Dr. Lisa Donofrio, medical director of The Savin Center in New Haven and Aria DermSpa in Madison, joined The Food Schmooze® party with news we can all celebrate. It IS true that certain foods can benefit your skin. Studies have shown certain foods to be beneficial—not only in protecting your skin from signs of aging, but also protecting against ultraviolet light, lessening your chance of developing some skin cancers.
TUNE IN: Listen to Faith’s conversation with Dr. Donofrio and hear more about the evidence-based research she shared with the gang.
Here’s Dr. Donofrio’s list of good-for-your-skin foods, plus some handy notes. We’re SO glad dark chocolate (sort of!) made the list:
Olive Oil (more than two teaspoons a day is associated with fewer signs of aging)
Tomatoes/tomato paste (contain lycopene)
Kale A sun-damage superfood, kale is one of the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, which absorb and neutralize free radicals created by ultraviolet light. Lutein and zeaxanthin are also found in carrots.
Salmon and sardines
Red wine Raise a glass! Well, a half-glass actually. Half a glass of red wine a day can help reduce the risk of a type of pre-cancer called actinic keratosis.
Herbs (such as rosemary and thyme)
Soy
Coffee and Green tea
Walnuts
Orange and lemon peel
Dark chocolate: Known to be good for your cardiovascular system as well as hydrating the skin. While dark chocolate has benefits, people in studies ate 3.5 oz. dark chocolate a day, which means 500 calories of chocolate day. While dark chocolate is good, sugar is very bad for your skin because it induces inflammation in the skin. Dr. Donofrio (and Chris) recommend adding unsweetened cocoa powder to dishes to get the benefits flavonol provides, without all the sugar.
Dr. Donofrio’s suggestion: Make a smoothie of kale and cocoa powder. We like this chocolatey looking smoothie from Oh She Glows, and this decidedly greener smoothie recipe promises you won’t taste the healthy.
If you just can’t get with the kale, this chocolate-chip-topped smoothie recipe from Gimme Some Oven is the same idea (unsweetened cocoa powder) but calls for spinach, perhaps for you, a more palatable green, and added bonus: peanut butter. Now, who can’t get down with chocolate and peanut butter?
Photos from Pixabay.com, except top left (kale and olive oil) by esimpraim/Flickr, creative commons.
