Our skin is one of the most important parts of our body, we make every effort to keep it beautiful, glowing and flawless. However, due to the everyday negative factors such as the sun UV ray damages, dirt and air pollutants, bad habit of not washing before bedtime, unsuitable beauty products, current weather condition, and unhealthy food intake. These factors make our skin dull, unhealthy and annoying. Yes, it annoys me when my skin is flaky, dry or oily! I hate it when the temperature is humid or rainy! However, I recently discovered that the foods we ate had a huge part in what our skin have become. That is why I came up with taking notes of the foods that I should eat so I will have healthier skin.

I also learned about the skin types, it is important to know about your skin type so you can address it properly. If you still wonder what your skin type is, here is a brief description of each.

Skin Type:

• Normal skin- you are so lucky to have this, I envy you! You have barely visible pores, glowing skin complexion (please take note that having light skin does not mean that you are glowing, people who have a darker shade of skin can also glow), and of course, very less or zero imperfections.
• Oily skin- this is very common in puberty age, I had this when I was younger! You have this type when you have a shiny complexion and very prone to pimples.
• Dry skin- usually people who lived in humid or tropical countries have this type. You will notice that you have flaky skin, rough and dull complexion.
• Combination- I have this skin type, a combination of oily and dry skin. This is the most common type of skin in our country! Check your T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) if it is oily and check the other parts of your face if they are dry then you have this skin type.
• Sensitive skin- aw, I don’t want this skin type, sounds complicated to me. If you are very sensitive from the heat and cold temperature, have flaky skin, and easily get rashes or redness of the skin, your skin type is sensitive.

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Now, after you have identified your skin type, you can easily determine which products you should buy and what kind of diet you are going to have. I listed the foods that I need to eat, regardless the skin type, these foods are essential to have healthier and glowing skin!

Feed Your Skin With The Right Food:

• Dark chocolate- I am not a huge fan of this type of chocolate, but I started my switch. I am a big fan of milk chocolate, but I find out that dark chocolates are very rich in flavanols, an antioxidant that helps keep the skin hydrated. I am loving it now!
• Oatmeal- I love this in the morning, mixed with some fresh fruits and honey! Oatmeal is great for skin healing, I also have an oatmeal soap! Great as an anti-wrinkle agent too!
• Tomatoes- I love tomatoes, whether raw or cooked but I found out that lycopene in tomatoes will only be potent if cooked. So I always include tomatoes when I am cooking our food. Tomatoes help us improve our protection from the sun’s UV rays.
• Apple- Oh, lucky me, I love apples! This fruit is very rich in Vitamin C which is essential in making our skin healthy.
• Soy- Good thing, I love soy drink and soybean curd. This food will help reduce hyperpigmentation and also helps in getting a glowing complexion.
• Carrots- If you want to have healthier and fair complexion, eat more carrots which have a higher content of carotenoids.
• Yogurt- This yummy treat helps prevent wrinkles, making the skin firm. I will add this to my daily diet!
• Walnuts- This nut is my favorite, although a little bit expensive. It is so rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids that make skin even elastic.
• Sunflower seeds- I love this seed, so yummy! This food is so rich in vitamin E which is an essential to making the skin glow and keep protected from the sun.
• Green Tea- I love milk tea, but I never knew that green tea is very beneficial for the skin. It helps fight inflammation and redness.

Foods You Should Avoid:

• Junk foods- This is a total no, no! You will not get any nutrients that your skin needs with junk foods, it will also make your skin dehydrated.
• Coffee- The caffeine in coffee can trigger acne and pimple breakouts. Stay away from caffeinated coffee and choose decaf organic coffee. I am trying to stay away from coffee, this is hard for me!
• Soft drinks- This type of drink is very rich in caffeine and sugar. Just like coffee, caffeine is bad for the skin. You can still have soft drinks, chose for caffeine-less soft drinks, but still watch out for the sugar! The refined sugar found in soft drinks can cause inflammation and make damage to the skin.
• Fatty foods- This type of food is not good for our skin, it will result in a dull complexion.
• Sweet goodies- Just like soft drinks, sweet goodies are very rich in refined sugar, which is not good for the skin.
• Alcohol- This type of drink intoxicates the body. It will leave your body dehydrated and that has a great effect on the skin.
• Grilled meats- These foods make your skin look and feel old. Yikes, I love BBQ!
• Salty foods- These foods will cause acne breakouts and dehydrated the skin, making it deprived of the right amount of fluids it needs.
• Fried foods- I love fried foods, I am good at cooking them! Ha-ha, but I have to avoid it as it will make damages on my skin. Aside from it, it will make the skin look puffy and dry.
• Dairy- This is really bad for people with oily skin. Avoid dairy products as much as possible, look for dairy-free milk like almond milk to be safe.

As much as I want to eat these avoid foods, but I shouldn’t! I want to take care of my skin while I am still in my mid 20’s, I don’t want to regret when I reach my 50’s. Women, disregard the age, should always take care of our skin. I regret some of my scars when I was a kid, I know how careless I am when I am young! But when I learned about this stuff, I am so careful with what I am eating. I don’t just turn my diet upside down in an instant, but it is still in the process. As much as possible, I avoid eating outside. I also have a list of these foods in our kitchen so it will keep me reminded of the foods that I need to eat to have a healthier, glowing skin!