How Your Diet Holds the Key to a Glowing Complexion, from Yoga's Sister Science Ayurveda
While the weather turns colder, it’s important to think about how to keep your skin healthy and happy this winter. As the biggest organ in your body, it’s common sense to want to keep your skin healthy and practices to promote healthy skin span many centuries.
Archaeologists have found evidence of early cosmetic regimes practiced by Egyptians dating back six thousand years, and the Roman Philosopher Pliney the Elder extolled the benefits of almond oil to fight wrinkles in his first century text Natural History.
We tend to pin all our skin hopes on expensive face masks, exfoliants, and moisturizers, but did you know that your diet can play a big role in creating that age-defying glow we all want?
Yoga’s holistic sister science Ayurveda suggests that the secret to glowing skin lies primarily in a healthy diet.
According to Ayurveda, the skin is not only a protective barrier keeping pathogens out and water in to maintain homeostasis, it’s a gauge of one’s inner state of being. Dullness or a lackluster complexion may reflect sluggish digestion, while redness and inflammation suggest heat in the liver, and dryness and wrinkling signal stress.
Healthy, glowing skin on the other hand represents good digestion, strong immunity, and a balanced state of mind.
Ayurveda describes the digestion (Agni) as the root of all health, and closely links the state of your skin with the health of your digestion. According to Ayurvedic wisdom, if you make some small changes to your diet you might notice some big changes in your complexion.
Eat Less of These Foods:
Salt
Hot chillies
Processed foods
Alcohol
Cheese
Yogurt
Eat More of These Foods:
Dark leafy greens (especially baby spinach)
Courgettes
Coconut
Mangoes
Raisins
Dates
Almonds
Whole grains
Red Lentils
Chickpeas
Cloves
Aloe Vera juice
This article is adapted from an article originally published in the Winter/Spring 2019 issue of CO Yoga + Life Magazine. Find the original article here.
