As you age levels fall, but eating plenty of beans can help replace it. Aim
for at least two tablespoons of beans each day - broad or butter beans make
a great substitute for mashed potatoes if you mix them with a little Greek
yoghurt.
3. GOJI BERRIES - SKIN-guru Dr Howard Murad
swears by the anti-ageing power of these red berries, claiming they are the
most "nutritionally dense food on the planet". Fact is, they have nearly 500
times more vitamin C per ounce than oranges - and vitamin C helps you make
the collagen that keeps skin firm. They also contain linoleic acid, an
essential fat that plumps skin up, making it look and feel younger. They're
most commonly used in smoothies or sprinkled over cereal - but celebs
including Naomi Watts like them in salads.
4. TURKEY - This white meat contains a vital
skin-friendly protein called carnosine that slows down a process in the skin
called cross-linking. When this happens, fibres grow into the collagen of
the skin making it stiff and inelastic. This then stops it snapping back
when you do things like smile, laugh or frown - and this is what causes
smile lines or crows feet. If you want to reduce your risk of these, don't
save turkey for Christmas, eat it two to three times a week.
5. FLAXSEED OIL - OIL YOU can gulp down by the spoonful,
mix it into smoothies or add it to balsamic vinegar and use it as a salad
dressing, but whatever you choose, have a tablespoon each day. "Flaxseed is
a major source of the healthy fat omega-3," says Suzi Grant, author of
Alternative Aging "Skin cells are surrounded by a fatty layer made from this
and other fats so, the higher your omega-3 intake the stronger that layer
is, and the plumper your skin cells are - which helps disguise lines and
wrinkles."
6. PRUNES - ONE of the biggest causes of skin ageing is
attack by substances called free radicals, that break down healthy skin
tissues. Nutrients called antioxidants help neutralise these free radicals
before they can do any damage - and prunes are the fruit containing the
absolute highest level of antioxidants. Blueberries are a close second. Eat
five to six prunes, or a small punnet of blueberries, daily to get a great
health boost.
7. BEETROOT - THIS is the top choice of independent
nutritionist Carrie Ruxton: "It's not only a great source of antioxidants,
all purple foods contain pigments called anthocyanins that help support
collagen production in the skin," she says. The obvious way to use beetroot
is to slice it up in salads, but you can now also buy beetroot juice in
supermarkets.
8. OLIVES - AUSTRALIAN researchers
recently discovered the more olive oil people had, the less wrinkled their
skin looked. "The oleic acid found in olives and virgin olive oil can make
the difference between a complexion that looks and feels like old shoe
leather - and one that looks like a rose petal," says dermatologist to the
stars Nicholas Perricone. A healthy fat, oleic acid actually soaks through
the membranes of skin cells plumping them up, which then makes fine lines
and wrinkles less noticeable. To build more olive products into your day
use olive oil for cooking, add olives to pasta sauce and salads - or
nibble on them whole as a healthy snack.
9. CHOCOLATE - For all you chocolate
lovers you can now indugle guilt free because Chocolate really is good for
your skin. In studies in Germany, it was found that after drinking a
cocoa-packed drink, blood flow to the skin was boosted (meaning it gets
higher levels of nutrients and moisture). It also seemed to be more
protected against UV damage - the number-one skin ager. Only dark
chocolate contains enough antioxidants to have effects, though.
10. RED PEPPERS - SWEET potatoes,
carrots and more - it's not just chocolate that protects skin against sun
damage. Research from Dr Ronald Watson at the University of Arizona has
found that the antioxidants in red, yellow and orange foods build up under
the skin creating extra UV protection. "The effect is so strong that
eating six portions a day for about two months will build a natural
barrier equivalent to a factor four sunscreen," says Dr Watson.
BEAUTY IN A PILL..is it worth it?
THERE are numerous skin boosting supplements available. But are they worth
the money or can you get everything you need from your diet? "This depends
on the nutrient," says Carrie Ruxton. "Supplements are worth considering
for skin-boosting nutrients with limited numbers of natural sources, for
example evening primrose oil. "But for antioxidants such as carotenes,
quercetin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, it's better to eat the natural foods. A
number of studies on single antioxidants given as pills have found no
benefit to health. This is probably because the antioxidants work together
or with other, as yet unidentified, phytonutrients.
For more about wrinkle free skin
