Hydration from the inside (or lack thereof) shows through on the outside. Lacklustre dull skin is a combination of correct skincare and correct nutrition.
You know that plant you haven't watered in a week? Looks pretty sad doesn't it. When our skin isn't fed the correct food it looks a lot like that plant. But fear not, just like said sad plant, as soon as you feed it a good dose of fertiliser and water it springs back to happy bouncy life and so can our skin.
Now let's first of all talk about water since we're on the topic. We all know that we need to drink at least 2-3 litres of water per day for correct hydration, but our body doesn't easily absorb water on its own and our kidneys are told to remove excess water, so you might be finding yourself on the toilet every 10 mins sending it straight out as fast as it made its way in. The easiest fastest way to get our body to absorb the water we drink is to add some nutrients and/or electrolytes to it. This allows your body to process the water slower and it can be absorbed into your blood stream and cells. Adding a pinch of Himalayan salt to your water (ick I know) adds instant electrolytes, but if you don't fancy yourself a spot of salty water here are some other ways:
1. CUCUMBER
Added to your water or eaten alone, cucumber is one of the most hydrating water dense foods you can consume. Over 90% water, they contain nothing but the good stuff. They contain a bounty of vitamins and minerals (Vitamins C, K, Magnesium, Potassium, Manganese) and they're an excellent source of silica which is known as the beauty mineral, benefiting your hair, skin and nails. Right that's it. We're setting ourselves the goal of crunching down on 1/2 cucumber on the daily.
2. WATERMELON
Something this sweet and delicious (plus low cal if you care about that stuff) that is also ultra hydrating, what a dream. Watermelon is an antioxidant powerhouse, high in carotenoids including beta-carotene and lycopene, the former of which your body converts into Vitamin A (hello skin food). It's also high in Vit C (21% RDI), another skin food booster. Lycopene has been linked to anti cancer research so when it comes to these melons we say get in there and eat up! Tip with watermelon: it's better to eat it rather than juice it. Juicing it will result in high sugar content and less intake of the important fibre and nutrients found in the flesh.
3. CAPSICUM
As someone who's never been a major fan of this one, i've recently started eating it thanks to our 30 Day Skin Bootcamp we're in the midst of. When you think of Vitamin C you may automatically think of citrus fruits, but these babies contain an enormous amount of Vit C with one cup of capsicum (or approx. 150g) containing over 300% of your RDI. Whoa. Vitamin C is what protects our cells from the damaging environmental affects (free radical damage) and essential for skin and cellular health. With capsicum holding a water content of over 92% and the added Vit C benefits, this is high on our list to add to your daily snack diet. Crunch on some raw capsicum sticks throughout the day. It ain't so bad.
4. BROTH
Just hearing the word broth makes me want a bowl of warm broth. Anyone else? I'm a sucker for a good broth. Be it a Vietnamese pho, a spicy ramen, a good old chicken noodle soup or a plain cup of bone broth, it's up there as one of my joys of life. Lucky for me then that it's made the cut as one of our most hydrating foods. Of course it needs to be a clear water based broth, and if we want to get ultra specific a broth that has been cooked for at least 8 hours with chicken or beef bones is going to also pack a collagen punch which we know is glorious for our skin, but any water based broth will count towards your daily water intake and will absorb more affectively at a cellular level than plain water.
5. ZUCCHINI
The low carb craze of zucchini noodles has the added bonus of being a hydration super star. Zucchini again contains over 90% water and is one of the most versatile foods on the list. Feeling like a good old bologanise? Make some zucchini noodles. Want something crunchy & savoury? Make zucchini chips. Fancy a smoothie but don't like banana or cant afford the carbs? Add some frozen zucchini to your smoothie for added thickness and creaminess (trust me, you cant taste it). 1 cup of zucchini is also going to contribute to 35% of your daily Vit C intake. But we had you at chips.
_______________________________________________________________________
Want something to combat hydration from the outside too? Check out our NEW ultra hydrating Vit C Mineral Mist here