Have you ever considered that you could eat your way to healthy skin? It’s easy to get caught up in trying to avoid foods that are bad for skin health, but what about actively incorporating foods into your diet that are proven to alleviate skin conditions?
About the Author
When Karen Fischer writes about battling skin conditions, she writes from both expertise and personal experience. Her journey from head-to-toe eczema and hives to clear skin showed her the importance of finding and tackling the underlying cause of your skin condition. Her qualifications in nutrition and decades of working with skin disorder patients revealed that this is often best done through, simply, what you eat.
Karen has gone on to write six health books including the best-selling The Eczema Diet. She now spends her time running a company called Skin Friend, developing products to help people love their skin and enjoy life. When she is not wearing hats, you’ll find her cooking in the kitchen or lying on a yoga mat. She has two beautiful children and lives a quiet life by the beach.
Getting Going from the Get-Go
Start the day right by including the ‘Blue Healer’ smoothie in a hearty breakfast. A staple of The Healthy Skin Kitchen’s many menu plans, it is Karen’s ‘favourite skin saviour recipe for healing and repairing the skin.’ Below is the recipe so you can try it out yourself, along with extracts from the book which explain just why this vibrant smoothie is so beneficial for your skin…
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Mung Bean Sprouts
‘Mung bean sprouts contain magnesium, vitamin K, folate and potassium and they are classed as low salicylate, making them ideal for people with skin inflammation.’
Hemp Seed Oil
‘Moisturize your skin from the inside out with hemp seed oil, which is… rich in chlorophyll and vitamin E and has only trace amounts of salicylates, making it a good low salicylate option for people with eczema and chemical intolerance.’
Red Cabbage
‘Red cabbage… contains mighty cancer-fighting indoles and anthocyanins that help to lower inflammation in the body. Anthocyanins not only create the pretty purple pigments that are absent in white or green cabbage, they also help to protect the skin against sun damage and reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver damage and some types of cancer. One cup of red cabbage provides almost 50 per cent of your daily vitamin C requirements and it’s a rich source of vitamin K, which is vital for strong, healthy bones.’
For the Love of Sweet Potatoes
Karen is a self-proclaimed ‘sweet-potato-aholic.’ These versatile (and delicious) vegetables are one of her key healthy skin foods, and they certainly crop up frequently throughout The Healthy Skin Kitchen. So if you enjoy the recipe for charming ‘Sweet Potato Boats’ below, you know exactly where to go for more…
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Pea Shoots
‘Not only are pea shoots highly alkalizing and rich in histamine-lowering vitamin C, they’re a super source of a potent antihistamine enzyme called diamine oxidase, [which] plays a starring role in alleviating allergic reactions, anaphylaxis and histamine intolerance.’
Black beans
‘Black beans are a rich vegetarian source of protein, iron, vitamin B1 (thiamine), folate, magnesium, potassium, zinc and manganese, and they contain small amounts of omega-3, which is fabulous at decreasing inflammation in the body.’
Spring Onions
‘Spring onions contain vitamin C, folate, lutein and beta-carotene and mega-doses of vitamin K, which regulates calcium and assists with bone health and wound healing.’
Sweet Potato
‘A great source of vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, niacin, potassium, manganese, magnesium, choline and betaine, which helps to lower homocysteine in the blood. (High homocysteine is linked to increased heart disease risk)… Regular orange sweet potato and purple sweet potato have an ‘anti-obesity’ effect, according to the research, so sweet potato is great for your waistline too.’
Are you ready to turn your kitchen into a treasure trove of foods that are proven to heal and nourish your skin? Pick up The Healthy Skin Kitchen today, out now wherever good books are sold, including right here on our website!
