How can diet lead to clear, glowing skin?

Take it from someone (hi! me) who has battled with skin issues for most of their life, starting in middle school. These days, even though I still struggle with keeping my skin clear, I have done EVERYTHING imaginable to get where I am today. I’ve tried so many different products (which isn’t that surprising I guess, as most women do!), done several different facials (I got a facial every month for one year), and I’ve learned so many tips and techniques from the experts (dermatologists and estheticians) and MOST importantly due to my career in dietetics.

I’ve seen some serious wounds and skin conditions from working at a hospital and us dietitians are often at the forefront of recommendations to make sure patients are well-nourished and able to heal adequately. Even though the level of concern is obviously higher with a hospitalized patient, you might be surprised to know the same nutrient recommendations also apply to the average adult looking for healthy skin.

First, it’s important to know there are both controllable and uncontrollable factors that affect the health of skin. Controllable factors include:

skincare routine (like HOW to wash your face, because there is a right and wrong way to do it, as I’ve learned)
changing/cleaning your pillow cases frequently
diet quality
degree of sun exposure
certain lifestyle behaviors (like where you work, stress management, etc)
hormones (to a certain degree, they can be controllable!)

Then there are things like genetics and health conditions that unfortunately we can’t exactly control but we can still play an active role in. We all know genetics are the underlying main key player for many issues but our overall lifestyle has the power to turn on or off certain genes!

I’ll say right off the bat from personal experience that NO MATTER what you do, what you eat and what products you use, your actual skincare routine can be biggest contributing factor to the look & health of your skin. I still can’t believe that only in the last year did I learn what “double cleansing” was! Which by the way, for some women, is absolutely essential – especially if you wear makeup and workout most days of the week. I don’t think anyone can argue with the fact that washing your face is the most basic thing you can do to prevent bacteria buildup.

That being said, some people just need a little bit more TLC with their skin and to put a lot of focus on their nutrition and lifestyle choices.

So, let’s talk nutrition! I am going to list the most important nutrients for skin, signs of deficiency, and top food sources. I won’t get too much into the details about the science behind each nutrient, but I’ll try to list a good resource for the nerds who want to understand why these nutrients are important. Then I’m going to provide my basic skincare routine (which several estheticians have helped me develop overtime) and a list of my favorite skincare products.

These are the key nutrients that have a direct impact on skin, either through oral intake (diet or supplements) and/or topical (like skincare products):

Vitamin A

Vitamin A has a very important role on skin integrity, everything from decreasing acne, facilitating wound healing (think surgery or even a cut or scrape), and photoaging (like wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and so on!). You can read more here.

Signs of vitamin A deficiency: follicular hyperkeratosis (dry, scaly skin), night blindness, diseases of the eye (like glaucoma), Bitot’s spots, blindness, frequent infections, thyroid dysfunction (brain fog, sluggishness, frequent cold in hands/feet)

Best food sources: animal-based sources (which happen to be a better source of vitamin A, sorry guys!) such as full-fat organic/grass-fed dairy (yogurt, whole milk, cheese, butter), pasture-raised eggs (the whole egg!), liver, and cod liver oil as well as plant-based sources (can be converted to the active form of Vitamin A but the conversion is not very efficient, unfortunately) - dark green and yellow/orange vegetables and fruits such as dark leafy greens, green herbs (like parsley, cilantro, etc), red and yellow peppers, mangoes, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and apricots.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C help with collagen production, and most people know that collagen is the main component of hair, skin, and nails! (See below for protein and collagen.) It’s very common to prescribe vitamin C supplementation for those recovering from a wound or surgery. Read more here if you’d like!

Signs of vitamin C deficiency: scurvy, poor wound healing, bleeding gums, follicular hyperkeratosis, petechiae (hemorrhagic pinpoints on the skin), pupura (purple rash/spots on the skin)

Best food sources: citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, sweet bell peppers, strawberries (dark green and yellow vegetables overall)

Did you know? Vitamin C helps with the absorption of iron. If you need to increase iron in your diet, try to consume iron sources with a vitamin-C rich food (for example: consume salsa with beans!)

Zinc

Zinc is required for healthy skin, healing of wounds, and growth. In addition to vitamin C, it is very common to include zinc supplementation in the hospital when someone is recovering from a wound!

Signs of zinc deficiency: reduced immune function, alopecia (hair loss), poor wound healing (like a cut or scrape taking too long to heal, or even pressure injuries (bed sores), hypogeusia (loss of taste)

Best food sources: meat, liver, fish (oysters, king Alaska crab, lobster) and nuts, seeds, and beans. To illustrate, oysters (just 3 ounces) have about 74 mg of zinc whereas 1 ounce of pumpkin seeds contain only 2.2 mg. Oysters are the best source of zinc.

Biotin

Signs of biotin deficiency include skin rashes, hair loss, and brittle nails, which is why many supplements for hair skin and nails contain biotin. Although symptoms only result from biotin deficiency, it can be difficult to obtain enough biotin from food alone. I personally consume a biotin supplement most days of the week.

Signs of biotin deficiency: in addition to skin rashes, hair loss and brittle nails - muscle pain, dermatitis, glossitis (inflammation of the tongue; red & sore).

Best food sources: beef liver, egg yolks, salmon, pork chop, hamburger patty, and (in less amounts) sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes and almonds. Overall: meat, eggs, seafood, and in some nuts and seeds. To illustrate, spinach has .5 mcg for ½ cup cooked whereas 1 cooked whole egg has 10 mcg. Beef liver and whole eggs are the top two sources.

Vitamin E

The primary role of vitamin E for skin is its role as an antioxidant, meaning, this nutrient prevents damage from oxidation and free radical damage to skin. Overall vitamin E is important for photoprotection (prevention of UV damage - but not necessarily treatment of photodamage and wrinkles).

Signs of vitamin E deficiency: rare, but can occur in those with malabsorption disorders such as Crohns or cystic fibrosis, and include hemolytic anemia peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, skeletal myopathy, retinopathy, and impairment of the immune response

Best food sources: wheat germ, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils (flax oil, hemp oil, wheat germ oil, etc), green leafy veggies. Nuts and seeds (including wheat germ) are the best sources. Wheat germ oil is the best source.

Protein

Protein is essential for skin integrity. In order for skin to regenerate, we need adequate protein in our diet. A note about collagen: our bodies make collagen through the amino acids we get through food. The goal then, is to make sure you’re getting enough protein and from high-quality sources for your body to make adequate collagen. Collagen supplements are not considered a complete protein because they lack an essential amino acid.

Signs of protein deficiency: dry/dull hair that is easily plucked (without pain), lack of fat under skin with wasted appearance (think malnourished), poor wound healing, horizontal nail ridging, enlarged parotid gland.

Best sources: Foods especially high in amino acids are protein-rich foods, like eggs, meat, seafood, legumes (beans and lentils), nuts and seeds, and dark leafy greens. We can get plenty of collagen through a well-balanced diet, but keep in mind your diet should also get enough vitamin C, Zinc, and Copper, a few nutrients which are needed for proper production of collagen in the body.

Dietary Fats

Dietary fat is needed for several different reasons, including skin and hair health. Dietary fat is also needed to help the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients like Vitamin A, D, K and E as well as certain antioxidants. Dietary fat should not make up the majority of your diet, but it is certainly needed for a healthy body.

Best sources of fats include nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, seafood (like salmon, sardines, trout, and tuna), as well as the oils from some of these foods (olive oil and avocado oil are my favorite). I am also an advocate for unprocessed dairy products like organic, grass fed yogurt, milk, cheese and pasture-raised organic eggs to get healthy fats as well. I would much rather consume full fat yogurt or milk than skim or fat-free! The more you process a food, the more you risk losing essential nutrients.

Thoughts on other nutrients as well as supplements —

There are of course other nutrients that can play an indirect role in skin (and hair!) health. For example vitamin D plays a roll in photo protection and selenium acts as an antioxidant for skin. In other words, the nutrients listed above are known to play a direct role in skin health and integrity, however, overall diet quality is absolute key to an overall healthy body and therefore healthy skin and hair. I’ve found that just one symptom or health condition can lead to several other issues, sort of like a domino effect. Many nutrients interact with one another as well. Long-term zinc supplementation can lead to copper deficiency, for example. Although it’s helpful to be educated on the role of certain nutrients, overall diet quality and pattern of eating is always essential! The nutrients we get through food interact with one another in ways we still can’t quite explain or understand, despite impressive technology and science. Eating an orange for it’s vitamin C content is going to interact very differently in the body than taking a vitamin C supplement for many different reasons because the orange also contains antioxidants, fiber, etc. We call this food synergy! If you are interested in taking supplements, I highly suggest you seek out a qualified professional who can help you.

An overall healthy diet should simply focus on REAL, WHOLE FOODS - minimally processed and yes - including animal-based sources. Hear me out really quick. I’ll have to write an entire blog post on my thoughts regarding a vegan or vegetarian diet. So many people ask me why I stopped being vegan (I was vegan for a little over 4 years). Although I am a huge, huge advocate for adding in more plant-based foods and making “plants” the majority of the diet, it is so, unbelievably difficult to meet all of your nutrient needs on a very strict diet. I have several clients who are vegetarian or vegan, and I guide them on how to do it. But for me, it is so much easier to live my life with a wider range of foods and not needing to rely on so many different supplements - and I still have to take certain supplements! It truly depends on the person, their health and finding what works for them. Below are the foods I rely on for nutrition most days of the week, and I have several opportunities to eat other things like bread, cookies, pasta, pizza - you name it! I have zero dietary restrictions.

Vegetables (both starchy and non-starchy!)
Fruit
Nuts & Seeds
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
Whole Grains (like actual, real, whole grains…. quinoa, brown rice, millet, farro, oatmeal, barley, NOT chips or flour-based products)
Seafood
Full-Fat, Organic & Grass-fed Dairy: yogurt, cheese, milk
Organic, pasture-raised eggs
Meat (all kinds and the whole thing aka don’t be scared of chicken skin!!!!)

What abut foods that can cause acne or overall poor skin health?

Ah, here comes the sciency-technical side of my brain. It gets a bit complicated here, I think. Some people swear that eating certain foods like sugar or dairy cause them to breakout. But I think there’s more to the story. The research done on this is unfortunately poor quality. And this goes right back to overall diet quality anyway. If your diet is based on refined sugars, processed dairy, pro-inflammatory foods or other nutrient-poor foods, your diet is going to be missing out on several key nutrients and you’re going to have many different health issues, and acne or poor skin health might be one of them (or not, though!). So is it really the dairy that is causing an issue or is it the fact that your overall diet quality is just not up to par? Is it the type of dairy you’re consuming, too? Ice cream is going to be a lot different than greek organic yogurt! At the end of the day, the majority of dietary choices should always be based on real, whole foods and everyone is going to be different about what foods cause certain skin conditions.

Back to that skin care routine I was talking about!

I mentioned that no matter what you do or what you eat, the daily routine (both morning, night, and even throughout the day) is the most important thing for many people. I’ve come to learn that proper skincare is a lifestyle behavior. I personally have the absolute worst habit of touching my skin (I always need to be doing something with my fingers, it’s so bizarre), so the correlation of my skin health is directly related to my skin behavior habits - not always my diet!

Here’s the best daily routine & tips I learned from estheticians:

Wash your face both morning and night, and sometimes even during the day. If you put on makeup or worked out in the morning time, you may need to remove it and start over if you plan to wear makeup again in the evening! Trust me it is worth it!
Use a non-abrasive wash cloth to remove impurities that your fingers can't. These are where my re-useable cloths come in handy.
Remove your makeup with an oil-based cleanser, without water. Rub it all over, then apply a small amount of water and remove with the cloth. Yes, this means washing your face twice (see next step). This is called double cleansing! This really only needs to be done at night, after a day of makeup, or exposure to dirt/ pollutants.
After oil-based cleaning, then you can use your regular face cleanser (I don’t recommend overly harsh exfoliator cleaners, though). I usually use the back of the same cloth to remove the soap. Pat face dry, gently - you don’t need to scrub your face dry.
Use a cotton pad to apply toner. My skin is so soft now that I use a toner!
Apply a serum with your fingertips and let it dry and soak in for a couple of minutes before next.
Now you can apply your moisturizer. I’m still experimenting here and honestly I use different ones depending on my needs. Some days I use an SPF moisturizer and some days I use an oil-free one. An oil-free or light moisturizer is best for me, so as not to overwhelm my skin with anything too heavy. Hydrated skin comes from the inside-out: drink plenty of water!
Repeat after me: Do Not. Touch. Your. Face! DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE.
Always wash your skin after a workout!
Your skin rebuilds itself about every 28 days. That's why getting a facial about every 28 days is ideal, however, some people benefit from getting one every two weeks. Hyrdrafacials are my personal favorite. I’m so spa-spoiled it’s not even funny. Some people love when a professional comes to their house to give them a massage or facial and I’m like, I need the WHOLE SPA EXPERIENCE!

One last recommendation —

The type of skincare products and cosmetics you use will make a difference for your health. I use very safe products and support companies that at least try to be sustainable! Some of my favorite brands are Beauty Counter, Juice Beauty, Cocokind, White & Elm, Attitude and Mineral Fusion. I plan to do a blog post on my favorite products soon. In the meantime here are my favorite beauty tools!

Some of my favorite tools (these are not affiliated links!)

Rose Quartz Facial Roller $19.99 From Target. I keep mine in the freezer and it feels amazing when I use it!

Reusable Cotton Rounds $11.99 From Amazon. These are an absolute necessity for me. I have a bunch, only use them one time and throw them in the washer to reuse.

Detangling Brush $33 From Anthropologie. My hair tangles easily and this brush is perfect for me. I have fine, thin hair.

Tweezers $23 From Anthropologie. I mean these are just so chic ;).

Headbands come from a variety of places but I love the ones from Anthro :). I can’t wash my face without a headband!

Hair tools & straightener via T3. They’re just so pretty.