Feed your skin right and you’ll be eating your way to a healthier, brighter, clearer, more radiant you. After all, you are what you eat.

Avocado

For complexions in need of a boost in the glow department, add avocado into your daily diet. Not only are avocados a rich source of lutein – good-for-you-fats that lend your complexion a lit-from-within-glow – but are also packed with antioxidants Vitamins C and E to provide incredible anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits.

We love sliced avocado with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice first thing in the morning, tossed into a smoothie for an extra creamy kick, or chopped into our favorite salads. Save the leftovers for a nourishing DIY face mask: mash half an avocado with a squeeze of lemon and a tiny spoonful of honey. Apply the mixture all over your face and leave on for about 15 minutes before toning; your skin will be noticeably smoother, softer, and more radiant almost immediately.

Blueberries

Blueberries are known to be one of the greatest food source of antioxidants. They’re nutritionally dense, antioxidant-packed berries that also happen to be vascular constrictors that help reduce redness and calm acne-prone skin. In short, eating a serving or two a day can leave your skin looking firmer, clearer, and more youthful.

Keep your fridge stocked with fresh berries to snack on throughout the day at home or at the office. Add a handful to your yogurt or cereal. Toss a cup into your smoothie du jour. Blueberries are just good wherever, whenever.

Cocoa Powder

Try adding dark chocolate or a spoonful of raw cocoa powder into your breakfast smoothie for firmer, suppler skin. Because cocoa contains high levels of flavanols, a potent antioxidant that helps protect against sun damage, it actually hydrates the skin and helps smooth uneven skin texture. A 3-month study on the benefits of cocoa in relation to UV rays concluded that those who drank high-flavanol cocoa for that time period experienced 25% less skin-reddening or burn when out in the sun.

Flaxseed

Including flaxseed in your diet can actually help improve overall hydration and reduce redness and inflammation. It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids which are known to help diminish the appearance of age spots, fine lines, and wrinkles; the fatty acids attract and bind water to skin cells, in turn reducing the look of wrinkles by hydrating and plumping the skin.

Add about half a teaspoon to your yogurt, juice, or smoothie. The secret to lasting results and increased benefits is to incorporate it into your daily diet.

Mango

For skin that’s in want of healthy glow and color, add a few servings of mango into your diet. Mangos are packed with carotenoids – organic pigments – that the body is able to synthesize into antioxidant Vitamin A. These pigments are stored just beneath the skin before conversion, thereby imparting a healthy, rosy glow to your complexion.

. . .

*Consult with your doctor before making any dietary changes.