Festive foods that promote flawless natural skin
•
December 19th, 2016
Festive foods that promise flawless, Christmas-party ready skin
Celebrating Christmas in style doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your picture-perfect complexion thanks to these foodie essentials
From presents, to parties to plates, ‘tis the season of indulgence.
And if you plan on spending the entire Christmas period stuffing your face with just mince pies, candy canes and roast potatoes, your skin might suffer just as much as your waistline…
But luckily, plenty of our festive food favourites are packed with glow-inducing vitamins and possess blemish banishing properties.
So, while you’re counting (eating) down the days until Christmas on your chocolate advent calendar, remember to balance treats with these festive foods to get skin glowing too.
Naughty or nice, snack on satsumas
Whether you get them in your stocking or they simply fill your fruit bowl throughout the entire festive period, don’t turn your nose up at snacking on satsumas throughout the holidays.
The high vitamin C content in the citrus fruit is what makes them such a skincare essential, as it help fight free radicals which promote flawless skin and fend off signs of ageing.
Aside from its many other benefits, Vitamin C also promotes the production of collagen, which is responsible for strengthening skin and preventing a loss of elasticity, too.
The quickest way to get a radiant glow from the inside out.
Bring on the nut roast!
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a festive nut roast and a brimming bowl of nuts ready to be freshly cracked open. But trust us, it’s all worth the effort, as nuts are a wonder for your skin.
Nuts are full of fatty acids that can not only boosts your mood to fend off wrinkle-inducing stress, but can also help to reduce inflammation and swelling on the skin.
Which means acne, psoriasis and eczema sufferers would do well to swap out oily crisp snacks for more-ish nuts over Christmas and New Year.
Nuts are also packed with vitamin E, known to keep skin soft and supple thanks to its ability to protect your complexion from environmental pollution, seal in moisture and heal scars and wounds.
Go nuts!
Bowl up the Brussels sprouts
Admittedly, they’re not everyone’s favourite part of a Christmas roast, but your nan’s going to insist you have a serving of sprouts anyway, so you may as well look on the bright side.
At least they’ve got some powerful skin saving properties!
Brussels sprouts are a great source of vitamin C and K, the last of which is known for its ability to reduce scarring and bruising.
And impressively, the little green guys can also ease the symptoms of painful and unsightly cold sores.
An enzyme in the vegetable called lysine is known to both inhibit cold scores from occurring and reduce them if they’re already rearing their ugly head.
Silver linings. eh…
Take on the free-range turkey
It’s the ultimate festive food, from your Christmas lunch to your sandwiches for days to come – unless you’re vegetarian or vegan.
So, it’s good to know that for meat-eaters turkey can be good for your skin, and that’s thanks in part to its high zinc content, in particular darker cuts of the lean meat.
Spots build up due to clogged up pores which in turn become swollen, and the mineral helps skin’s anti-inflammatory response kick in, easing the symptoms of acne.
Vitamin B12 in the meat can regulate pigment production too, helping to even skin tone.
In fact, the darker parts of turkey contain twice the amount of vitamin B and zinc in it as the rest of white meat, meaning more beauty boosting properties per portion.