Looking for that flawless glow? Want to clear up acne or discoloration? Trying to get firmer more elastic skin? Having issues with dry and flaky spots? Vitamins and Minerals are vital to the health of your skin.
While moisturizers and creams promise the world, it is important to remember that eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to keep your skin healthy. By consuming the nutrients your skin needs, it allows the nutrients to be applied at the deepest level of your skin.
That is why we recommend opting for eating your vitamins and minerals versus applying them to your skin via topical creams and lotions.
Keep your skin hydrated by drinking lots of water, and provide your skin with the nutrients it needs by eating nutritional foods. In this article, we go into great length regarding top 9 vitamins and minerals you need for a clear skin complexion.
Top 9 Vitamins and Minerals You Need for a Clear Skin Complexion
1. Zinc
Foods that provide Zinc: Seafood, (particularly oysters and scallops), nuts and seeds, beef, lamb, liver, and kidney.
Your skin covers your entire body. In warmer climates, or during the summer months, chances are a lot of your skin is exposed to the sun. Zinc is an important mineral that helps protect the skin from UV radiation.
In addition to protecting your skin from the harmful rays of the sun, it also plays a part in boosting your immune system.
This boost allows for the skin to heal faster when wounded. Acne causes inflammation and sometimes wounds in the skin, so if acne is a regular problem for you, you may want to consider upping you Zinc intake.
2. Copper
Foods that provide Copper: Seafood, nuts and seeds, avocado, kale, and soy foods.
Having copper in your diet can make a huge difference in how your skin looks. Copper improves the structure of your skin from the inside out. It helps the elastin fibers in your skin which are responsible for preventing wrinkles.
By improving these elastin fibers, Copper makes your skin healthier and allows it to grow thicker and become more elastic.
This healthier more elastic skin will appear firmer and clearer making you look younger! Not only is copper good for making your skin healthy, but is also good for your body by improving energy and boosting your immune system.
3. Selenium
Foods that provide Selenium: Garlic, seafood, whole grains, and eggs.
Much like Zinc, Selenium plays an important role in protecting your skin from the sun and reducing the chances of contracting skin cancer.
In addition to protecting skin from UV radiation, Selenium is also known to help with already burned skin. Selenium also may help to regulate thyroid function, in turn keeping your hormones in check which can also affect skin clarity.
4. Vitamin A
Foods that provide Vitamin A: Leafy greens, cheese, eggs, and oranges.
Dry and flaky skin can be an indicator that your skin is not getting enough Vitamin A. Typically dry skin also leads to pigmentation differences, wrinkles, acne, and wounds (broken skin). If you really want to have a clear complexion, Vitamin A is a big hitter.
If you already have a lot of the above symptoms, increasing your Vitamin A intake should help, but you may want to also consider using oil-free lotions that contain Vitamin A for the extra boost.
5. Vitamin B (All of them!)
Foods that provide Vitamin B: Fish, poultry, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and non-citrus fruits.
It is important to understand here that there are multiple forms of Vitamin B including B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, B12. Each one of these can help improve the health and clarity of your skin in different ways.
For example, Vitamin B12 can help to treat anemia, which would ensure that your blood is providing your skin with the oxygen it needs to be healthy.
Vitamin B6 can also improve the oxygenation of the blood. Lastly, Vitamin B3 is known to help treat acne but this may be better when applied using a lotion or cream than trying to increase your intake.
6. Vitamin C
Foods that provide Vitamin C: Most herbs, leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, and strawberries.
As most people know, Vitamin C is good for your immune system. Having a healthy immune system improves the skin’s ability to heal itself.
It helps to heal dry and rough skin, wrinkles, and wounds like broken skin and acne. In addition to helping heal the skin by boosting immune activity, there is another way that Vitamin C can help give you that clear complexion.
In the same way that Copper improves skin from the inside out by enhancing elastin fibers, Vitamin C can help to speed up the production of collagen, helping to make your skin firmer and reduce wrinkles.
7. Vitamin D
Foods that provide Vitamin D: Milk, egg yolks, tuna, and orange juice.
Vitamin D plays a very important role in the skins ability to stay moisturized. It will help to balance out the different conditions of your skin. It plays an activate role in regulating blood flow and temperature in the skin.
While the above foods are a great way to get Vitamin D, another way to get Vitamin D applied directly to your skin would be sunbathing. Don’t forget the sunscreen though!
8. Vitamin E
Foods that provide Vitamin E: Leafy vegetables, avacados, seafood, and oils.
The skin is exposed to so many damaging factors every single day. The UV radiation, as well as air pollutants can all affect the health and clarity of your skin. Vitamin E is important in reducing the free radicals in your skin caused by pollutants in the air.
Free radicals and sun exposure lead to pre-mature aging, wrinkles, and age spots. Vitamin E works against free radicals to keep your skin looking young and smooth.
9. Vitamin K
Foods that contain Vitamin K: Olive oil, fennel and leaks, okra, and soy.
Vitamin K helps to even out skin tone. It works to lighten dark circles under the eyes, stretch marks and scars, as well as spider veins and bruises. Vitamin K is also a good choice when trying to treat dry skin.
In addition to the foods above you may want to look into additional supplements with your doctor to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin K.
Clear Skin Complexion Vitamins & Minerals Final Words
Clear, beautiful, firm, even-toned skin is exactly what most people crave. That flawless camera ready look is something to be desired. Hopefully, the above list of vitamins and minerals needed for clear skin has made it clear that the key to a great complexion is healthy skin.
The key to healthy skin is a healthy you! By eating the right types of foods you can provide your body with all of the vitamins and minerals your skin needs to get that perfect clear complexion that you have always wanted.
Keep in mind that all of the foods listed above are just suggestions. There are tons of foods out there that can provide you with the same vitamins and minerals.
Always be mindful of what you are eating, and be on the look out for other foods you may love that supply you with the nutrients you and your skin need.
