Give Your Diet a
Mediterranean Makeover
One of my patients, Samantha, has been troubled by adult acne for years. She came to see me because she had tried other treatments that just weren’t bringing her long-term relief. We talked about the treatments that were right for her, such as topical acne medications, but we also addressed some critical aspects to healthy skin, including her diet and her lifestyle.
Samantha changed her diet, cutting down on soda and fast food and opting for nutrient-rich whole foods instead of take-out. Samantha also started taking Vinyasa yoga and meditating to reduce her stress, and swapped out her makeup and moisturizer for non-comedogenic or non-pore-clogging options.
The result: Samantha’s skin cleared up and stayed acne-free. She developed a healthy glow and began to look years younger. She recently told me that she feels like a new person and gets compliments all the time on how great she looks. “At my age,” she told me, “my skin has never looked better!”
Like Samantha, patient after patient in my practice tells me that when they follow my advice about topical treatments, eating a healthy diet, and making healthy life choices, their skin is transformed. I remind patients to treat their skin as one very important part of their whole being. As I’ve discussed earlier, every aspect of your body and spirit, including your spirituality, works together. When one part of the body is out of balance, it shows up on the skin. And then, when the body is out of balance for long periods of time, whole-body illness and disease sets in and eventually your longevity is affected.
Consider it this way: the skin, one of the largest organs of the body, is a very important part of your whole body. In fact, problems on the skin can be the very first sign that something’s out of balance with the rest of your body.
This is why, when it comes to diet, I recommend a Mediterranean style of eating, which is healthy and delicious. The benefits of this diet have been proven over hundreds of years and go way beyond the skin, feeding what I like to say is truly beauty and health from the inside out.
What Is the Mediterranean Diet?
We’ve all heard the term “Mediterranean diet,” but it’s actually not a specific diet plan or miracle cleanse that will help you magically drop pounds. It’s more of a collection of eating habits or a style of eating that’s followed by the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including Greece, southern Italy, and Spain. (It’s also very similar to the modern-day DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension.)
The Mediterranean diet is high in olive oil, fish, legumes, fresh fruit (typically as a daily dessert), nuts, unrefined cereals, and fresh vegetables, along with a moderate consumption of dairy (mostly as cheese and yogurt) and poultry and limited amounts of red meat. Because of this way of eating, it’s also a diet low in bad saturated fat and high in good, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, as well as dietary fiber.
A Mediterranean diet is fresh and filled with what I like to call longevity food and nutrients, key nutrients that keep your body humming along at its healthiest and your skin at its radiant best. (For some of my favorite recipes that incorporate these ingredients, see “Healthy Mediterranean Recipes” in the appendix, page 183.) More specifically, it involves eating two to three servings of fresh fish a week, plenty of whole grains like barley, bulgur wheat, and steel-cut oats, and colorful fruits and vegetables. Color-dense fruits and vegetables, like red grapes, green kiwi, and purple and orange sweet potatoes are rich in a variety of nutrients including key health-promoting antioxidants like flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin E, and lycopene.
Mediterranean people also take time to relax and enjoy their meals with others, an important health-promoting social aspect. Socializing, as one study in the American Journal of Public Health showed, is important for maintaining good mental health and warding off diseases like dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even heart disease. Socializing also promotes happiness, a key factor for inner and outer beauty.
The Many Benefits of a Mediterranean Diet
If you make at least half your plate fruits and vegetables, you’ll get as many good-for-you (and good-for-your-skin) nutrients as possible. There are a lot of things my patients notice when switching over to this type of diet: more energy, less sickness, weight loss, better sleep, and healthier, more radiant skin. It’s no wonder then that the Greek island of Ikaria has been called “the island where people forget to die.” It’s here where Ikarian men are nearly four times as likely as their American counterparts to reach the age of ninety. They also live about eight to ten years longer before succumbing to cancers and cardiovascular disease and they suffer less depression and about a quarter the rate of dementia. These long-living, healthy Ikarians eat a Mediterranean diet, consuming about six times as many beans a day as Americans, eating fish twice a week and meat four to five times a month (typically from their own livestock), and eating much less refined sugar. These island people also consume high levels of olive oil and antioxidant-rich wild greens from their own gardens. Followers of this diet limit the kinds of foods common in an American diet: red meat, butter, stick margarine, cheese, pastries/sweets, and fried and fast food.
This type of vegetable-based diet contributes to not just how long you live, but the vitality in those years. It helps keep you happy, radiant, energetic, and mobile, without aches and pains. It has also been shown to have numerous health benefits.
• It keeps your heart healthy. In a Harvard School of Public Health study conducted with young midwestern firefighters, researchers found that the firefighters who ate this type of diet high in polyunsaturated fats, which come from fish and plants, had lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In fact, in a separate study, Greek researchers found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet were 47 percent less likely to develop heart disease over a ten-year period than those who didn’t follow the diet. They were also less likely to gain weight, which is a risk factor for heart disease. (American College of Cardiology, 2015)
• It keeps your brain sharp. Eating a Mediterranean-style diet helps prevent your mind from deteriorating as it does with dementia and Alzheimer’s. In fact, in one study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, this style of healthy eating was found to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 48 percent. (Scarmeas et al, 2009)
• It reduces your risk of cancer. Eating this way has been shown to reduce your risk of cancer, from stomach cancer to breast cancer and endometrial cancer. This plant-heavy style of eating may also protect against skin cancer. Mediterranean populations have very low rates of skin cancer despite living in sunny climates. Israeli researchers theorize that the components of a Mediterranean diet, and namely the powerful disease-fighting antioxidants found in it, may provide protection against skin cancer.
• It reduces your risk of diabetes. Eating a plant-rich diet can help improve insulin sensitivity. According to researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, 90 percent of type 2 diabetes can be avoided by eating a Mediterranean-style diet, getting regular physical activity, and not smoking. (Martinez-Gonzalez et al, 2008)
• It reduces your risk of developing depression. Spanish researchers at the University of Navarra found that people who follow a Mediterranean-style of eating, specifically getting enough fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, healthy grains, and fish, are less likely to develop depression.
How a Mediterranean Diet
Translates to Modern Life
If you look at the diet of Mediterranean populations, it’s easy to see that food is where everything begins. It nourishes us, provides us energy, makes us healthy or establishes the groundwork for illness and disease, gives a glow or dull cast to our skin, and can prolong our lives or shorten them. (Buettner, 2012)
We know inherently what’s good for us and what we should be eating: more fruits and vegetables, healthy whole grains, protein, healthy fats (as compared with the unhealthy fried ones), low sugar and sodium, fewer unhealthy carbohydrates, plenty of water not soda, and no junk. But as much as we know about good nutrition, it’s so very complicated and hard to put this healthy way of eating into practice in our modern society. Long work days, after-school and weekend children’s activities, lack of time to prepare healthy foods, the 24/7 availability of unhealthy convenience foods, and few to no backyard gardens all factor into why eating a healthy diet isn’t so easy to implement in our daily lives. But food is the foundation for true health and beauty. (Crooks et al, 2008)
How Food Affects Our Bodies and Our Health
I want to share the story of my grandmother. When I was young, she was overweight and had high blood pressure and cholesterol. She never had a lot of energy to really do much (this I remember so well). She was sedentary and tired most of the time and would quickly lose her breath with exertion.
But then something changed. I remember her telling me that her doctor spoke to her about the benefits of eating healthy, specifically with more fruits and vegetables, and exercising. She spent time reading about these topics and would tell me about the things she learned. I would visit her on weekends and we would prepare the family meals together. While we were cooking together, she would tell me about the benefits of various ingredients we were using and why they were healthy for me.
This was when I first heard about the benefits of avocados, tomatoes, and bananas. (Some of the healthy Mediterranean recipes she passed down to me are included in the Appendix, page 183.) Along with eating healthy, my grandparents turned their den into an exercise room with a stationary bike, rowing machine, and treadmill. Then her body transformed. She lost a lot of weight, and I know from talking to her as I got older that she decreased her blood pressure and cholesterol medications. She felt better, had more energy, and was more mobile. She wanted to do things. She was happy. She also exuded radiance and beauty as she began to enjoy life again. This made a huge impression on me and is something that I think about with my own children.
Healthy eating and exercise and treating our bodies right make such a huge difference and for some people, may even allow them to decrease or go off medications like my grandmother did. The wrong foods trigger inflammation throughout the body, and the right foods nourish us, quelling this inflammation. (Harvard School of Public Health, 2014)
Numerous studies have pointed to this systemic or body-wide inflammation as one of the leading triggers for premature aging in the body and on the skin and it is a leading cause of chronic diseases. (Maraki et al, 2015) But we know that a healthy, whole foods diet like the Mediterranean diet reduces inflammation, as shown in one study conducted by Italian researchers and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Combine These Foods for Better Health
There’s increasing proof that what you eat is as important as what you combine it with. Some healthy food combinations include:
Tomatoes and broccoli
Eating tomatoes and broccoli together was shown, in one University of Illinois study, to be better at fighting cancer than each individual food was alone.
Tomatoes and avocados
Fats make carotenoids more bioavailable, which means that the body is better able to use them. And adding olive oil (another healthy fat) to pasta sauce, a Mediterranean staple, makes the antioxidants in the pasta sauce more available to the body, says one study in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Berries and grapes
Eating a variety of antioxidant-rich fruits gives you a more powerful antioxidant punch, say researchers at Cornell University’s Department of Food Science. The idea is that you don’t have to limit yourself to one or two: make a fruit salad and you’ll get even more health-protective benefits.
Green tea, dark chocolate, and apples
This makes a healthy afternoon snack because research from the National University of Singapore shows that the catechins (powerful polyphenols, or antioxidants) in green tea and chocolate work synergistically with quercetin (a flavonoid or another powerful antioxidant) found in apples and onions. Together, they work to loosen clumpy blood platelets, improving cardiovascular health.
Curry and black pepper
Research from St. John’s Medical College in India shows that turmeric (a key component of curry), which has powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, is better absorbed when combined with black pepper.
Chronic Inflammation and Your Health
Inflammation is actually the core of our body’s healing and immune response. When something harmful or irritating affects a part of our body, an inflammatory cascade of events is set into motion: blood flow increases to that area, and along with it, healing proteins and infection-fighting white blood cells. Without inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal. (Giugliano et al, 2006)
As with stress, though, some inflammation is healthy, but chronic inflammation is not. An unhealthy diet is one of the key triggers of inflammation. A Mediterranean diet, however, can nourish your body and skin with the right nutrients, and prevent and even reduce chronic inflammation, contributing to more youthful body and more radiant, glowing, and healthy (a.k.a. more youthful-looking) skin. (Galland, 2010)
Inflammation has also been called “skin enemy number one” for good reason. It’s been linked to skin problems like acne, rosacea, eczema, and psoriasis. In fact, researchers at Northwestern University found that people with inflammatory conditions like eczema have been found to have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, a possible long-term effect of chronic inflammation within the body. (Wadyka, 2011; Silverberg et al, 2015; Bowe et al, 2012)
How to Eat for a Healthier You
The core principals of eating, below, incorporate the Mediterranean style of eating that helps to reduce inflammation in the body and keep you healthy.
Eat locally grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible.
Locally grown produce is more nutritious and just plain better for you. Many nutrients, particularly heat- and light-sensitive vitamins B and C, are lost in the shipping process, as are fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A and E and carotenoids (including lycopene), so if you can buy produce from your local farm or farmer’s market that doesn’t have to be shipped, you’ll be getting more nutrients. (Barrett, 2019)
The nutrient content of spinach, particularly its folate (vitamin B 9 ) and carotenoid content, gets quickly lost the longer it’s stored. The faster fresh food makes it to your table (the idea behind the popular food-to-table movement), the more nutritious that food will be for you. There is one exception: frozen fruits and vegetables. These foods are picked at the height of their freshness and undergo a process called flash freezing (often done right where they’re picked) allowing them to avoid the loss of nutrients from shipping and storage. (Pandrangi et al, 2004)
Another way to be sure you’re getting enough key nutrients: eat the peels. The color of a fruit or vegetable is concentrated in the peel, and it’s this colorful part that can be a concentrated source of antioxidants called phytochemicals. Tomatoes, for example, have 98 percent of their flavonols (powerful phytochemicals or antioxidants) in their skins. And, in the case of potatoes, the skin has more antioxidants, iron, potassium, B vitamins, and fiber than the flesh. The peels are also good sources of something called insoluble fiber, which helps keep you regular. Some peels (like that of an apple) are also rich in soluble fiber that’s been shown to help lower cholesterol and control blood sugar. (Bonwick et al, 2013; Newswise, 2014; University of California Berkeley, 2019)
What’s more, how you cook your fruits and vegetables, fresh or frozen, matters too. Overcooking vegetables like broccoli can deplete heat-sensitive nutrients like vitamins C and B. If you do have to cook them, lightly steam them to maintain their antioxidant levels. (Frying causes a significantly higher loss of antioxidants.) My rule of thumb for steaming is once you can visibly see the steam, turn off the heat and let the steam cook the vegetables for a few more minutes. Then check to make sure the vegetables are still bright green (in the case of broccoli) and still slightly crisp. Once they’re done, remove the lid and let the steam out. (Miglio et al, 2008, Barbour, 2009, Dewanto et al, 2002)
Eat less red meat.
Red meat should be limited, if possible, to less than four times a month. Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that the more red meat you eat, the higher your markers of inflammation. Eating red meat has also been linked to chronic diseases like breast cancer. (Cho et al, 2010; Harvard School of Public Health, 2019)
If you’re going to eat red meat once in a while, look for grass-fed red meat, which is rich in inflammation-quelling omega-3 fatty acids. And bake, poach, stew, or steam it, but don’t char it. Doing so has been shown to increase the formation of carcinogenic compounds called AGEs, or advanced glycation end products. The more char, the more AGEs. (van Heijst et al, 2005; Medical News Today, 2014; The Guardian, 2014)
Using rosemary, an herb high in health-promoting antioxidants, on your meat before grilling it can also help reduce the formation of unhealthy AGEs. Soaking meat in a vinegar- or citrus-based marinade, along with antioxidant-rich herbs like rosemary, also helps reduce AGEs. (ScienceDaily, 2007)
Incorporate olive oil into your daily diet.
Extra virgin olive oil is a staple of the Mediterranean style of eating. Not only is olive oil delicious, but it’s healthy for you too, because it contains very high levels of monounsaturated fats that may be linked to a reduced risk of heart disease. Because extra virgin olive oil is the first extract from the olives, it’s typically cold pressed and not heat processed. This allows for a higher concentration of antioxidants. (Keys et al, 1986; Owen et al, 2000)
Olive oil can help repair skin damage, soothe and relieve chapped, itchy skin, and help rebuild skin’s moisture barrier, which keeps skin hydrated. It’s no surprise, then, that researchers found—as published in the journal Burns—that when burn patients consumed olive oil, their wounds healed faster than patients who didn’t consume olive oil. The reason, researchers theorized, is that olive oil has significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, which help to optimize wound healing. (Najmi et al, 2014; Covas, 2007)
Just to show you how powerful a health food olive oil is: adding as little as ten teaspoons of olive oil to your daily diet could help protect against breast cancer. What’s more, compelling research from scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey found that oleocanthal, a powerful antioxidant found in extra virgin olive oil, has been shown to wipe out cancer cells in as little as thirty minutes. This is the kind of science that’s so impressive it’s hard not to sit up and take notice or at least revamp your diet to be more like the Ikarians. (Branson, 2015)
Look for olive oils that come in a dark bottle, which protects against light. Exposure to light can cause the oil to deteriorate. Also, steer clear of giant tins. Olive oils are best used within three to six months. To keep it fresh, store your oil in a cool, dark place.
Get enough probiotics.
These healthy bacteria, found in everything from yogurt and kefir to fermented foods, have been found to keep you healthy. In fact, our bodies are pretty active petri dishes. There’s a mix of good and bad bacteria living inside each of us, from our skin (where a few hundred species have been identified) to our intestines. It’s been estimated that the human body is composed of 10 percent human cells and 90 percent bacteria. This means human cells are outnumbered by bacteria thirty-three to one! This mix of bacteria inside us is often referred to as the human microbiome. (Barros, 2015)
Nowhere is this microbiome more evident than in the gut. Bacteria line the intestines and help you digest food. During this process of digestion, they make essential vitamins, send signals to the immune system, and create small molecules that can help your brain function properly.
Adding different kinds of healthy bacteria into our bodies, through diet or supplements, can help reduce gas and bloating and increase regularity. These bacteria in the gut are also responsible for the production of the feel-good chemical serotonin, according to researchers at the California Institute of Technology. (It’s estimated that 90 percent of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive tract.) What this means: a healthy digestive system, with the right balance of bacteria, can make a huge difference in relaxation levels and mood, a key role of serotonin in the body.
A healthy gut is also critical to a healthy immune system. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of our immune tissue is located in the digestive system. It also seems that a healthy gut regulates levels of the body’s main antioxidant, glutathione, which fights a host of diseases. (Mardinoglu et al, 2015; Quigley, 2013)
What’s more, healthy bacteria in the gut has also been shown to help with acne relief. An overgrowth of bad bacteria in the body, however, can trigger inflammation in the body and skin problems like acne, psoriasis, and dermatitis, say researchers from Case Western Reserve University. Healthy bacteria also seem to help increase the production of ceramides or lipid molecules found on the surface layer of the skin, helping to restore the skin’s barrier function. It’s this barrier function that’s critical to keeping out chemicals, bacteria, and sunlight and keeping in the good stuff like moisture. The right balance of bacteria on the skin contributes to the defense mechanisms of the skin and proper immune system functioning. That’s why an imbalance on the skin, as in the gut, can contribute to conditions like atopic dermatitis. (ScienceDaily, 2015; McNamee, 2014; Healy, 2014; Goodrich et al, 2019; Rupani, 2015; Salem et al, 2018; Johnson, 2014)
Opt for glass, porcelain, or stainless-steel containers.
Store food in glass containers and avoid eating or drinking from plastic containers. Plastics contain chemicals that have been linked to health problems like cancer.
One study found that men, women, and children exposed to high levels of phthalates (chemicals found in plastics, including in some plastic baby teethers and some personal care products) tend to have reduced levels of testosterone in their blood compared to those with lower chemical exposure. While testosterone is the main sex hormone in men, it contributes to a variety of functions in both men and women, including physical growth and strength, brain function, bone density, and cardiovascular health. (Jobling et al, 1995; Meeker et al, 2014)
Extensive exposure to common chemicals found in plastics has also been linked to an earlier start of menopause in women. What’s more, according to a study published in the journal Human Reproduction, even low levels of exposure to phthalates by mothers who were pregnant affected male infants’ reproductive health later in life. Here are some helpful tips on how to limit your exposure. (Grindler et al, 2015; Swan et al, 2015)
Avoid microwaving polycarbonate plastic food containers.
It seems that glass-like plastics like polycarbonate are solid, but they’re not. They’re made from synthetic, non-natural materials that seem durable but often cannot withstand heat, meaning they break down from overuse at high temperatures. A break down in plastics causes chemicals in the plastics to potentially leach into food or drink.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to avoid microwaving any kind of plastic, including plastic containers and plastic wrap. I would also argue, for this same reason, to use caution when putting plastic dishes in the dishwasher. The top rack is often cooler than the bottom rack and may not heat up the plastic as much. Or hand wash them in warm, not hot, water instead.
Know that BPA-free doesn’t mean chemical-free.
BPA is an industrial chemical used primarily to make hard polycarbonate plastic and other types of plastics. This is actually the chemical that hardens plastics. It’s found in many products including some dental sealants, water bottles, and in the lining of many canned foods and drinks. The problem with this chemical is that it’s an endocrine disruptor; endocrine is a chemical that mimics hormones in the body like estrogen. This hormone mimicking triggers oxidative damage and long-term health problems like cancer and has been linked to higher blood pressure, according to one study published in the journal Hypertension. And just because something has been labeled BPA-free doesn’t mean that it doesn’t contain other potentially harmful chemicals. Many of the replacements for BPA, though labeled “safe,” have not been thoroughly tested for their effects on your health. (National Institutes of Health; 2019; Bhan et al, 2014; Bae et al, 2014; Rochester et al, 2015)
Reduce your use of canned foods.
My philosophy when it comes to food: fresh is always best. When you can’t use fresh, frozen is the next best option. Canned food is typically high in sodium and low in nutrients, which is why I try to avoid it. If you do want to use canned, be sure to check the labels to find ones that contain low to no sodium. The average American takes in anywhere from 3,000 to 3,600 mg of sodium daily, but the body only needs about 200 mg per day. That’s a big discrepancy. Too much sodium causes high blood pressure and can make your eyes and face look puffy. By choosing whole, fresh foods over canned, processed foods, you can drastically cut down your daily sodium intake. (American Heart Association, 2019)
The Mediterranean diet is naturally low in sodium, as is the DASH diet. This DASH diet borrows many of the healthy eating principles of the Mediterranean diet (eating fresh fruits and vegetables, unrefined grains, nuts/seeds, legumes, lean protein, and healthy fats) but also focuses on reducing sodium overall by limiting the amount of processed foods you’re eating and the amount of table salt you add to foods.
A National Institutes of Health study showed that by following the DASH diet, you may be able to reduce your blood pressure by a few points in just two weeks and your systolic blood pressure (which results from your heart muscle contracting) could drop by seven to twelve points over time. This could make a significant difference in your long-term health. (ScienceDaily, 2001)
Eat seasonally.
Eating foods when nature produces them is something the Mediterranean culture and people all over the world have done throughout history. At its very core, seasonal eating is local eating. It means building your meals around foods that have been harvested at their peak on local farms and it means modifying your diet according to the season.
When the food you’re eating isn’t in season (i.e., you’re eating watermelon in winter), it’s either been grown in a greenhouse or shipped in from other parts of the world, both of which affect taste and nutrient content. When transporting crops, they must be harvested early and refrigerated so they don’t rot during transportation. They may not ripen as effectively as they would in their natural environment and, as a result, they don’t develop their full flavor. In addition, transporting produce sometimes requires irradiation (zapping the produce with a burst of radiation to kill germs) and preservatives (such as petroleum-based wax) to protect the produce and increase shelf life.
Many cultures, including Indian culture and its ancient medicine ayurveda, believe that nature harvests the antidotes for the season. For example, warming and nourishing foods like root vegetables, soups and stews, and fermented foods like tempeh and kimchi help to build protein and fat reserves in the body for the long winter season ahead. According to ayurveda, our digestive fires have evolved to be stronger in winter, allowing us to eat more dense foods than we would in summer. In summer, our fires are weaker, which allows us to eat less-dense foods like salads and fresh berries. (Douillard, 2001)
Eat fish.
Everything from wild-caught salmon and sardines to tilapia contain healthy fats called essential fatty acids. (They’re also found in non-fish foods like flaxseeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.) Studies have shown that these fats can do everything from boosting your mood to protecting cognitive function and preventing Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. One reason they have such a health-promoting effect is that they decrease inflammation. (Parker et al, 2006)
Add more color to your diet.
The more colorful the food, the higher the content of health-promoting antioxidants. Some of my favorite colorful, antioxidant-rich foods include berries (acai berries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries), citrus fruits like red grapefruit and oranges, leafy greens, pomegranates, and grapes. (Whitehead et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2008)
Here’s a guide to what colorful fruits and vegetables can offer you and your health:
Green: Veggies like kale, spinach, purslane (similar to watercress and spinach), and broccoli are high in lutein, which helps keep your vision sharp. They’re also high in the antioxidant vitamin C, which is critical for healthy, youthful looking skin and the production of collagen, the tissue-firming protein that acts as a scaffold for the skin.
Yellow/Orange: Mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin all contain antioxidants called carotenoids that can reduce the risk of developing cancer, report researchers from Tufts University in Boston. They can also give your complexion the healthy glow so often used to characterize youthful skin.
Blue/Purple: Berries like blueberries, acai berries, and blackberries, as well as purple potatoes and purple cauliflower, are chock-full of antioxidant-rich substances called anthocyanins. A study from Ohio State University College of Medicine found that anthocyanins prevent tumors from forming, including tumors on the skin, and may even suppress their growth.
Red: Watermelon and tomatoes are rich in lycopene (a carotenoid), which may protect against cancer and heart disease and boosts your skin’s radiance. Lycopene also has a natural, UV-protective capability. This doesn’t mean, though, that you don’t need sunscreen. You do. This natural sun protection is just another reason eating healthy, including colorful fruits and vegetables, can slow down the aging process of the skin, particularly when it’s exposed to the damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. (Ho et al, 2014; Arab et al, 2000; Raloff, 2001))
Enjoy dark chocolate in moderation.
White sugar may increase inflammation and reduce immunity, but that doesn’t mean you need to forgo sweets altogether. Dark chocolate, with at least 70 percent cocoa content, is one of the healthiest sweets you can indulge in, in moderation. It’s chock-full of substances called flavonoids, which are part of a group of antioxidants known as polyphenols (the same antioxidants found in green tea and grapes). Dark chocolate also contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which are good for the body and for the skin.
In one study, German scientists found that eating dark chocolate, specifically half a cup of dark chocolate cocoa daily, resulted, after just one month, in skin that was smoother, more hydrated, and less scaly and red when exposed to ultraviolet light. These scientists speculated that the flavonoids help absorb UV light, protecting the skin and increasing blood flow, as well as hydration. (Esser et al, 2013; Heinrich et al, 2006)
Cook with fresh herbs.
All herbs, like sage, thyme, peppermint, and lemon balm, are rich in antioxidants that can help fight inflammation. Many herbs, like oregano, are also antimicrobial. In fact, oregano contains an active agent called rosmarinic acid that’s super high in free-radical-fighting antioxidants. Use them when you’re cooking or just sprinkle them on anything you can, to add flavor and antioxidants.
Cut down on the amount of sugar you eat.
Anything that causes a fast spike in blood sugar levels, like white sugar and white flour (found in many processed foods), triggers an inflammatory response in the body. Eat it on a regular basis and you’re keeping your inflammation levels on overdrive.
Sugar has also been known to impair immune function: One landmark study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that consuming 100 grams (just 3.5 ounces) of carbohydrates, such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, and honey, inhibited the ability of white blood cells to destroy harmful microorganisms in the body by as much as 50 percent. This impairment of immune function began less than thirty minutes after sugar ingestion and remained this way for more than five hours. (Sanchez et al, 1973)
But don’t use chemical sweeteners as a sugar substitute. Chemical sweeteners seem to fool the body so the body doesn’t register that it’s consumed sugar, causing us to eat more than we should. In fact, a study from the University of Texas Health Science Center indicates that artificial sweeteners, found in diet sodas, could cause weight gain by stimulating the development of new fat cells. (Fowler et al, 2015)
Drink enough water.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of drinking plain old water. Water helps the body rid itself of toxins. If you drink enough, it flushes out the kidneys and pulls toxins from the body. If you don’t drink enough water, your body can’t filter properly. And if you get dehydrated, the organs don’t function as well. When it comes to the skin, proper hydration makes the skin smoother and “plumper” looking, more hydrated, and more radiant overall. Dehydration can cause fine lines and wrinkles to become more obvious.
If you dislike the taste of plain water, mix in your own healthy flavoring by adding antioxidant-rich frozen organic berries, cold organic cucumbers, or even a splash of fruit juice.
Replace saturated fats.
These are found in everything from fatty meats (beef, lamb, pork) to butter, cheese, and dairy products made from whole or two percent milk, and can be replaced with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats (found in olives, olive oil, avocados, flaxseed, walnuts, and fish oil).
It’s a good idea to also try to eliminate trans fats from your diet by avoiding fast food like french fries and processed foods like cookies and pastries. Trans fats are also found in solid shortening and stick margarine. One study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that women who had the highest levels of trans fats in their blood were twice as likely as women with the lowest blood levels to develop breast cancer. (Cho et al, 2019)
Be sure you’re getting enough vitamin D.
This essential nutrient (actually a hormone) is getting a lot of attention these days for good reason. Not only does it play an important role, alongside calcium, in strengthening bones, it’s also a powerful antioxidant and potent immune booster.
Vitamin D is known as the sun vitamin because the body produces it when exposed to the sun. (Our bodies aren’t able to produce vitamin D on their own.) But there are plenty of ways to get your daily D without sun exposure, which puts you at risk of skin cancer and premature skin aging. Eat foods rich in vitamin D like salmon, sardines, and dairy, or check in with your doctor about whether you should take a daily supplement. Adults need anywhere from 400 IU to 800 IU daily. Also important: Look for vitamin D3 (or cholecalciferol) instead of vitamin D2 (called ergocalciferol) on your supplements. Vitamin D3 is the most readily absorbed and utilized by the body.
Try spicy foods.
Red chili peppers (also called cayenne peppers) contain an ingredient called capsaicin, which makes the peppers incredibly hot to the taste. This fire and heat in the mouth actually triggers the brain to produce a rush of endorphins, the feel-good chemicals that block pain, from arthritis pain to the pain of itchy, inflamed skin. Capsaicin has also been shown by researchers in South Korea to inhibit inflammation in the body. (Kim et al, 2003)
What’s more, this hot spice has also been shown by researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and reduce risk of blood clots, boosting cardiovascular health. It’s no surprise then that additional researchers have now determined that eating spicy foods (including foods that contain red hot chili peppers) can boost longevity. Harvard Medical School researchers have found that capsaicin has antioxidant, anti-obesity, anti-inflammation, and anti-cancer properties. (American Chemical Society, 2012; Ly et al, 2015)
A word of warning, though: as health-promoting as spicy foods can be, they can still aggravate skin conditions like rosacea, which flare up in response to heat and spices. If you struggle with rosacea, use caution with spicy foods and capsaicin.
Enjoy a cup of coffee.
One staple of a Mediterranean diet: a cup (or two) of coffee every day. I’ve always loved a cup of coffee in the morning, but I’ve come to love it even more over the years as new research from the Harvard School of Public Health backs up coffee’s health benefits, namely that it does everything from keep your heart healthy and lower your cancer risk to lowering depression and helping you live longer. This is thanks to the fact that coffee is full of health-promoting antioxidants. Moderation is key, however. (MPR, 2015; Goodman, 2014; Rosendahl et al, 2015; Loftfield et al, 2015; Conley, 2012; Ramanujan, 2014; Lucas et al, 2011; Rivas, 2014; Eskelinen, 2010)
If you like coffee, try these new ways to spice up your cup and add extra health benefits.
Cardamom: Grind a few cardamom seeds into grounds and you’ll be adding antioxidant minerals like manganese, magnesium, and zinc.
Cayenne: Love spicy foods? Then you’ll want to add a dash of this to coffee grounds to give your morning joe a kick. When you do, you’ll be enhancing it with antioxidant flavonoids, as well as a small dose of vitamin C, B6, potassium, and manganese.
Cinnamon: Add a dash or two to your coffee grounds and you’ll be mixing in the mineral manganese.
Cocoa powder: Mix unsweetened cocoa powder into coffee grounds to add antioxidant flavonoids, as well as fiber, iron, and magnesium.
Keep in mind that if you don’t like coffee or can’t drink coffee for health reasons, you’re not losing out. There are plenty of other ways to get your daily dose of antioxidants, namely fruits and vegetables and tea.
Have some tea.
Coffee isn’t the only drink with benefits. There are different types of tea, all with varying health advantages. Here’s a guide:
• Green tea is made from non-wilted leaves that aren’t oxidized and it contains high concentrations of flavonoids. (It contains little caffeine.) Numerous researchers from around the world have proven the anti-inflammatory benefits of green tea. The reason? Green tea contains an extremely high concentration of powerful antioxidants called catechins.
• Black tea is produced when tea leaves are wilted, bruised, rolled, and fully oxidized. (Shortly after harvesting, tea leaves begin to wilt and oxidize. During oxidation, chemicals in the leaves are broken down by enzymes, resulting in darkening of the leaves.) It has fewer antioxidants than green tea. The more processed a tea is, the less flavonoids it contains. And it contains more caffeine than green tea.
• Herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free and can give you a dose of herbs along with a comforting drink that you can have any time of the day. These teas are made from the fruits, seeds, or roots of plants. They have lower concentrations of antioxidants than green, black, oolong, and white teas, but they are a good option for anyone avoiding caffeine.
• Oolong tea is made from wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized leaves, creating an intermediate kind of tea that’s midway between green and black teas. It contains moderate amounts of antioxidants and caffeine. It has the body of black tea with the freshness of green tea.
• White tea is made from young leaves or growth buds that have undergone minimal oxidation, meaning it’s the least processed of all teas. Because of this, white tea is able to retain its extremely high concentration of antioxidants. It also contains the least caffeine of all teas. It has the most delicate flavor and aroma. (Mukherjee et al, 2014; Tipoe et al, 2007; Cavet et al, 2011)
Eat nuts and seeds.
Nuts and seeds (think pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds) are probably some of the healthiest snacks around, which is why they’re integral to a Mediterranean diet. Munching on nuts and seeds or nut/seed butter really does the body and the skin good. One reason: nuts and seeds like almonds and walnuts are high in healthy monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats found in olive oil. They’re also high in protein, antioxidants, and key nutrients like fiber, protein, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E. (Arab et al, 2015)
Nuts also contain selenium, a nutrient important for many biological functions like immune response, fertility, and thyroid hormone production. Selenium is also a powerful antioxidant.
Where Do You Go from Here?
Put these healthy diet strategies into practice and I guarantee that you’ll be on your way to a healthy body and healthy skin for years to come. Don’t get discouraged, though, if you can’t follow all of these diet tips at once. The best way to institute healthy eating is to incorporate one or two (or even three) strategies into your life for twenty-one days, the amount of time it takes for a habit to become ingrained. Then you can incorporate more strategies as you’re ready to take another step on your journey toward health and longevity and inner and outer beauty.
Remember: health is not a race. Slow and steady good habits, particularly when it comes to your diet, is what wins in the end. In the words of Virginia Woolf, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”