These Foods Can Help Turn Back The Aging Clock

Learn the foods that can help us look younger. Check out the article we found over at Health Mag.

by Barbara Stepko
From Health magazine

You can head off a lot of your most common beauty concerns simply by downing the right foods. That’s right—eating well not only does wonders for your waistline and bolsters your immune system but can also provide some very real get-gorg benefits, such as smoothing wrinkles, giving hair a glossy shineand strengthening flimsy nails. “Your diet directly affects your day-to-day appearance and plays a significant role in how well you age,” says Joshua Zeichner, MD. The smart approach, Dr. Zeichner says, is to create a plan that includes what he calls “the building blocks of healthy skin and hair”—nutrients, minerals and fatty acids—as well as antioxidants to protect your body from damaging environmental stresses. Get ready to nab some beauty-boosting perks by tossing these essential face-saving edibles into your grocery cart.

Kale

On the long list of this leafy green’s nutrients are vitamin K (it promotes healthy blood clotting, so the blood vessels around the eyes don’t leak and cause Walking Dead-like shadows) and loads of iron. “Insufficient levels of iron in your diet can cause your skin to look pale, making it easier to spot blood vessels under the skin,” explains Howard Murad, MD, associate clinical professor of medicine at UCLA. To max out the benefits, eat the veggie cooked, not raw.

Watermelon

The summertime fave is loaded with lycopene. “This antioxidant compound gives watermelon andtomatoes their red color—and helps skin stave off UV damage,” says nutrition pro Keri Glassman, RD, founder of NutritiousLife.com. Researchers believe that the melon contains as much as 40 percent more of the phytochemical than raw tomatoes; that’s the equivalent of an SPF 3, so use it to bolster (not replace) your daily dose of sunscreen.

Pomegranates

The seeds of this wonder fruit are bursting with antioxidants, like vitamin C, that prevent fine lines, wrinkles and dryness by neutralizing the free radicals that weather skin. A study in theAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that higher vitamin C intake lessened the likelihood of dryness and wrinkles in middle-aged women. Also in the fruit’s arsenal: anthocyanins (which help increase collagen production, giving skin a firmer look) and ellagic acid (a natural chemical that reduces inflammation caused by UV damage).

Blueberries

Boost radiance by popping some of these plump little beauties.Blueberries supply vitamins C and E (two antioxidants that work in tandem to brighten skin, even out tone and fight off free-radical damage), as well as arubtin, “a natural derivative of the skin lightener hydroquinone,” Dr. Zeichner says.

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Read full article: 10 Foods That Make You Look Younger