Tips

Facelift in your fridge

You don’t need to spend a fortune on lotions,potions or serums the secret to anti-ageing could be hiding behind your leftovers…

Next time your fingers hover over the latest wrinkle-fighting creams, remember this: we Brits spend over £650 a year on beauty products; that’s around £43,000 during our lives. But some of the most effective beauty weapons do not come with astronomical price tags  they can be found on the shelves in your fridge. From colourful carrots to fillets of fish, crunchy apples to fresh greens, these humble ingredients can have a powerfully positive effect on your epidermis. When you add in your store cupboard essentials such as olive oil, honey, nuts and seeds – you have all the basics for building younger, fresher-looking skin, right there in your kitchen.

Shop for your skin
You may think you’re eating a healthy diet by cutting out carbs or fat, but restricting food groups can have a negative effect on your skin. Dr Robin Graham-Brown, spokesman for the British Skin Foundation, says, ‘Crash diets, where you lose weight very quickly, can leave your face looking older as you lose fat from areas like your cheeks. But losing weight slowly can reduce the impact on your face.’ Rather than limiting the foods you eat, you need to up your intake of certain food groups if you want to see a difference in your skin. ‘Your skin is the last organ in your body to benefit from the nutrients you derive from what you eat,’ says nutritionist and author Vicki Edgson. ‘Vitamins and minerals will go to your brain and internal organs first, where you can’t necessarily see the benefits.’ So to improve your skin, you need to increase the amount of nutrients you’re taking in. But what should you eat for anti-ageing? A healthy, balanced diet is obviously a great place to begin, but including some of the following wrinkle-busting foods will help reveal smoother, softer skin – without the wallet-busting price tag.

Spice up your life
Add some turmeric to your meals for a skin boost  the bright yellow spice could help beat wrinkles. Pearson says, ‘There are four processes involved in ageing, one of which is inflammation. Turmeric is a known anti-inflammatory, so it could help fight the signs of ageing.’

Are you drinking enough?

It’s rare to see a supermodel without a big bottle of water, but is simply glugging gallons of pure H2O the secret to clear skin? Not according to Dr Howard Murad, author of The Water Secret (John Wiley & Sons, £12.99). He says we can drink up to 20 glasses of water a day, but if we cannot hang on to that water, we’ll end up going to the toilet 20 times a day, too! ‘If the cell membranes are damaged, like a perforated pocket trying to hold onto coins, water passes right through,’ he says. Eating foods that help repair cell damage can help you hang on to the water you drink. Dr Murad also believes it’s best to ‘eat’ your water, rather than drink it: ‘Virtually all food has some water in it, but the most natural foods have the highest water content. The water in fresh fruit and vegetables provides a steady supply as you digest it. Colourful fruits and vegetables also concentrate their water with nutrients, making it valuable – it’s the best form of water for your cells because it stays in your system long enough for your body to put it to good use.’ Also, rather than drinking litres of plain water, think about other ways to boost your fluid intake. Pearson says, ‘Herbal teas are a good idea as some can help with detoxification, which could help clear your skin.’

Words Rosalind Ryan

*for more pick up a copy of Healthy at your local Holland & Barrett.

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