improve digestion and nutrient absorption.

03. High Quality Fats

Nutrient dense oils like olive, avocado, and coconut oil help boost skin, brain, and gut health.

Avocados are another incredible source of high quality fat! Even nuts (like walnuts and almonds) and seeds (like hemp, chia, flax, and pumpkin) are packed with nutrients and fat that your skin loves.

As a pro tip, when shopping for oils, make sure they are contained in a dark green or colored glass bottled. This protects the oil from becoming rancid in bright lights and heat. Also, look for words like organic, cold-pressed, unrefined, and virgin. These words indicate that the oils are minimally processed.

PS: Stay away from seed oils! Seed oils like canola, corn, soy, sunflower, safflower, and grapeseed oil are usually yellow in color and found in a see-through plastic container. Often, these oils are dyed to provide that yellow color and look more appealing on the grocery store shelf.

Overall, seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which cause inflammation in the body. These oils also have a higher chance of going rancid in the body, which can cause a build up of toxins.

04. Green Tea

Green tea is a powerful antioxidant! It has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that help control excess oil production and support lymphatic drainage, your immune system, and overall gut health. Skin and gut health are directly connected!

When it comes to green tea, quality matters. A lot of teas are tested and come back positive for containing pesticides and heavy metals like lead, aluminum, and arsenic. Tea bags can even contain toxic plastic properties that seep into your water, causing a buildup of toxins in your body.

Look for certified organic, non-GMO teas to ensure quality. Organic produce does not use pesticides. Look for teas made with real, whole ingredients and avoid teas that contain “natural” flavors. You can even do a quick Google search to see if your favorite tea brand has been tested and declared pesticide and heavy metal free by a third-party company.

My personal favorite green tea is the Jasmine Green Tea from Pique Teas! I’ll share an Amazon link here.

05. Spices like Cinnamon, Turmeric, and Paprika

These spices help reduce inflammation, are high in antioxidants, and are grounding and warming to the body. If you find yourself craving spices, add them to your next meal! I love adding cinnamon in my morning coffee.

Bonus: Water

Hydration is the key for better skin. But not all water is created equally! We want to avoid tap water and plastic water bottles as much as possible. Tap water can contain heavy metals and when plastic water bottles get warm they can leak toxins from the plastic into the water.

If you body is absorbing a lot of heavy metals and toxins, it places a heavier demand on your body’s ability to detox. Your body will prioritize the detoxification of these toxins and heavy metals before prioritizing better skin.

Filtered and sparkling water contained in glass bottles is a great alternative! My husband & I have a Berkey water filter at home and it’s literally my favorite thing that we own. I’ll link our favorite Berkey water filter here!

Have a specific question? Send me a DM on Instagram!

Friendly reminder: You are enough.

With Love from your Fitness Coach & Wellness Obsessed BFF,
Madison | The Fit Flamingo

Hi, I’m Madison Deaton. As a personal trainer, nutrition and self-love coach, I focus on the inside first, helping you get to the root of why you think and feel the way you do. Then I use things like functional fitness, holistic nutrition, mindset and self-love tools to help you connect with yourself on a deeper level, see things from a new perspective, and unlearn habits that no longer serve you so you can take up space, step into your power, and become the woman of your dreams (friendly reminder: she has been YOU all along). Welcome to The Fit Flamingo! I’m so glad you’re here.