After recently celebrating my birthday it made me look at what I can do to help my skin be as healthy as it could be. Wrinkles are part of aging but who says we can’t do all we can to delay this happening. I did a bit of research and interestingly enough one of the best ways you can keep your skin looking younger and healthier is to maintain a diet that incorporates anti-aging foods. This makes sense as what we eat can dictate many things such as health, energy, quality of life and longevity so why not aging.

Annette Sym tells us how to maintain healthy skin.

Eating a diet high in vitamins and minerals will help restore and protect skin cells so here are some of the top anti-aging foods:

1. The mineral selenium can help protect the skin from sun damage and delays aging by protecting skin quality and elasticity. Foods that are high in selenium are whole breads, tuna (canned in water), Brazil nuts, crab and wheat germ.
2. Omega 3 fatty acids will help keep the water and nutrients in our skin which means hydrated skin and also help to keep the toxins out and also protect skin from sun damage. Good sources include oily fish, sardines, flaxseeds and walnuts.
3. Beta carotene is a great antioxidant for skin health, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Benefits are growth and repair of body tissues, and may protect against sun damage. Foods such as sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, mangos and apricots are great for your skin.
4. More antioxidant foods that if eaten regularly can lead to younger looking skin are plums, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Others that are loaded with antioxidants are beans, pecans, prunes and artichokes.
5. Vitamin E is fantastic at protecting skin as well as UV damage. Good food choices would be wheat germ, lean meat nuts, beans and seeds and also multivitamins that have Vitamin E included will help. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables as well.
6. Another way to keep skin firm and plump is Vitamin C as this is involved in collagen construction and can protect cells from free radical damage such as smog and air pollution. Help avoid this by eating capsicums, oranges, grapefruits, limes, lemons and broccoli. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is a natural way to obtain Vitamin C in your diet.
7. And finally a cup or two of green tea can help too. It contains polyphenols which can help reduce inflammation and also protect against sun damage. They say to get the full benefit you are best to have between 4-6 cups of green tea a day.