Healthy skin comes from the inside out. What you choose to put into your body will reflect itself on your skin. Diets filled with processed foods often leave skin looking and feeling dull, oily, and discolored. What vitamins do you need and what exactly do they do? Here are the basics on vitamins and skin health.
Vitamin A
Believed to help slow the aging process and widely used in treatment of acne - is involved in skin repair and maintenance, so deficiency results in a dry, flaky complexion. Foods loaded with vitamin A include liver, fish oils, milk, broccoli, carrots, sweet potatoes and dried apricots.
Vitamin B Complex
Forms the basis of skin cells, providing nourishment and improving skin elasticity. Deficiency can cause conditions such as dermatitis. B3 (Niacin) promotes plump healthy looking skin by helping it to retain moisture. Natural sources of Vitamin B include meat, poultry, liver, rice, yeast, avocado, milk, eggs and yogurt.
Vitamin C
Vitamin E and A are all celebrated for their antioxidant properties. They can help counter the damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules that promote wrinkles and other signs of aging through their consumption of collagen and elasting the fibers supporting skin structure). Vitamin C works well against the effects of sun exposure. Rich natural sources include citrus fruits, kiwi, black currants, red peppers, broccoli and spinach. Vitamin C offers particularly effective skin protection from overexposure when combined with Vitamin E.
vitamin D
The most major benefit of vitamin D is related to calcium absorption, but its positive effects aren’t just limited to bone health. Vitamin D has been found to help treat psoriasis. Calcitriol is a man-made version of vitamin D3, which is the kind of vitamin D that humans produce. Calcitriol is a topical cream that has been effective in treating patients with cases of psoriasis. In a study, applying calcitriol reduced the amount of skin inflammation and irritation in patients with psoriasis and produced few adverse side effects.
Vitamin E
Also helps reduce skin damage caused by the Sun, as well as reducing the appearance of wrinkles, making your skin smoother. Food sources include sunflower seeds, almonds, peaches, tomatoes, cabbage and avocados. Research indicates that when combined with vitamin A, Vitamin E is effective at preventing certain skin cancers.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K can be found in many different topical creams for the skin, and can help treat a variety of skin conditions. Doctors frequently use creams that contain vitamin K on patients who have just undergone surgery. Vitamin K is essential in aiding the body's process of blood clotting, which helps the body heal the areas bruised during surgery. Topical creams with vitamin K can also help treat unsightly skin irritations, such as spider veins, stretch marks, scars, and dark circles under the eyes. However, research on vitamin K’s effects on the skin is more limited than that for vitamins E and C.
Vitamins are essential
As vitamins are essential to your health and body functions, vitamin deficiencies can cause adverse effects on the skin. For example, a lack of vitamin C can cause scurvy. Since vitamins C and E play such important roles in protecting your skin from the sun, deficiencies in either vitamin can increase the risk of skin damage, including skin cancer.
Vitamin supplements are easy to come by these days, so consult with your dermatologist or doctor to start a regimen for your health. Next time you walk down the skin care aisle at the store, take a look to see if these four helpful vitamins are ingredients of your favorite products.
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