The term "Fat free" is everywhere these days. It is certainly a fixture on modern restaurant menus. The food industry has catered to fat free preoccupations by labeling a myriad of foods fat free as well as offering herbal and medical products that block fat metabolism. However, if you want beautiful skin with fewer wrinkles, you need to eat the right kind of fats.
The right fats provide many benefits to your skin . Healthy fats stimulate the production of collagen, and improve blood flow to layers of the skin, supplying nutrients for the creation of new, healthy skin cells. Fats keep the skin moist, from the inside and are crucial for the absorption of fat soluble vitamins - A, D, E, and K. Beneficial phytonutrients - such as carotene, lycopene and lutein need fat to be absorbed as well.
A study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (and referenced in Gorgeous Skin in 30 Days by E Angyal) found that those who ate salads with low fat dressing had very little alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene in blood tests taken afterwards (even when those salads contained carrots and tomatoes - natural sources of these nutrients). Those who had a full fat dressing with the salad had noticeably higher levels of carotenes and lycopene in their blood.
Good fats have also been known to regulate hormones, reduce inflammation, and prevent eczema, psoriasis, and hair loss.
According to Angyal, you need about 2tbsp, or 20 grams of fats per day to lubricate the skin, and allow enough vitamin A to be absorbed. Vitamin A has been proven to prevent premature aging.
Angyal recommends olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, coconut oil, mustard seed oil, avocado oil, soy oil, macadamia oil, and canola oil. She also suggests using higher quality extra virgin or virgin, cold pressed oils where they are available.
Coconut Oil
I love this stuff. Not only does high quality, cold pressed coconut oil have a beautiful aroma, it also has amazing health benefits that go beyond great looking skin. Coconut oil is incredibly versatile. Because its stabilizing properties, it can be used in cooking without becoming hydrogenated. And it doesn't change the flavor of the food, despite its strong aroma. Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids which are not stored in the cells like other fats but go directly to the liver which converts them into energy. The shorter chain length allows them to bypass the metabolic pathways utlized by other longer chain fats.
Aging skin, including aging of the brain, is associated with a process called peroxidation. This simply means that free radicals remove an oxygen electron from the fats (lipids) in our cellular membranes. Ultraviolet light, from the sun, causes peroxidation in unsaturated fats, both in the laboratory and in our skin. This increases the rate at which wrinkles form. Research suggests that coconut oil may be the only saturated fat beneficial to your body, so try to incorporate it into your diet (and beauty regimen) as much as you can!
Here is a great article that further touts thebeenfits of coconut oil. Enjoy! http://www.renewedfitness.org/five-reasons-to-love-and-use-coconut-oil/.
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