Food and Antioxidants for the Skin

Dermal Fillers, laser treatments, and regular facials all serve as contributing factors in restoring our youthful skin, but another key factor to keeping your skin healthy are antioxidants. We all know nutrition is crucial for our overall health, but sometimes people tend to forget what we eat affects the largest organ in the body - the skin. 

It's likely you have heard that antioxidants are beneficial for the skin, but what is their role in glowing skin? Antioxidants can reduce and reverse oxidation in skin cells caused by UV damage and stress to the skin overtime. There are plenty of antioxidant rich foods that can help contribute to glowing skin. Tomatoes, blueberries, almonds, garlic, olive oil, green tea. and even dark chocolate naturally contain antioxidants. Whether you consume it as a beverage, or as an extract applied topically, it suppresses matrix metalloproteinases, the enzymes responsible for breaking down collagen. This helps slow the skin’s natural aging process. 

Not only can antioxidants help fight signs of aging, but they can also help with acne and breakouts. Foods that inflame acne, most notably dairy, do so by increasing the amount of circulating steroid sex hormones and increasing the the activity of an enzyme called TOR (target of rapamycin) which results in larger, more productive sebaceous glands. Since its antioxidants reduce oxidative stress, it can also reduce acne and make the skin appear brighter. 

Antioxidants can also be found in skincare products. Vitamin C, for example, is a terrific antioxidant that boosts collagen production and can inhibit hyperpigmentation. Niacinamide is another antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties which can improve the skin's texture as well as skin tone. Retinol, a derivative of Vitamin A is another key antioxidant that can reduce fine lines and wrinkles by accelerating cell renewal and repair.  

We think the best protocol to ensure your skin gets the proper daily dose of antioxidants is to incorporate them into your diet, as well as topically through skincare for improving your overall skin health.