We all worry about our general health and whether we’re providing our bodies with the right nutrition and vitamins and minerals. But we often forget about our skin health and the small things we can be doing to improve its overall appearance and condition.
A great place to start is the diet we eat and ensuring it includes a good balance of the vitamins essential for good skin health.
Making sure you have enough of the right vitamins will keep your skin looking fresh and youthful and, according to Healthline.com, may also help reduce:
- Dark spots
- Redness
- Wrinkles
- Rough patches
- Excessive dryness
Our skin experts have suggested increasing these four essential vitamins in your diet to help you achieve healthier skin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is produced naturally in your body when you’re exposed to sunlight. It can also come from certain foods and supplements you take. Vitamin D is taken up by the liver and kidneys and is then transported throughout your body to help create healthy cells. This includes your skin, where vitamin D plays an essential role in skin tone.
Healthy levels of vitamin D have been seen to prevent skin ageing, promote healthy bone growth, possibly reduce the risk of certain cancers, help treat psoriasis and even improve mood.
You can increase your vitamin D intake by:
- Getting out into the sunlight for at least 10 minutes a day (check with your doctor first, especially if you have a history of skin cancer)
- Eating foods that are fortified with vitamin D, such as cereals, orange juice, and yoghurt
- Eating foods rich in vitamin D, such as oily fish, red meat and egg yolks
The UK’s relatively low levels of sunshine mean vitamin D deficiency is a widespread problem in the country. An estimated one in five adults is deficient. Testing for Vitamin D deficiency involves a simple blood test. Our at-home service can take a blood test to ascertain your levels and supplement if required.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is now a legendary ingredient in the skincare world. This incredible antioxidant, the anti-inflammatory nutrient, improves skin tone and texture, hydrates the skin, and reduces signs of ageing.
Vitamin C can be found in the body in high levels in the epidermis (outer layer of skin) as well as the dermis (inner layer of skin). Its role in collagen production help keeps your skin healthy. This is why vitamin C is one of the key ingredients found in many anti-ageing skincare products.
If you think that you’re not getting enough vitamin C in your diet, you can:
- Eat citrus foods, such as oranges
- Eat other plant-based sources of vitamin C, such as strawberries, broccoli, and spinach
- Drink orange juice
- Take supplements, as recommended by a doctor
- Look for anti ageing skin treatments that contain vitamin C – researchers have discovered that when it comes to healthy skin, topical vitamin C is significantly more effective than consuming it.
Our high dose Vitamin C drip is administered by one of our trained NHS Doctors. You can book a home appointment or come into our Henley-on-Thames clinic for your treatment. The standard dosage of the drip is 25g, which is equivalent to nearly two tubes of Berocca!
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is essential in aiding the body’s process of blood clotting, which helps the body heal wounds, bruises, and areas affected by surgery. The basic functions of vitamin K are also thought to help certain skin conditions, such as:
- Stretch marks
- Spider veins
- Scars
- Dark spots
- Stubborn circles under your eyes
But before you reach for the Vitamin K, just be aware that recent research has recently been questioning whether it works as well as vitamin E and C or even works effectively as a skincare ingredient at all. Further research is needed before coming to any conclusive takeaways.
The bottom line? Take these benefits with a grain of salt, and know that the science backing vitamin K is nowhere near as strong as that of other vitamins.
You can increase your intake naturally by eating:
- Kale
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Cabbage
- Green beans
Vitamin E
Like Vitamin C, Vitamin E is an antioxidant; in skincare it’s main function is to protect your skin from skin damage. Vitamin E absorbs the harmful UV light from the sun when applied to the skin.
Vitamin E fights off free radicals on the skin, which are a result of daily environmental stressors like unprotected sun exposure and air pollution. In fighting off free radicals, vitamin E helps protect the skin from damage.
If you don’t think your skin is getting enough Vitamin E you can increase your intake by:
You can increase your intake by:
- Eating more nuts and seeds, such as almonds, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds
- Eat more fruits and vegetables like spinach, kiwi, tomatoes and mangoes
- Taking a multivitamin or separate vitamin E supplement
- Using topical products that contain both vitamin E and vitamin C (this can be more effective in photoprotection than those that contain only one of the two)