Skin Matters - What's Bad For Your Skin

Smoking is bad for your skin as are many other things, such as drinking too much alcohol, eating trans fats, excessive sugar, and processed foods.  All the above might not be great for your skin, but they do no favours to any organs or parts of the body, except help you gain weight, feel sluggish and tired, and lack energy. 

All of these little guilty pleasures are to be avoided if possible but should be okay once in a while.  Like everything else, moderation is key. 

Effects Of Smoking On The Skin 

Cigarette smoking can cause too much oxidation to occur in the skin thus hindering the skin's natural ability to heal itself and making it prone to damage from the environment and allowing free radicals to roam unhindered throughout our skin damaging cells and our dna.  Of course this is where antioxidants come in.  They help fight off the free radicals and reduce the threat to your skin.  So there's three things you have to do here:- 1. Stop smoking because every cigarette creates tons of free radicals.  2. Eat lots of leafy greens and fresh fruit and vegetables because they have lots of antioxidants and these will counteract the damage done by the free radicals and 3. Use a good quality cream on the face, hands and other parts of the body

The Effect Sugar, Trans Fats/ Fast Foods And Processed Foods Have On The Skin

Now, I'm a firm believer that a little treat now and then is actually a good thing but if we indulge all the time in these dirty pleasures we will pay for it.  Balance is key here.  The odd burger with a salad accompanied either before (long before) or after by some fruit is ok.  

If our diet consists of only trans fats, fast and processed food, and sweet things then we will suffer both mentally and physically.  It will definitely show on our skin.

Sugars cause inflammation in the body and on the skin.  It raises insulin levels which in turn causes damage to the collagen and elastin in the skin.  This all results in premature aging as our skin loses its elasticity and becomes wrinkled and thinned out and paper-like

Processed foods don't have much nutrition for starters but also they tend to be laced with salt which, as we all know, is responsible for water retention, hence the puffy eyes!!!  

Trans Fats also contribute to inflammation, like sugar and processed foods

Effects Of Alcohol On The Skin

A lot of us can tell you how badly we feel after the taking of too much alcohol.  The famous hangover the next day is nearly too much to bear and takes all the joy out of a night of binge drinking.  There's nothing wrong with a glass or two of wine or a beer or two on a night out.  Hell, even a shot of whisky can perk us up to no end!!!  What too much alcohol does is it dehydrates us completely and that means it dehydrates our skin.  And it also can cause inflammation and redness to the skin.  Enough said here.  Just take it easy on the alcohol!!!