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Three
vegetables you should eat every day
When it comes to health advice, the word
"vegetables" is often preceded by the words
"leafy" and "green". There's a reason for
that. You really can't go wrong with leafy
green vegetables. They all tend to be rich
in antioxidant vitamins and minerals that
help detoxify your body,
including some key nutrients that are
especially important for clear skin. It
doesn't hurt that they're a non-factor for
fat and carbs either.
One of the easiest and most common leafy
green veggies is lettuce. It's the base of
almost every salad, and is certainly healthy
for you. But why settle for lettuce, when
you can have
spinach?
Among the "leafy green" group of veggies,
spinach is my top pick for acne sufferers.
Compared to lettuce, spinach packs more
vitamin A, more zinc, more magnesium, iron,
vitamin E, vitamin K, etc. It just packs
more when it comes to many of the most
important nutrients for combating acne. So
grab some spinach leaves the next time
you're buying groceries. It might be
marginally more expensive than iceberg
lettuce, but the benefits (and the flavor)
are worth it.
Another great vegetable for your skin is
carrots.
As their name suggests, carrots are super
rich in beta carotene, which is the
biological precursor to vitamin A. If you've
checked out our
vitamins for acne guide or my
article on
power vitamins, you know how
impactful vitamin A can be for stopping acne
(by lowering your body's sebum production).
However, you also know that taking vitamin A
can result in some serious side effects.
Well, one of the great things about carrots
is that when you get your beta carotene this
way - rather than taking a vitamin A
supplement - the risk of side effects is
greatly reduced, plus your body is better
able to absorb and utilize the vitamin.
Carrots really are the best way for acne
sufferers to get that essential dose of
vitamin A.
OK, now I'm totally going to cheat, as this
one is technically a fruit, but eating more
tomatoes
is something every acne sufferer should do.
Tomatoes are packed with vitamin A and
vitamin C, along with a healthy dose of
niacin and several key minerals. They're
also surprisingly (and strangely?)
beneficial when applied topically. Applying
tomato slices or a tomato paste mask to your
face can tighten your pores, brighten your
skin tone, help normalize oily skin and
encourage regeneration.
So
make a salad,
you lazy
bum!
You may have noticed that all three of my
recommended vegetables can be easily served
in a single dish. This wondrous concoction
is called a salad. Salads are
awesome, because they're not only healthy,
but require very little preparation (I make
them in less than 5 minutes) and go with
everything.
Salads are super easy and they don't have to
taste bland. Seriously, this is all there is
to it: toss some spinach leaves into a bowl,
add a few grape tomatoes and sliced carrots
(you can even buy them pre-sliced), drizzle
on a light dressing
or vinaigrette, and that's it. You're
done. Easy! Of course, if you want to get
creative and add some other veggies to the
mix (cucumbers
are also great for combating acne), go for
it.
Besides salads, if you need a quick
vegetable fix, another good option is
juice. You can buy carrot juice, tomato
juice and even spinach juice (or all of them
together in some vegetable juices) and get a
strong dose of all the same great nutrients,
although you do miss out on the fiber. Just
make sure to avoid sugar.
Other
veggies
and what to avoid
There are, of course, other vegetables that
are also great for clear skin.
Broccoli
is a very potent source of antioxidants and
other nutrients, and
garlic
(as mentioned on our
herbal remedies page) has some
powerful antibacterial and anti-inflammatory
properties. The simple fact is that most
vegetables are very healthy. However, a high
intake of certain veggies can potentially
work against you.
These are mainly the vegetables that are
especially high in carbohydrates,
such as potatoes and corn. Sometimes it's
not even the vegetables themselves that are
to blame, but how they are prepared. As I
mentioned above, it's best to get your
veggies fresh and raw, but who eats raw
potatoes? Usually they get fried up or
mashed with sour cream, etc., and the resulting
foods are not the best thing for your skin.
So be smart!
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