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Small changes to your diet will make a big difference to your skin, hair, nails and smile. Here’s our 30-days-to-gorgeous expert plan
Day 1> Clean up on the inside
Start every day with a cup of boiling water infused with the juice of half a lemon. It’s a brilliant cleanser, flushing out toxins that may have built up during the night.
Day 2> Cut back on bubbly
Yes, it’s tough to not indulge during silly season when everyone’s out celebrating, but alcohol is associated with accelerated ageing. Drinking too much takes a toll on your liver. If your liver isn’t working well, you’ll end up with puffy eyes, tired-looking skin, cracked lips, break-outs and acne flare-ups, plus dry, lacklustre hair. Alcohol also causes the enlargement of blood vessels, so over time you may develop spidery red veins on your cheeks.
Day 3> Drink more…
…water. “Imagine a balloon filled with water — taut and firm to touch. Allow some of the water out and the balloon will shrink, the rubber may even become a little shrivelled. Deprive a skin cell of water and it will produce a similar result. Without adequate hydration, your cells cannot repair and regenerate — they also cannot clear waste products which build up in the cells and the blood,” says UK nutritionist and author Patrick Holford.
Day 4> Arm yourself with antioxidants
They protect against — and sometimes even reverse — the skin damage caused by free radicals, which are unstable oxygen molecules produced by pollution, sunlight and cigarette smoke. According to dietitian Jane Badham, the best sources of anti-oxidants are fruit and vegetables. “The wider the variety and the more colourful, the better,” she says.
Dark green vegetables like broccoli and spinach are essential. Broccoli contains folate, which keeps your arteries clear and your blood flowing. It helps to improve circulation for a healthier, brighter skin. Try to include broccoli in your diet up to three times a week. It’s also good for your teeth and nails. Remember to add colour to your plate, which is easy to do by including carrots, pumpkin, celery and aubergine in your diet, all of which are rich in antioxidants.
Day 5> Have a healthy dessert
Tuck into a bowl of berries. Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries and blueberries are true superfoods when it comes to our skin. Blueberries keep the walls of capillaries strong, helping to prevent small broken veins under the skin. Add live, organic, natural yoghurt for a delicious after-dinner treat.
Day 6> Go nuts
Instead of reaching for a chocolate when that mid-afternoon snack attack catches you off guard, keep a container of nuts in your desk drawer. Almonds, pistachios and walnuts are full of anti-ageing essential fatty acids, which help to keep skin smooth and supple, says Holford.
Day 7> Cook Mediterranean
Opt for olive oil when cooking. For the best results, choose extra-virgin olive oil as it contains higher levels of polyphenols, compounds with antioxidant activity, says Dr Richard Asarch, author of The Beautiful Skin Diet (Ideal). But don’t turn up the heat too high or the oil loses its nutritional value.
Day 8> Go green
Green tea is a powerful antioxidant, and boosts your metabolism, thus promoting weight loss.
Day 9> Check your oil
Oily fish is rich in fatty acids. Eat three portions of salmon, mackerel, fresh tuna, sardines or anchovies per week. Just another great reason to head for the sushi bar.
Day 10> Cut back on caffeine
Coffee or tea both dehydrate skin — limit your intake to two cups a day. When you do have a cup, follow it up with a glass of water.
Day 11> No more nicotine
We don’t like saying “don’t”, but the truth is that smoking is one of the main culprits when it comes to accelerating ageing. Smoking half a packet a day for two years can double premature facial wrinkling, warns Jane Campsie, author of Inner Health, Outer Beauty (Murdoch Books).
Day 12> Know your oats
Oat bran is rich in ferulic acid, which is a mega antioxidant. Make oats part of your daily diet, and go for rolled or organic oats for maximum benefits.
Day 13> Juice up
Aloe vera, available from most supermarkets, is jam-packed with vitamins, amino acids and glyconutrients. Cranberry juice is a mild diuretic, which will help to ease puffiness in the mornings.
Day 14> Stock up on ’shrooms
Add shiitake and reishi mushrooms to your pizzas or other dishes. These so-called medicinal mushrooms contain mannose, which soothes inflammation in cell membranes and promotes tissue regeneration.
Day 15> Bulk up on brown
Brown rice is a rich source of thiamine, essential for healthy circulation, says nutritionist Anita Ellis. It helps to prevent wrinkling and the loss of elasticity.
Day 16> Change the menu
Swap cornflakes for bran flakes. The iron in bran is a brilliant hair booster. An iron deficiency can cause dull hair and even hair loss.
Day 17> Get help from herbs
Add fresh herbs to sauces. Herbs are high in anti-oxidants, and oregano is one of the best sources.
Day 18> Drink tea…
…for your teeth. It contains flourine, which helps strengthen them against decay and calcium loss, says herbalist James Duke
Day 19> Pep up with protein
Saturated fats (the excess fat found on red meat) cause change at cellular level. Avoid cell degeneration by cutting back on red meat — have it no more than three times per week. Opt for fish, organic chicken, game or vegetable sources of protein instead.
Day 20> Eat avocado
The vitamin E in avo helps to keep skin moist and supple. Avocados are rich in unsaturated vegetable oils, which may help improve circulation and reduce the appearance of cellulite. For a soothing, moisturising face mask, mash avo and apply a thick layer to your face. Leave for 10 minutes, then rinse.
Day 21> Live like a Lauder
Evelyn Lauder, cosmetics guru, swears by cherry tomatoes. “I pop them into my mouth as if they were candy,” she says, preferring to pull them straight off the vine. Tomatoes are packed with antioxidant-rich lycopene and vitamin C — crucial in collagen production and also protects cells from free radical damage. Scientific studies found that when lab animals ate vitamin C-fortified food, their skin was better able to fight off oxidative damage, says nutritionist Joy Bauer. Other good sources include peppers (red/green/yellow), oranges, strawberries, lemons, and broccoli.
Day 22> Be bright eyed
Vitamin C may also protect our eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration. The eye contains the highest concentration of vitamin C found in the human body. Vitamin C is important to eye health because of its role in protecting the proteins of the crystalline lens from oxidation, in serving as a free radical scavenger in the retina, and in promoting wound healing in the cornea, says ophthalmologist Richard Semba.
Day 23> Be sun safe…
…with selenium. Bauer says selenium helps safeguard the skin from sun damage and delays ageing by protecting skin quality and elasticity. Get it from Brazil nuts, tuna (canned in water), crab meat and wheatgerm. Nori, the seaweed wrapped around maki at sushi restaurants, is another great source of selenium.
Day 24> Be brave
Not everyone loves the smell of garlic in the morning but garlic, onions and leeks are anti-oxidant superfoods. Counteract the bad breath by chewing fresh parsley. Parsley is also a diuretic, so chew it to combat bloating.
Day 25> Be less refined
No, we don’t mean be a slob. Cutting back on refined foods like white bread, biscuits and cakes will keep skin clear of spots. Refined carbohydrates irritate the oil-producing sebaceous glands in the skin.
Day 26> Add shine to your hair
Foods that are rich in vitamin B, such as eggs, milk and green vegetables, are great for shiny hair. Silica, found in raw oats, cucumber skin, onions and bean sprouts, keeps hair elastic and healthy. Brazil nuts are brimful of omega-3 fats, which adds shine to hair.
Day 27> Go organic
Pure food is better for your skin, hair and nails, says Holford.
Day 28> Learn to swallow
Cod liver oil tastes foul, but it’s a brilliant skin conditioner. Try a tablespoon a week. Grandmother knew best, after all.
Day 29> Light up with lemons
Teeth looking a little grey? Rub lemon peel over your teeth. But don’t overdo it — the acid may damage the enamel. Lemon in the final rinse when washing your hair eliminates shampoo build-up. For natural highlights, streak hair with lemon juice and sit in the sun for 20 minutes.
Day 30> Book a spa treatment.
There’s nothing like relaxation to boost overall wellness. And when you feel good, you look great!
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