You may have heard that antioxidants are good for your health, but did you know that they’re also essential for beautiful skin?
Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that stop free radicals from damaging collagen, elastin, and skin cells. They also help your skin fight existing damage (such as redness and brown spots) and as mentioned in our last blog post, can enhance the skin’s ability to withstand sun damage.
When choosing skin care products, savvily search labels for antioxidants such as Vitamin C, green tea polyphenols, Vitamin E, alpha-lipoic acid, coffeeberry, pomegranate extract, grape seed extract, and coenzyme Q10.
We are what we eat, so power up your diet with antioxidants, too. Dr. Ava recommends what she calls “superskin foods”—foods that stand out when it comes to stopping free radicals, such as almonds, avocados, beans, blueberries, eggs, green tea, salmon, tomatoes, Vitamin-C rich foods, and yellow curry (turmeric). Fresh produce is also rich in antioxidants which fight the inflammation that accompanies acne, hormonal changes, and cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
Current research shows that combinations of different antioxidants have a synergistic effect, giving a better outcome than use of one antioxidant alone.
No matter what age you are, give your skin the best treatment possible by choosing products and foods that are scientifically proven to heal and protect it. Find skin care products with antioxidants from whole food stores to departments stores–the important thing is to learn how to read the labels!
For a detailed list of antioxidants and how they can help you, read Chapters 5 and 7 of “Heal Your Skin.”