How to Balance Your Skin With Superfood Nutrition
We would all love to age gracefully, wouldn’t we? That’s always been a difficult task! Today, the stress of our day-to-day lives on top of all the world news on climate change and other events can cause more stress than usual. Because of this, our health can end up being one of the last things on our minds at the end of the day. This blog will help you balance your health, hormones and diet with superfood seaweed through all these stressful times.
Lacking Superfood – What Changed with The Green Revolution?
The Green Revolution was the creation of the food supply system as we know it today. It supplies us with our celery, carrots and lettuce year round all over the Western world. Though, in doing so, it has created a problem: it is depleting the soil we grow our food in of its two most essential nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus. Without these nutrients, plants become weaker, they grow more slowly, and production is less fruitful. In a study from Texas University in 2004 studying over 40 different vegetables and fruits from 1950 and 1999, they found “reliable declines” in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century.
Seaweed Has Got It All
The modification of our fruits and veggies has also caused a problem. While we have successfully made them grow faster and larger, they can’t keep up with the same nutrient density as their past versions. So, how can we balance and increase our nutrition with superfood? You have probably heard of superfood, there isn’t just one! Gogi berries, garlic and green tea just name a few. Did you know, that seaweed is also a superfood (and possibly the most super one!)? Seaweed contains all the vitamins and minerals it soaks up from it’s ocean environment. These include (in the highest quantities):
- Vitamin A, B1, B2, C, E and K
- Calcium
- Folate
- Potassium
- Iron
- Manganese
- Copper
These minerals and vitamins are also made readily bioavailable by a secrete seaweed compound called ‘alginate’. Alginate opens the skins’ dermal layers, which are only selectively permeable, meaning only certain molecules are allowed through. Alginate allows nutrients to enter directly through that strictly regulated dermal layer into your blood stream. Having seaweed in a topical product means the other beneficial ingredients, including the natural vitamins, minerals and trace elements of the seaweeds enter right into your skin without the help of synthetic products.
Why does our Skin Change?
We’ve all noticed our complexion change over the years. From teenage acne to our first wrinkle, our environment contributes to it all. For instance, acne is likely a combination of hormones and diet. Funny enough, your diet can affect your hormones and vise versa! Both are important regulators for gut flora and overall health. Everyone has different hormone balances and eating habits. It’s important to find what works for you. Remember to watch for food sensitivities and make sure you’re getting the right amount of nutrients in your food.
5 Suggestions to Balance your Hormones and Diet:
Avoid processed foods –
- These contain things like saturated fats, lots of salt and preservatives which are never good for your gut or your skin! Saturated fats concentrate your body’s cell energy on breaking them down, too much salt cause dehydration, and preservatives are chalk full of nasty chemicals, some of which are cancer-causing over time. It’s always worth taking the time to make your own snacks!
Grow some of your own fruits and vegetables –
- What if I told you it takes about the same amount of effort to maintain your lawn as it does to grow your own lettuce? Look out at your front yard, how much of it is grass? If you have fresh green grass out there, chances are you can grow your own food! You can easily start making your own compost with the food scraps you make, and using that compost on your plants will make them happier and healthier than any chemical growing agents (if you’re eating your plants, its especially important to make sure you’re not using pesticides. They wont only harm your weeds!)
Watch out for food sensitivities –
- Bloating, upset stomach, eczema, and nausea are all symptoms of a possible sensitivity to a food you’re eating. Some people like to try cutting out common allergens (like gluten or dairy) one at a time to see if they find any improvements, and others will go speak to an allergist to get a test done. Either way, it could help improve your guts balance.
What sits on your skin should be (at least) pronounceable –
- Your skin absorbs up to 70% of what it’s exposed to. It’s so important for it to have access to what it needs to build you the protective barrier you need. From the laundry detergent you use to the shampoo in your shower to your skincare, the more recognizable the ingredients are, the better.
Eat Seaweed!
- Seaweed is a superfood chalk full of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients you need to balance your gut health and skin. There are many types of edible seaweeds, all with different benefits topically and internally. Green seaweeds, red seaweeds, brown seaweeds (what are they all best for/have most of?)
Food, Gravity and Sunshine
What do all three have in common? They all relate to how your skin and body ages! Some things are harder to control than others when it comes to aging, but thankfully, most things (unlike gravity) are easily changeable! Your food for instance, when bought fresh, in season, local and/or organic, is infinitely better for you than any vitamin or supplement you can take. Simply applying sunscreen in the morning every day (not just when its sunny!) could mean the difference between normal and very little sun damage. The same can be said with good foods and your health and aging!
With time, aging is inevitable. Most of us know this, but to maintain a happy, healthy, and painless aging process, it’s important to make sure what you put in and on your body is only going to benefit it. Use natural products where you can and buy/grow seasonal and/or local food.
