Nutritionist reveals top foods for youthful skin

How to keep your skin youthful

"As we age, our skin is one of the first indicators of our advancing years: it becomes dry, develops wrinkles and spots, hair thins, grays, and becomes sparser. These changes are just part of the deep internal transformations that occur, disrupting intracellular biochemical mechanisms, mitochondrial function, proteins, and gene activity," says Skytalinska.

However, this process can be slowed down by following a few rules. First and foremost, you need to change your lifestyle, nutrition, physical activity, and sleep.

"Lack of quality sleep inhibits skin cell renewal, contributes to increased pigmentation, reduced elasticity, drooping eyelids, puffiness under the eyes, and drooping corners of the mouth," explains the doctor.

To maintain youthful skin, you need to improve your metabolic health by normalizing glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight levels.

"Medication may often be necessary to prevent negative changes from progressing into serious illnesses and complications. It is crucial to maintain a healthy weight, especially avoiding fat accumulation around the waist. For women, this typically happens after menopause due to estrogen deficiency," the nutritionist states.

Skytalinska also advises paying attention to daily rhythms—adhering to a regular sleep and eating schedule.

"Moderate sun exposure is also important. Sunlight is necessary for normalizing daily rhythms and brain health, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon," the doctor says.

It is also important to master stress reduction techniques, including breathing exercises.

"For women, hormone replacement therapy can be beneficial if there are no contraindications. It's advisable to use phyto-analogues that compensate for estrogen deficiency. Female hormones are crucial for youthful skin; their absence leads to sagging and dryness of the skin and mucous membranes," the doctor explains.

Daily physical activity helps maintain youth — aerobic exercises enhance skin elasticity and smoothness, while resistance exercises (push-ups, leg presses) strengthen the outer skin layer.

It's also necessary to quit smoking and avoid environmental toxins — walk as far away from roads and vehicles as possible, use HEPA filters in cars and at home if you don't live in a forested area.

"Grow indoor plants to purify the air, use humidifiers if the air is dry, and visit a sauna regularly to sweat thoroughly. Avoid using household chemicals and cosmetics that contain petrochemical products. Do not store or reheat food in plastic or foil," the doctor advises.

What your diet should be

Your diet should have a low to moderate glycemic index, meaning it does not raise blood sugar (glucose) levels. Consistently high blood sugar levels damage proteins (glycation), primarily collagen, which is the body's main structural protein. This accelerates wrinkle formation and overall aging.

Skytalinska advises adding oregano, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice, apple, and balsamic vinegar to your dishes. These ingredients inhibit the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs).

Avoid combining sugars (glucose, fructose) with fats (cakes with creams, puff pastries, candies with creamy fillings, chocolate with creamy centers, Nutella, etc.). This combination alters the composition of gut microbiota, increases intestinal permeability for endotoxins into the bloodstream, promotes oxidative stress inflammation, and disrupts skin function.

To maintain youthful skin, frequently consume cruciferous vegetables (all types of cabbage, arugula, radish, radishes, horseradish) as they enhance the liver's ability to remove harmful and toxic substances either from external sources or produced during metabolism.

You should consume fermented foods—they rejuvenate gut microbiota, which in turn produces anti-inflammatory substances. For example, elderberry kvass is beneficial.

"Eat foods rich in various types of fiber and polyphenols (berries, green tea, broccoli, stewed tomatoes, onion peel infusion). Polyphenols block inflammatory molecules and prevent cell destruction," says Skytalinska.

Ensure your diet is rich in omega-3 fats. Consume nuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, and egg yolks.

Earlier, we wrote about how to slow down aging.

Also, read about what to eat to prevent early graying.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.