It’s Sunday morning and I’m in a Seattle coffee shop after waking from a deep, restful sleep in my hotel room. James and I often go to Seattle (Bellevue to be exact) to start the holiday season off. If you’re in the area, Bellevue starts their annual Snowflake parade which just zaps you into the holiday spirit immediately! We’re also here to do a little bit of shopping too and to relax before the craziness of the holidays begin.
One of those things that I do shop for are supplements and organic vegetables that I can source for a much better price. Which leads me to today’s newsletter.
You know I am all about the morning and evening rituals, or what I often call, self-care. I truly feel it’s the best way to maintain some form of balance and focus in the space between your morning coffee and evening shower.
Today’s post sounds a little self-absorbed but the health of your skin is connected to the health of the rest of your body. So, if you are struggling with acne and vitality in your skin, you may have to look deeper as to the reasons.
Below are just 5 Things That I Do Daily For Healthy, Vibrant Skin:
Eat Real, Whole, and Unprocessed Foods
This sounds simple enough doesn’t it? But, it wasn’t until I made some significant changes to my health that the health of my skin improved.
I personally eat a diet that is grain free (often referred to as Paleo) as I truly find them (ie. rice, quinoa, millet) very hard to digest and therefore creating inflammation in the digestive system. If omitting grains is not your thing, I can only suggest that you soak them overnight and rinse them thoroughly to make them more digestible.
Fresh, Vibrant Greens are essential as they are full of vitamins and minerals that are critical to the health of your skin, namely vitamins A and C. Additionally, the fibre contained in most vegetables help to eliminate waste and toxins from our body and oftentimes, it’s the toxins found in our digestive system and liver that contributes to unhealthy skin. This Ultimate Green Juice would be an awesome beverage to give you body a boost!
Healthy Fats such as avocados, olive and avocado oil, flax oil, olives, grass fed butter are just a few of my favourites.
Healthy Proteins from organic chicken and eggs, wild seafood and grass-fed red meat.
Hydrating Every Morning with Lemon Water
Think about it: if you are sleeping a minimum of eight hours per night, your body is waking up dehydrated. The very first thing that I do is drink 2-3 cups of pure, filtered, room temperature water with the squeeze of one lemon to rehydrate the body. Lemon’s are very alkalizing and they help to jump start the digestive and elimination process. It also encourages the liver to produce more enzymes, thereby more effectively removing toxins, waste, chemicals, unwanted bacteria, etc. from the body. So, it has a dual role of aiding in digestion and the detoxification process. I also alternate between lemon and raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar which will have added probiotics.
Holistic Dental Care
It may shock you to know that a majority of toxic substances and bacteria are found in our mouths! Several years, I started to study the impact on dental care and our overall health.
Oil Pulling and Tongue Scrapping have been critical to the health of my mouth. They are considered an Ayurvedic approach to detoxing by helping to remove toxins that can impair our health, and it’s done in the most natural way. Both of these processes, combined, will take you 10-15 minutes of your time daily.
I personally use this coconut oil for pulling and this tongue scrapper.
You can learn how to oil pull with this quick video.
Fermented Foods and Digestive Aids
I am Polish and was raised in a family that made their own sauerkraut but I never liked it, so I never ate it. Jump forward about 20 years when I started studying holistic nutrition, and now I can’t get enough of the stuff!
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and kombucha are loaded with natural probiotics that add friendly bacteria to our digestive system, and namely, the intestinal tract. These friendly little buggers help support the digestive system and as we’re learning, healthy digestion, healthy skin.
If you struggle with digestion, started adding these fermented foods, coupled with a high-quality probiotic to your regime. But, I have found additional support with the use of a digestive supplement which helps to digest foods such as fats, proteins and carbohydrates so that your body can easily absorb the nutrients. I personally like this brand.
Supplements
These are the ideal supplements that I use on a daily basis that are ideal for healthy skin:
Collagen –> Amazing for great skin, hair and nails but it’s also beneficial for the digestive system.
Probiotics –> To boost my body with additionally friendly bacteria.
Multivitamins –> when our food quality has depleted, we need some help along with way.
Vitamin C –> I personally use vitamin C for stress management but it is also full of antioxidants which are great for the health of your skin.
ETREXA Derma Formula –> this vitamin supplement is blended with Hyaluronic Acid, L-Lysine, L-Carnosine, and Coenzyme Q10 to support optimal skin health and promote intensive skin hydration and rejuvenation. I personally found his natural supplement to increase my own energy levels which was an added boost!
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In addition to the above steps, I also take various other steps with my overall skin care.
My morning routine:
Wash face with water only.
Tone using a natural toner.
Add a layer of organic moisturizer.
Spritz with rose water.
My nightly routine:
Oil cleanse with this liquid coconut oil and essential oils.
Tone using natural toner.
Apply an evening, organic moisturizer.
Spritz with rose water.
I will also make sure that I use a this natural, and gentle exfoliant three times weekly and dry brush the rest of my body every night.
What do you think? Are these not easy and approachable changes that you can make to your skin regime? I would love to hear what you would like to incorporate into your daily habits to improve your skin. Leave me a message before or email me at eatlifebalance@gmail.com
Also, if it interests you, I did a post of the 5 Foods For Healthy and Shiny Hair if you wanted to amp up the health of your hair!
