I’ve taken courses on skincare and nutrition and have researched natural medicine and healthy foods. It’s fascinating how our diet affects our body’s health. There are some nutrients you can both ingest and apply topically, some that can only be ingested (or produced by the body) and some that can only be applied topically. Today we’re going to look at how our diet affects our skin, what nutrients the skin needs, what benefits they provide and what foods you can eat.
 
To maintain healthy skin, you need water, vitamins A, B, C and E, zinc, essential fatty acids and proteins:

• Water helps hydrate skin, preventing it from drying out and the appearance of wrinkles.
  
• Vitamin A boosts collagen production, gives skin elasticity and reduces wrinkles.
  
• The B vitamins provide anti-inflammatory, wound healing and antioxidant benefits as well as increasing elasticity and reducing wrinkles.
  
• Vitamin C increases collagen production, is an anti-oxidant and reduces inflammation.
  
• Vitamin E is an anti-inflammatory and repairs damaged skin.
  
• Zinc helps with wound healing and has some anti-inflammatory and UV protecting benefits.
  
• Essential fatty acids help protect the skin from UV and contribute to anti-aging (Essential Fatty Acids and Skin Health, Oregon State University).
  
• Lastly, it requires three types of protein: collagen, elastin and keratin which help with elasticity, wrinkles and barrier protection.

 
Collagen cannot be applied topically as the molecules are too big to absorb through the skin. Collagen doesn’t exist in any food other than homemade bone broth and is instead produced in the body (The Best Way You Can Get More Collagen, Cleveland Clinic). As we get older our body produces less collagen. Here’s what to eat to help boost collagen production:

• Citrus
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Chia seeds, flax seeds, peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds
• Avocados
• Green tea
• Red pepper
• Spinach
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Beef, fish, chicken, eggs, dairy

 
Zinc can be found in:

• kidney, liver, beef, lamb, scallops
• eggs
• nuts and legumes

 
These foods contain antioxidants:

• red wine, green tea
• blueberries, blackberries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, plums, 
• tomatoes, avocados, pumpkin
• mustard, turmeric,
• broccoli, beets, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, spinach
• prunes, raisins
• olive oil

 
Eat many of these different foods and make your skin happy. It will reward you with beautiful, healthy looking skin!
 
Essential Fatty Acids and Skin Health https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease/skin-health/essential-fatty-acids
The Best Way You Can Get More Collagen https://health.clevelandclinic.org/the-best-way-you-can-get-more-collagen/

Here are some of the aromatherapy myths that I hear most often. 

1. You can ingest essential oils.
 
Oral use of essential oils has not been approved in North America. The only country that allows the administration of essential oils orally is France, and even then, you have to be under the close supervision of a licensed medical practitioner. Generally, it’s safe to add a couple of drops to food or to swish around a dilution in your mouth before spitting it out, but even then, some essential oils can irritate mucus membranes. Make sure to do your research before using any oil orally.
 
There is a company out there that will completely disregard this and advise you it’s safe to use essential oils orally. At a market I was at, a rep from this same company advised a customer to put a drop of peppermint oil in her eye. This should never be done because it burns!
 
2. You can apply them directly to your skin. 

Almost all essential oils should be diluted before applying them to your skin neat. Essential oils are extremely concentrated and can cause irritation, burns and rashes. Don’t take chances – dilute them in lotion, carrier oil, shower gel, bubble bath, liquid soap, massage oil, etc. If you’re going to use one neat, do a patch test and don’t use it for a prolonged period.
 
3. Essential oils labelled pure and therapeutic are of better quality. 

Essential oils, by their nature, are pure and therapeutic, whether it’s on the label or not. An essential oil labelled “pure” means only that it hasn’t been diluted. Using “therapeutic” on a label is only a marketing strategy. There is no such thing as a non-therapeutic version of an essential oil!
 
4. Essential oils are safe because they’re natural. 

While essential oils are indeed natural, they still need to be used with caution. Just think of poison ivy, some types of mushrooms, stinging nettle, poinsettia. You get the picture. Essential oils are extremely concentrated and many have contraindications (specific situations where they may be harmful), for example in pregnancy, with medications or in other medical conditions.  
 
5. Major brands sell superior quality essential oils. 

If you’re comparing apples to apples, this is simply not true. If an essential oil is pure, then an essential oil is an essential oil is an essential oil. An organic essential oil may be regarded as a better-quality oil but that’s because of the lack of pesticides and herbicides, the oil isn’t any different. And the essential oil’s chemical constituents (affected by country of origin, soil conditions, weather, time of harvest, etc.) may cause one oil to be safer, sweeter or better for a certain condition than another. But again, if you compare an organic lavender oil from Bulgaria from one company to another they would be the same. When you shop at a major brand you’re not paying for superior quality, you’re paying for their name. 
 
Bonus myth: There’s a company out there who claims that you can only use their essential oils in their diffusers. Great marketing ploy! I went in to one of these stores to “shop” for a diffuser. As soon as I questioned this, the employee quickly backed down.