How to Maximize your Skin with Healthy Holiday Eating

Winter is a special time of year during which many of us find that we have much more to do than usual. We shop. We bake. We party. Which means we eat and drink. The primary concern that most people have when it comes to their holiday eating is how to do so without packing on unwanted pounds. There’s more to what’s on your plate than empty calories. Here, we will look at a few of the holiday foods your skin loves, and a few that it doesn’t.

Skin-healthy holiday foods include:

• Cranberries. We’re talking the fresh kind of cranberries, not sugary juice or chocolate-covered dried cranberries. This winter fruit isn’t something we normally eat raw, but we do find it in a good number of holiday recipes, from steaming cider to scrumptious homemade cranberry sauce. Cranberries are high in antioxidants, so they foster healthy collagen production in the skin.
• Cocoa. And we tend to think that that mug of hot cocoa is only good for the soul! As a side benefit, homemade cocoa beverages also supply a nice dose of epicatechin, a flavinoid that has shown circulation-boosting effects in the skin.
• Pumpkin. There are so many nutrients in pumpkin that we have all the more reason to love this holiday favorite. In addition to carotinoids, which have a powerful effect on sun-damaged skin, pumpkin also has vitamin C that sends antioxidants into the fight against free radicals.

Not all foods are good foods:

• All those baked goods may treat your tummy, but their ingredients, namely white flour and refined sugar, degrade the collagen fibers you rely on for youthful looking skin.
• Alcohol, or alcohol sugars, also break down collagen. At the same time, a few cocktails also steals water from all parts of the body, leaving you parched from the inside out.
• Salty treats or processed foods that you eat on the go can cause puffiness in the face due to ultra-high sodium content.

We at The Laser & Dermatologic Surgery Center wish you and yours a bright and happy holiday season. For personal dermatologic care, call (855) 978-5775.