Monday, January 4, 2010

Antioxidants And Skin - Vitamims To Take For Acne

Food for Life distributes food on an internati...Image via Wikipedia
Antioxidants in foods are important for our health and skin. It is known that eating five to seven serves each day of fresh fruit and vegetables help protect against heart disease, cancers and other diseases. They are also very beneficial for your skin. They keep the skin supple and glowing, and also prevent the skin from aging, acne or getting wrinkled.

What are antioxidants?


Antioxidants include Vitamins A, C and E, carotenoids and phenolics.

Antioxidants are naturally occurring chemicals in foods that help to counter the detrimental effects of oxygen free radicals, which form during normal metabolism and through external factors such as x-rays, ultra-violet radiation and pollution.

The body stocks its supply of antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits like pomegranate, blueberries and grapes are an extremely rich in antioxidants. Besides this, vitamin A (retinol), vitamin E (tocopherol) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) also act as strong antioxidants. They strengthen the immune system, which indirectly helps in controlling acne and its related problems.

The best sources of Vitamin E are vegetable oils, cereals - particularly in the germ of whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Tea is a rich source of antioxidants called flavonoids, and wine contains beneficial phenolic compounds.
It is also possible to purchase a range of antioxidant vitamin supplement tablets.

Only 1% of the antioxidants that are taken orally as vitamin tablets or in the form of fruits and vegetables reach the skin. The rest are used for maintaining the internal metabolic functioning of the body. It therefore makes sense to use topical lotions for the skin. Most of them are available over the counter and can protect the skin from free radicals for 4-5 days. They act as a screen keep the skin healthy and young. However, such lotions should be applied regularly if they are to be useful.

Stress and physical or mental exhaustion is known to increase the number of free radicals in the body. It can indirectly affect the skin and cause acne. Hence proper sleep and adequate rest will also help you stay away from acne.

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