Want those eyes to sparkle and your skin to shine with luminescence? While lengthy eyelash extensions and a splash of color on the cheeks certainly add dazzle, what you put in your body provides the foundation for radiance. A diet hardy in fruits and vegetables and high in protein keeps your body healthy and your skin fresh and youthful. But why eat the same old food every day? Tempt your taste buds and feed your skin with the five anti-aging all-stars below.
Kale for Health and Beauty
Kale is packed with vitamin K—one cup of this leafy green and you’re 12 times over the recommended daily allowance! Vitamin K keeps age-related health conditions like heart disease and osteoporosis at bay. It also helps battle those pesky under eye circles that threaten to dull the glamour of your Glad Lash extensions.
Dark circles can be hereditary, or caused by late nights out and lack of sleep. However, leaky capillaries that form blood clots and stain your skin with that familiar purple-blue hue cause the majority of problematic dark eye circles. Vitamin K constricts the capillaries and helps break up blood clots, thereby fading prominent under eye circles.
Kale is also low in calories and high in fiber. Eat a crunchy kale salad to balance blood pressure and cholesterol levels…and to help manage weight loss!
Tomatoes for Taut Skin
Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which is a phytochemical praised for its ability to help prevent cancer. As for the skin, lycopene boosts collagen production and prevents cellular damage that causes wrinkles and fine lines. According to Dr. Oz, if you heat tomatoes up before eating, the lycopene is more readily absorbed. Sprinkle with some extra virgin olive oil, which helps heals the skin from the inside out. While you’re at it, how about dousing your skin in olive oil, an all-natural moisturizer that’s loaded with vitamins and antioxidants.
Soothe Inflammation with Blackberries
Blackberries contain the bioflavonoid rutin, which contains anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. A 2012 Harvard Medical School study showed that rutin helps lower your risk of a cardiovascular event by strengthening blood vessels and blocking an enzyme that promotes blood clots.
Heart health aside, blackberries also contain vitamin C, the ultimate collagen builder! And did we mention that with such a high vitamin C and fiber content blackberries significantly slash your risk of cancer?
Stay Beautiful and Smart with Eggplant
Free radicals raid the body, transforming healthy cells into unstable molecules…accelerating aging…and launching chronic disease. Add some eggplant to your weekly menu as a way to control free radicals and decelerate aging. Eggplant owes its deep purple coat to a phytonutrient called nasunin. More than just a color dye, nasunin stops cancer cells from metastasizing by cutting off their access to the blood supply. Nasunin also kicks some free radical booty before they can do any damage…like destroying brain neurons!
Brussels Sprouts for Vision
Steam and season Brussels sprouts for an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and E to help protect against free radical damage. Vitamin A helps regenerate lackluster skin and is essential for acuity of vision. Brussels sprouts also contain zeaxanthin, a carotenoid that protects the eyes from UV rays and prevents retinal damage. After all, who wants to hide those gorgeous eyes behind heavy spectacles?
Can’t stomach Brussels sprouts? The key is variety. Add different shades of purple, blue and green to your plate everyday, and you’re bound to benefit from a healthy mix of anti-aging flavors!
Want those eyes to sparkle and your skin to shine with luminescence? While lengthy eyelash extensions and a splash of color on the cheeks certainly add dazzle, what you put in your body provides the foundation for radiance. A diet hardy in fruits and vegetables and high in protein keeps your body healthy and your skin fresh and youthful. But why eat the same old food every day? Tempt your taste buds and feed your skin with the five anti-aging all-stars below.
