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Have you ever woke up in the morning, looked in the mirror and noticed your face looks dull or those fine lines got a little deeper? Yikes, beauty sleep didn’t work.

Remember what you ate the night before? Most likely a lot of processed food, or perhaps overindulged on sweets. Yep, that’ll do it. I, myself am guilty of this. I’ll get that little snack attack and overdo it on the M&M’s or Hershey Kisses. But it doesn’t end with the one night. This goes on for a few days and then I’m like, OK, that’s enough. And as sure as that AM alarm clock goes off, I take a look in the mirror and see those wrinkles appear a lot more prominent than past mornings.

I can’t stress enough how the saying “you are what you eat” is such a true statement. What you put in your body impacts how you look and feel.

Now without getting too science”y” your skin undergoes a lot of stress (don’t we know It), by way of foods we eat as well as environmental influences such as our jobs or that last minute school project that you found out is due in the morning. For now, lets focus on the food since this is more under our control.

Foods low in fiber, those that come mainly from animal sources and lack antioxidants cause inflammation and allow the free radicals to spread throughout our body causing our skin to age. Antioxidants are what help protect our body from these free radicals.

What are these foods we should avoid?

Sugar

The main culprit of most of our health woes is sugar. Besides causing weight gain and chronic disease (more on this in a later post), sugar breaks down collagen, which is the protein that gives skin elasticity and that youthful appearance. The breakdown of collagen causes skin to wrinkle.

What to do about it? Skip those sugary coffee drinks, soda, cake, donuts, candy bars…you get the picture. Now those are the obvious foods we think of when we talk about sugar. What’s not so obvious is the food manufacturers who sneak in sugar in their packaged food. Next time you’re out shopping, read the labels. Mostly everything has added sugar. Dressings, tomato sauce, condiments, bread, all contain added sugars.

Switch soda to lemon water, or a sparkling water (it has fizz). Still need your caffeine fix, switch to the small cup of the fancy coffee or brew some at home and add a flavored creamer. Take it a step further and add a collagen peptide creamer. I’ve mentioned in “Your Essential Guide to Collagen”, the benefits of collagen supplements. Vital Proteins has a mocha creamer which you can purchase on Amazon. I add collagen peptides to my coffee every morning.

Read those labels! Check how much added sugar per serving is in the food. Note also that added sugar comes in many names. Anything that ends with -ose is a sugar. Big one is fructose. Others are sucralose, sucrose, dextrose to name a few of the popular ones.

Processed meat

We’re talking hot dogs, bacon, lunch meat, pepperoni (yes buh bye pepperoni pizza), salami. These foods are filled with nitrates which cause inflammation and sodium which causes puffiness. See why we need to stay away from these foods.

What to do about it? Avoid them like the plague. Of course, every so often we get a taste for a hot dog or a slice of pepperoni pizza. In that case, don’t overindulge and make sure you drink plenty of water.

Fried food

I know, I know…..french fries. And my ultimate favorite, onion rings. Fried foods are awful for us overall. Frying in hot oil releases free radicals which damages our skin. Not to mention the trans fats which over time causes health issues such as obesity, heart disease and can trigger autoimmune diseases.

What to do about it? There are a few options. You can actually “fry” food in the oven. For fries, on a baking sheet, spread out the potatoes, spray with olive oil and bake at 475 degrees. Same with other types of food such as chicken cutlets or even tilapia. Coat them with bread crumbs, place on a baking sheet, spray with olive oil and bake at 475 degrees. Second option is to use an air fryer. I personally use the Ninja Air fryer. This one is a great little kitchen helper. Its also a pressure cooker, slow cooker, steamer, and broiler. For the price its really versatile and definitely offers a healthy alternative to frying.

Food in a box

Processed food that comes in a box, absolute no-no. These foods have so many added preservatives and chemicals it’s ridiculous. Remember when I said to read labels to look at the sugar content? Keep on reading and check out the ingredient list. Even those so-called healthy alternatives found in the frozen food section are horrible.

What to do about it? Simple, make your own food. Not only is it better for your skin and overall health, it’s better for your wallet. For the price of buying boxes of food, you can make a healthy meal and when you make extra you have enough to make a healthy lunch.

Red Meat

Fatty meat as I mentioned earlier, causes inflammation and impacts our skin from making collagen.

What to do about it? Lean cuts of meat such as chicken, turkey, eye of round beef, top sirloin, top round are all good choices.

Conclusion

A diet rich in lean meat, fresh fruit and vegetables will help fight off the signs of aging on the inside and out.

Adding additional collagen supplements will help skin’s elasticity and micronutrients which have antioxidants to fight off free radicals all aid in making us look and feel better. And who doesn’t want that?

My 28 Day Nutrition Kickstart Program can set you on the right path to eating healthy and having better looking skin.