How Factory Foods Can Damage Health and Looks

Real FoodChristine Avanti is a celebrity nutritionist and author of Skinny Chicks Eat Real Food. Here, she shares how consuming real food is great for avoiding premature signs of aging and helps achieve luscious locks. 

Real food is high in antioxidants, which helps fight against free radical damage. Unfortunately, free radicals are the villains behind aging because they break down cells and slow cell rejuvenation. But avoiding fake factory foods, also know as packaged foods, and consuming a diet of real foods can help slow down the signs of aging. By consuming real food, the body is absorbing essential minerals and vitamins, such as vitamin C, which the body requires to produce collagen, thus improving the skin. 

Here are some of her favorite beauty foods:

Avocados, olives, and buckwheat contain monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and help maintain youthful and taut skin. As an added bonus, buckwheat also contains a flavonoid called rutin, which promotes elasticity.

Broccoli, kale, and spinach are excellent sources of vitamins A and C, which are needed to produce sebum.

Ginger offers anti-inflammatory properties and may help reduce puffy eyes.

Greek Yogurt and other low-fat dairy products, such as low fat cheese, offer calcium, a mineral that plays a role in growing locks. A Greek yogurt parfait with fruit and ground flaxseeds is a perfect snack for hair and skin because it packs omega-3 fatty acids and zinc.

Kiwi, oranges, papaya, and strawberries are rich in vitamin C, which promotes clear skin. Foods that are rich in vitamin C also help to ward off wrinkles, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin C also plays a role in collagen synthesis and production. Additionally, one cup of peeled kiwifruit contains more vitamin C than the equivalent amount of oranges.

Mussels and oysters are rich in zinc, which plays a major role in skin renewal and repair.

Omega-3 fatty acidare essential for beautiful hair. Clients who do not intake enough omega-3 may suffer from a dry scalp, causing dry, brittle hair. For vegetarians, recommend one to two tablespoons of ground flax seed, per day. 

Wheat germ and other foods high in vitamin B are important for youthful skin. This nutrient is responsible for creating new cells and supports rapid cell division. The best way to ensure skin is looking its best is to eat foods that offer nutrients needed to build healthy, new cells.