Diet and Exercise Impact on Your Skin
You’ve all heard the expression “You are what you eat” and it’s true! Your food intake has a direct impact on your outward appearance, your waistline, and more specifically your skin. You know that sluggish and sleepy feeling you get after indulging in a hearty and heavy lunch or dinner? If those meals can make you feel that way, imagine how it impacts your skin! Get a pen because I’m about to drop some serious knowledge nuggets that you’re going to want to remember.
For instance gluten, which is found in wheat and rye, is known to cause inflammation leading to facial bloating, itchy rashes, and pigmentation of the skin. Although chemical peels are known to help treat these types of skin reactions, eliminating gluten from your diet and drinking more water can offer results along with targeted anti-inflammatory products.
Dairy can also be another cause of inflammation in the skin. As we get older, our tolerable to lactose decreases due to our bodies inability to digest dairy products, resulting in dark circles around the eyes and under-eye bags. Milk products in combination with high levels of refined sugars disrupt the balance of your hormones making your skin more prone to acne and pore blockage. Instead of eliminating milk completely from your diet, try almond, soy, oat milk or products that are heavy in Vitamin A, which help treats dry, flaky and peeling skin or Vitamin D, which can boost collagen production and provided glowing youthful skin.
Struggling to control what you eat?
So maybe you’re someone who doesn’t want to change up their diet or has little control over the food they eat, keep working at it but also outside of dieting, exercising can also have an impact on your skin. When you exercise you work up a sweat that allows dirt from your pores to be released due to the pores dilating and deliver a great amount of oxygen. After a heavy workout, properly cleaning your skin is very important! Let me repeat that again, after a workout cleaning your skin is VERY IMPORTANT. When you exercise, the tiny arteries in your skin open up, allowing more blood to reach the skin’s surface and deliver nutrients that repair damage from the sun and environmental pollutants.
A good sweat can feel like a mini facial for the skin. I have also seen research that supports healthy and youthful skin in people over the age of 40 who frequently exercise. It’s important to note that heavy amounts of exercise should be paired with a healthy and balanced diet. Due to the fact that your body is losing certain nutrients, knowing how to replenish those things through foods such as greens and antioxidants are key. As a skincare professional, the effects of having a balanced diet and exercise can lead to positive impacts on the skin for both men and women and at any stage in life.
Cheers to your health!