Wellness

Supergreens: How Good Are Greens For Your Skin?

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: gorgeous skin starts from the inside out! But important are greens to your diet if you want a perfect complexion?

Image Credit @ Liz Collins for Vogue Poland

If you want to feel beautiful, you’ve got to Eat Beautiful (link already in)! I’m sure you’re all familiar with my book, packed full of recipes to help you eat fresh, skin-friendly seasonal meals to support your skin health, but just how important are greens for skin? Supergreens, leafy salads and green smoothies are often spoken about as the holy grail of beauty foods, but what exactly do they do for your skin? The colour itself is the first clue to greens super-skin powers. The green pigment, chlorophyll, is an anti-inflammatory and studies have suggested that eating lots of chlorophyll-rich foods can help prevent premature ageing and sooth inflammatory skin conditions. So, which supergreens should we add into our diets? Here are a few hero greens for skin from my book, and their skin-boosting benefits.

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Image Credit @ David Loftus for Eat Beautiful

Kale

Everyone’s favourite superfood, kale is loaded with vitamin K, helping to strengthen blood vessels, boost the circulation and protect the liver. It also helps to address bloating and reduce skin puffiness. It also helps to prevent free radical damage and increases cell turnover rate for improved radiance and glow.

Spinach

This iron-rich green for skin will help promote skin repair and is rich in antioxidants like vitamins A and C to further repair skin cells which boosting collagen production and supporting a more vibrant, youthful complexion. Vitamin K is also great for keeping skin clear and reducing inflammation, while the high water content of spinach is also good for keeping you hydrated.

Image Credit @ David Loftus for Eat Beautiful

Leafy Greens: Salad

A great source of anti-ageing phytochemicals, leafy greens go right to the source with their nutrients helping to support new growth, cell repair and detoxification of the body. Loaded with Vitamin A, which can help fight acne by limiting the production of sebum and Vitamin E to protect the skin from free radical damage, they also contain omega-3 farry acids to help maintain healthy cell membranes.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a good detoxifier, rich in vitamins and minerals and good for supporting clear skin. It also helps to keep hair and nails strong and healthy and promotes brain function for mental agility.

Rocket

This dark green salad leaf is a great mood booster and is also high in potassium, which improves cardiovascular health, and vitamin C, which helps the body produce collagen and fight the impact of free radicals. Eat it raw for the best benefits.

Cucumber

With a water content of 95 per cent, this super hydrator is packed with detoxifying nutrients, making cucumber the perfect internal cleanser. There’s a good reason cucumber slices placed over the eyes has been practiced for centuries: the vitamin C and caffeic acid help to relieve fluid retention and depuff the area.

TOP TIP

Eating plenty of greens for skin is a great idea, but if preventing premature ageing is your main skin concern, it’s also very important to remember your topical sunscreen and consider the use of retinoids.

For more greens for skin and other skin-boosting hero ingredients and recipes check out my book Eat Beautiful.

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