Skin, Food and Antioxidant Relation

As the saying, reap what you sow; means you get as much, as much you put in.  Same theory goes on the skin too. The skin will exactly show what you have eaten. A healthy pink looking skin indicates good health surely followed by good diet.

Let us understand the theory of antioxidants and free radicals and how they correlate with the condition of the skin. Our body, by the result of metabolism and continuous working produces free radical in a limited number constantly. Atom or molecules always have a paired set of electrons. Free radicals are the atoms or molecules having impaired electrons. That particular electron always looks for another electron to be paired with. It can go to the neighbouring molecule to snatch an electron to be paired for itself, leaving that molecule to become a free radical now and this chain process goes on. A series of the molecules involved in this process are affected to make that particular section of that body unhealthy. It can be skin or any another of them.

So now the chain reaction of borrowing an electron, creates havoc in the living organism. It is estimated that such a chain reaction can trigger 10 Billion molecules per second. 

Free radicals are a result of:
·      Diet
·      Smoking
·      Stress
·      Alcohol
·      Drugs
·      Sunlight
·      Air pollution
·      Inflammation

With such factors, free radicals form spontaneously.

Whenever the body’s immunity is low, it is prone to the attack of virus and bacteria very often. These organisms live in the human body on oxygen. The more oxygen they use to survive, the more free radicals are produced as a result of their metabolism.
Till a limited number free radicals are good for the body, as they help the immune system to eliminate the unwanted virus, which produce illnesses. But if they are too much in their number, then the problem arises affecting the skin and other organs.
Free radicals destroy the cells of the affected organ by damaging their cell membrane, as a result taking away the nutrients and leaving the cell weak. They also weld molecules together like putting handcuffs on then, so they don’t perform to their maximum capacity.

Now comes the role of antioxidants. They enter the body, lend the extra electron to the free radical and thereafter in return become a weak free radical itself, which cannot harm the body. So now the original free radical has become an antioxidant, as it has got that extra electron, ready to favour the body with good health. Free radicals are available to the body in two ways, i.e., by diet and by supplements. The body cannot produce antioxidants, so they must come from the outer source. The major antioxidants are Vitamin A, C & E.  

Foods containing Vitamin A are:
·      Asparagus
·      Broccoli
·      Beets
·      Carrots
·      Bell Pepper
·      Kale
·      Mangoes
·      Peaches
·      Pumpkin
·      Spinach
·      Sweet Potatoes
·      Watermelon
·      Tomatoes

Foods containing Vitamin C are:
·      All Berries
·      Broccoli
·      Sprouts
·      Kiwi
·      Mango
·      Orange
·      Papaya
·      Tomatoes
·      Red, Yellow, Green peppers
·      Vitamin E
·      All nuts
·      Sunflower seeds
·      Flax seeds
·      All Fishes

Other antioxidants are Zinc, which is found in beans, nuts, red meat, fortified cereals and whole grains. Selenium, is found in, tuna, poultry and fortified grains. Quercetin is a phytochemical found in onions, teas and apples. Other antioxidants are Flavonoids found in chocolates. Resveratrol in wine. And, Lycopene in tomatoes. Eat foods rich in all the above. Yoghurt prevents wrinkles.

Natural bleaching agents for application on the skin are:
·      Lemon juice
·      Potato juice
·      Tomato juice
·      Curd

You can apply the on the affected dark spots.