Cure Dry Skin – From Outside and In « Health Now, Wealth Forever

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This winter I had very dry skin.  I’ve always had dry skin—even in humid Illinois where I grew up.  But this winter, my skin was drier than ever.  I have controlled the itching by using coconut soap, shea soap and hand-made African black soap.  I have tried to avoid any commercially made soap that has a lot of ingredients that are chemically based.  I have used witch hazel that has some aloe in it and that has been marvelous.  The lotion I have used is coconut oil, or lotions that contain just coconut oil, cocoa oil, jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, shea butter and/ or other pure oils. I have not used any lotions containing any alcohol in it or other chemicals.  This has all helped.

I picked up the Natural Grocers newspaper and found an article about “Feeding Your Skin From the Inside”.  Here are some of the ways:

Balance the blood sugar—avoid foods that cause a spike.  These include all sugars, flour products, and even fruits for some people.  Eat at regular intervals including proteins and fats.

Get plenty of antioxidants.  Eat lots of vegetables in a rainbow of colors.  Other sources of antioxidants are the berries we have talked about, green and white tea, 80%+cacao chocolate,  and herbs such as turmeric, ginger, rosemary and cinnamon.

Get the right fats—that’s right fats, as we have said often.  The fats  come from the omega-3s found in wild, cold water fish.  Avoid omega-6 fats found in vegetable oils and trans-fats.  Include a variety of monounsaturated and saturated fats found in coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds, butter, and naturally raised animal products.  These help modulate inflammation and maintain a healthy cell membrane.

Consume probiotic rich foods daily.   These foods are yogurt, kefir, unpasteurized sauerkraut, kim chi, miso and kombucha.  These support the health of the digestive system.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! 

Sulfur-rich foods—these foods are eggs, meat, poultry, garlic, onions, cruciferous vegetables.  These sulfur-rich foods build collagen and glutathione.  Glutathione is the body’s most potent internal antioxidant.

Vitamin A—This is a potent antioxidant and  is needed for skin cell turnover.  Vitamin A is found in liver, grass-fed butter, eggs and cod liver oil.  Vegetables that contain vitamin A are red and yellow like sweet potatoes, red peppers and carrots.  They supply beta-carotene.

This article on feeding the skin from the inside came from Heather Pratt, MNT.  Her parting words were:

“Every meal and snack gives you the chance to foster skin health from the inside, letting your beauty shine through.  So go ahead, feed yourself gorgeous!”

Source: Natural Grocers Health Hotline  March 2013  pp. 9, 13