Nutrition For The Skin
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Written by Laurel Sherer
Food affects the way that our bodies look. As we have said before, the phrase “you are what you eat” does hold meaning! If we want to look and feel healthy, we need to eat a healthy diet. David Wolfe states in Eating For Beauty (2002), “Just as the crashing waves caress the beach cliffs every day, every night, relentlessly, and thus shape those cliffs ever so subtly, so too, do the foods we eat shape our form subtly, slowly, and methodically over time.” (20) Healthy skin is vibrant, clear, and soft. It shines with the light of inner beauty. There are many products that advertise being helpful to create healthy skin. While these may help acne to clear up, they may also be creating further toxicity of the body. We do not need to decide between helping our bodies to be less toxic and having healthy skin, though. They can go hand in hand when we focus on what type of nutrition and natural habits help the skin.
In looking at how we can affect our skin’s health through nutrition, let us start by first looking at the skin’s role in detoxifying the body. The skin is the body’s largest organ for detoxification. According to Prescription For Nutritional Healing (1993), “If the body contains more toxins than the kidneys and liver can effectively discharge, the skin takes over. In fact, some doctors call the skin the ‘second kidney.’” (88) A wonderful step toward the radiant health of our entire bodies is to detoxify them. We take in toxins through the environment, products we use, and sometimes food we eat.
What foods cause toxins to accumulate in the body? Any non-organic foods have chemicals in the form of pesticides, herbicides, and others that come into your body upon ingesting the food. According to Richard Anderson in Cleanse & Purify Thyself (1998), highly acidic foods are toxic to the body as well. Highly acidic foods include meat, dairy, coffee, and sugar. When such acidic foods reach the stomach, they cause the stomach to produce mucous as a way to protect itself. This mucous can build-up in the intestinal track over time, forming what Anderson calls, “mucoid plaque.” (see the UMS course Cleansing & Fasting)
Releasing these toxins can be a life-changing process, for as our bodies become clear, so do our minds and emotions. Detoxification can be done through eating certain foods on a regular basis or during a specific time of cleansing. Raw foods are wonderful for cleansing each organ and cell of the body. In addition, alkaline cooked foods help the body to cleanse to some extent as well. It is important to note that during the process of cleansing, our skin may have more outbreaks than usual. Once our bodies are cleansed enough for our skin to not have to detoxify, our skin will regain its naturally beautiful health.
In addition to cleansing, there are certain minerals that we can take which specifically help the skin. David Wolfe states in Eating For Beauty (2002), “Sulfur is the foundational mineral of all beauty. It produces a flame-like tint in the skin. It creates a subtle luster as delicate as the halo around the full moon on a clear desert evening… Sulfur-residue foods make the complexion radiant.” (98) In nature, sulfur is present in MSM (methyl-sulfonyl-methane). MSM comes in rain water, ocean water, and all living things. However, many people are deficient in MSM because MSM is either evaporated or destroyed when it is cooked. David Wolfe suggests taking an MSM supplement regardless of your type of diet. In Wolfe’s own words, “I had been eating 100% raw plant foods for over 6 years when I began to include additional MSM in my diet… The beautifying effects have been startling―no pimples, fast and thick hair growth on my face and scalp, no soreness in any muscles even after vigorous exercise, more elasticity for yoga, better brain function, and more.” (101)
MSM is available as a supplement in a crystal powder form, which Wolfe recommends. Additionally, foods that contain sulfur can be added into one’s diet. These include blue-green algae, bee pollen, hot peppers, broccoli, garlic, hemp seeds, kale, onions, pumpkin seeds, spirulina, and spicy cabbage. Sulfur is thus the foundational mineral for healthy skin. Other vital nutrients for healthy skin are silicon, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Since the skin is furthest away from the digestive organs in one’s body, it is the last to be nourished. David Wolfe states, “The skin should radiate exquisite freshness, thus expressing the inner truth of excellent health.” (201)
If you or someone you know experiences acne, David Wolfe states that this is often a sign of poor oil/fat assimilation. The main source of poor digestion and assimilation of fats comes from cooked oils. Other foods that lead to acne are cooked animal fats, pasteurized dairy products, and roasted nuts and seeds. Prescription For Nutritional Healing (1997) recommends eliminating sugar, dairy products, alcohol, butter, caffeine, chocolate, fried foods, meat, and all processed foods.
Another point to keep in mind is that the skin’s pH can be easily thrown off by soaps. It can be beneficial to reduce or eliminate the amount of soaps that you use on your skin. A skin brush can be used instead or in conjunction with a mixture of lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar and water. Skin brushes serve to remove dead skin cells and toxins from the skin.
To conclude this section, here are a few skin treatments that are done with food. These come from Eating For Beauty (2002).
Cucumber Mask
This is especially beneficial for those people with oily skin. Peal and grate one cucumber. Apply grated cucumber to the face and neck. Leave on for 20-30 minutes while you relax. Then rinse off.
Aloe Vera Mask
Cut open a small piece of aloe vera and rub a thick layer of the gel on your face and neck. This is a wonderful mask for tired or sagging skin. It is a natural face lift! The aloe vera mask can be left on overnight and rinsed off in the morning.