New York Dermatology

Forget plastic surgery. All you have to do is eat your way to great-
looking skin.
http://www.nycdermatologist.com
Can you look younger by stuffing your face? Absolutely! The healthier
the foods you consume are, the better your skin looks. No vitamin C
and you’ll have no collagen.
http://www.dermatologynyc.org
Too little vitamin A or essential fats and you’ll have dry, rough
skin, and too little zinc is a recipe for greasy skin and stretch
marks.
http://www.nydermatologygroups.org
So forget plastic surgery. For glowing, gorgeous, youthful skin, it
makes sense to eat your way to fewer wrinkles, pimples, age spots and
other beauty plagues.

Resurfacing your skin

It’s no accident that vitamin A is the number one vitamin used
topically to improve the texture and appearance of ageing skin.

Vitamin A is a powerful agent for increasing cell turnover, so that
skin looks more youthful.

This skin vitamin comes in two forms: retinol, the animal form found
in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products; and beta-carotene, found in
red, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables.

Apricots, carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin are all good sources of
beta-carotene.

Sydney-based naturopath Penelope Sach, author of Natural Woman
(Penguin), advises: “Include a raw carrot juice daily for the natural
vitamin A content, which helps to regenerate skin cells. “

Foods to tighten and tone

Thanks to New York Times bestselling author Dr Nicholas Perricone, we
now know that good skin is a very fishy business.

Fish is not only a good source of the antioxidant co-enzyme Q10
(CoQ10), but an outstanding source of high-quality protein that helps
with cellular repair and essential fatty acids (EFAs), which are
responsible for healthy cell membranes, he says.

EFAs hold water, so the stronger they are, the plumper and younger
your skin looks.

Fish also contains a powerful antioxidant compound called
dimethylaminoethanol or DMAE.

“This chemical stimulates nerve function and the muscles to contract
and tighten under the skin,” says Dr Perricone in The Perricone
Prescription (HarperCollins).

“It is a magic bullet for great skin tone, keeping your face firm and
contoured.”

Sach says: “For radiant skin, eat cold-water fish such as salmon,
mackerel or tuna, three times a week.”

Other good face firmers are walnuts and flaxseed oil, soya oil,
pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.

Flaxseed oil may also be useful in the treatment of skin conditions
such as eczema.

Natural wrinkle fighters
http://wwww.nycdermatologist.com
Perhaps your skin’s biggest enemies are free radicals, produced by UV
rays as well as pollution, stress and even breathing.

These nasties lead to skin inflammation, as well as the degradation of
collagen, the support structure for your skin, according to Leslie
Baumann, of the dermatology department at the University of Miami in
Florida.

But nature has designed some pretty clever foods that, if eaten
regularly, act as natural wrinkle fighters.

Start with apricots and tomatoes, rich in lycopene, nature’s
sunscreen.

For maximum anti-ageing, add a daily bowlful of berries, a glass of
red wine or a freshly brewed pot of tea.

In a 2004 study by the veterinary science faculty at the University of
Sydney, a potent free-radical scavenger called pycnogenol was found to
reduce the amount of inflammatory sunburn in mice.

Pycnogenol can be found in grape seed, grape skin, cranberry,
blackcurrant, green tea, black tea, blueberry, blackberry, strawberry,
black cherry, red wine and red cabbage.

Still want a stronger defence against free radicals and the surgeon’s
knife?

Here’s a potent free radical-busting combination: vitamin C, vitamin
E, glutathione and CoQ10.

A 2002 German study published in the Journal Of Pharmacological And
Biophysiological Research found that, together, these antioxidants
could reduce inflammation caused by UV rays.

You’ll find vitamin E in vegetable oils, nuts and green leafy
vegetables, and vitamin C in leafy citrus fruit, berries and green
leafy vegetables.

Asparagus is high in glutathione and CoQ10 is found in seafood,
spinach and nuts.

Other antioxidant-rich foods are prunes, plums, capsicum, beetroot,
parsley, figs, raisins and legumes such as red kidney beans.

And don’t forget herbs and spices, an often neglected way to boost
antioxidants in the body.

“Herbs and spices contain several natural water-soluble phenolic acids
and flavonoids that can protect the body against oxidative stress and
inflammation,” says Dr Michael Fenech, principal research scientist on
the CSIRO’s Genome Health and Nutrigenomics Project in Adelaide.
http://www.nycdermatologist.com
Add cinnamon to your cappuccino, drink tea made of fresh mint or
ginger, roast lamb with herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme, and
indulge in turmeric-rich curries.

Try Gourmet Garden’s herb tubes if you can’t buy fresh.

Out, damn spot
There are two types of spots that detract from youthful skin: age
spots and pimples.

And Australasian soils are notoriously short of a trace element called
selenium.

This deficiency, along with sun exposure and sugar in the diet, is
believed to be a factor in age spots, says Erica Angyal, an Australian
nutritionist now based in Tokyo and author of Gorgeous Skin In 30 Days
(Lothian Books).

To stop spots, you should not only wear an SPF15+, but eat selenium-
rich foods, including garlic, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and sesame
seeds.

A study published in 2003 in the British Journal Of Dermatology also
showed that skin was less likely to suffer oxidative damage when
selenium levels were high.

Eating garlic, which also contains vitamin C and sulfur, can help
banish blemishes.

Zinc is another natural substance that is necessary for good skin.
Rich sources of zinc are oysters, ginger root, lamb, pecan nuts and
brazil nuts.

Softening up

Extra-virgin olive oil has a high concentration of a monounsaturated
fatty acid called oleic acid, one of the most powerful anti-
inflammatory foods in existence, says Dr Perricone.

“Oleic acid is a member of the omega 9 family,” he says. “It can make
the difference between a complexion that resembles a piece of old shoe
leather and one that looks and feels like a rose petal.”

For younger-looking skin, aim to eat about 20g – or two tablespoons –
of good fats a day, including olive oil.

Avocados contain oleic acid, as well as the antioxidants vitamin C and
E.

Try having some on toast with lycopene-rich tomatoes, accompanied by a
cup of green tea, for a super skin-boosting meal.

For baby-soft skin, avoid dehydrating drinks too, like alcohol and
caffeine.

“Try Campari and soda during summer, as this is less dehydrating than
wine and champagne,” says Sach. Of course, cool, filtered water is
great too.

Debloat and depuff

Your capillaries are the pipelines for your skin cells, says Angyal.

“When they are weak, or not working efficiently, your skin cells don’t
receive all the oxygen and nutrients they need.”

This leads to poor elimination and sallow, puffy, prematurely aged or
dull skin.

Bioflavonoids in citrus fruits can help to protect your capillaries,
as well as support collagen production. So, next time you’re at a
juice bar, mix pink grapefruit, orange or lemon into your fruit or
vegie blend
Dr. Rothfeld a board certified dermatologist at NYC Dermatology who
is an international spokesman for anti-aging. Dr. Rothfeld is in his
early fifties and is well known that he has the appearance of someone
who is in his mid thirties. Dr. Rothfeld will give you beauty tips
and teach you how to take care of your skin to avoid unneccessary
procedures to maintain your outer beauty.
.