Do you want smoother skin, more lustrous hair, stronger nails and a youthful
glow? Who doesn’t?
In our modern world of expensive creams, potions and procedures, many of us are willing to spend big bucks when it comes preserving or regaining our youthful looks.
But the secret to looking young and vibrant
doesn’t come in a fancy package. It doesn’t require needles, syringes and scalpels. And it won’t cost you a lot of money, either.
The key to looking vibrant at any age lies in the nutrient-dense diet of our ancestors.
The Ancestral
Answer to Beauty and Bulletproof Health
The attributes we find attractive are also those correlated with good health and fertility. So maximizing nutrition won’t just make you healthier on the inside… but more beautiful on the outside too.
Your body is intelligently designed to prioritize the nutrients we have available. When
you are deficient, your body preferentially uses nutrients for mission-critical biological processes like brain function, blood building and wound healing.
This is critical for survival.
But it’s bad for your
appearance, as you hair, skin and nails take their place at the back of the line for nutrients. If you’re lackluster in these departments, it’s a good indication that you are not getting the nutrients you need.
Beauty Superfoods: Five Key Nutrients to Enhance Your Looks
By enjoying a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods – including healthy fats, clean protein, connective tissue, organ meats and bone – you provide your body with an unparalleled source of beauty-enhancing nutrients including collagen, zinc, biotin, vitamin A and omega-3 fats.
Eating ancestrally also
eliminates or minimizes inflammatory compounds (like omega 6 fats from industrial seed oils), nutrient thieves (like phytates from grains) and DNA toxins (like sugar) that damage cells, bind up nutrients and promote the cross-linking of proteins that can lead to wrinkle formation.
Of course, it goes without saying that your diet should also include a wide variety of colorful,
non-starchy vegetables, nuts and berries. These foods provide powerful phytonutrients and antioxidant protection that promote health and slow down the aging process.
So, let’s take a look at five key beauty nutrients and the best foods to optimize them in your diet:
Collagen:
This protein, found in connective tissue, has the unique ability to be deposited where you need it. That means dietary collagen can actually add cushion to your hips and knees or help
to fill in fine lines and wrinkles on your face.
Eating meat on the bone and making bone broth a staple
of your diet are two great ways to top off your supply of this superfood beauty nutrient.
Zinc:
You probably know this mineral best for its important role in growth, healing and immunity.
But a deficiency in zinc (often due to inadequate
dietary consumption or binding with phytate-rich grain foods) can result in thinning hair and skin problems, including acne.
Get more zinc in your diet with oysters, grass-fed beef (and beef liver), lobster, shrimp, lamb and egg
yolks.
Biotin:
This
beauty nutrient is essential for hair growth and strong, healthy nails. The most concentrated sources of biotin are egg yolks and liver, with ample amounts in wild salmon, sardines, and chicken.
Vitamin
A:
You’ve probably seen synthetic vitamin A creams and supplements – prescription or over-the-counter – marketed as a potent remedies for wrinkles.
While these substances can help prevent wrinkles and combat acne (thanks to their ability to boost cell turnover and increase collagen production), they also come with a list of potential side effects.
Eating vitamin A rich foods –
including beef and chicken liver, egg yolks, wild salmon and mackerel – can provide your body with this powerful anti-aging vitamin – without the unwanted side effects.
Omega-3 Fats:
Found primarily in wild game and seafood and meat from animals raised on pasture, omega-3 fats provide powerful protection against inflammation – a key disease process that promotes physical aging.
Boost your intake of omega-3s with wild salmon, sardines and mackerel as well as a high quality fish oil or krill oil supplement.
Optimizing Your Nutrition for Beauty… and Beyond
Enjoying delicious meals that include these nutrient-dense superfoods combined with a variety of non-starchy vegetables, is not just the best way to fortify your health… but also your appearance!
To Your Health,
Kelley Herring
Healing Gourmet
REFERENCES
Shanahan, Catherine MD., Shanahan, Luke. Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional
Food. 2009
USDA National Nutrient Database
“How Paleo Makes You Look Younger, Sexier and More Vibrant”. ChrisKresser.com. Web. 14 Feb. 2014
