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Healthy food and healthy living was a world I was fortunate to grow up in, and I have never taken it for granted. My father, Robert Burns, Owner of Shape-Up Health Club in Newport Beach, has studied anti-aging and epigenetics extensively, and from a young age I was eager to absorb all I could learn from him. Out of everything I learned, there were five main points that my father instilled in me:
- Support your mental health by incorporating positive self-talk.
- Ensure you're getting a good night's sleep every night. Life can get busy, but it's important to allow yourself seven to nine hours a night.
- Exercise four to five times a week, making sure you're still moving your body on those off days.
- Drinking water and staying hydrated is a sure way to nourish your skin!
- Eating healthy is one of the biggest factors for maintaining healthy skin. Your skin is the voice of the body, outwardly demonstrating internal imbalances.
Good Lifestyle Habits
When eating to nourish your skin and body, it can be helpful to understand epigenetics, which is the science behind how your behaviors and environment can affect the way your genes work. Your genetics are the same at birth and they do not change, but what does change is how your habits affect your genes. You have the ability to slow signs of aging, feel happier and change your body by exercising and eating well.
When you understand that your healthy diet is affecting every cell in your body, you start to enjoy the healthier foods. For instance, glutathione is an amazing antioxidant that has antiaging benefits and is naturally produced in the body. There are also foods that can support glutathione production, like avocados, spinach, asparagus, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms and okra. Herbs like milk thistle, available in tablet or tea form, is also known to increase glutathione levels.
It is not just food that nourishes the skin; believe it or not, early morning sun gives you that “sunshine vitamin,” also known as vitamin D, which plays an important role in skin protection and rejuvenation. In its active form as calcitriol, vitamin D helps fight free radicals that cause premature aging.
Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water is the average amount that should be consumed daily. This may seem daunting, but once you make it a habit you'll start craving the feeling! I highly recommend drinking water from a glass (rather than potentially toxic plastic) and look for a home water filter. People who stay hydrated are known to have less scars, wrinkles and soft lines than those who do not.
The most nourishing foods are antioxidants, especially proanthocyanidins, which are found in grape seed. Seeded grapes are unfortunately hard to find in the U.S., they are a great source of these specific antioxidants. Otherwise, you can always find grape seeds in supplement form.
Probiotics and Antioxidants
The skin loves dark berries and dark leafy green vegetables. Not only are they packed with antioxidants that fight free radical damage, but they also have probiotics that support the gut biome. Remember that no nutrition can be absorbed without a healthy gut. Avoid soda, and some should even avoid gluten and dairy to support a healthy gut—which equals glowing skin and better overall well-being.
The best way to maintain a healthy gut is to eat a balanced diet and include fermented foods, like sauerkraut, kimchi and kifer, which are packed with probiotics. Fermentation happens when oxygen is removed, which allows the foods to become rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants support skin renewal by reducing inflammation and encouraging natural repair processes.
A lot of people think they have dry skin when really their skin is malnourished. In this case, the skin needs good nutrition more than it needs heavy oils and creams. Antioxidants fight free radical damage, thereby slowing signs of premature skin aging. Ingesting antioxidants will also boost collagen production, brighten dull skin, calm inflammation and increase hydration.
It is so important to nourish skin internally as well as externally. I love to remind clients that, when they are taking time to wash their face and apply their skin care, they should take those few moments to be mindful and tell themselves affirmations. When they give that love to themselves, they can manifest better heatlh and happiness. It will not only nourish their soul, but nourish every cell in their body.
