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.