By: Jesse Reilly

Not scientifically reviewed by Dr. Eeks 

There are a million and one skin care routines out there that will help you improve your skin’s health. Many of them focus on what you put on your skin. There are lotions, creams, and ointments that all have a mix of ingredients to benefit your skin.

What can sometimes get ignored is that your skin’s health is greatly affected by what you are putting inside. Our diet plays a huge role in what happens to our skin. In fact, you can check out a skin care juice that can help bring some needed nutrients to the skin from within.

If you are serious about improving your skin quality then you need to understand the signs that your skin is showing you so you can take charge and change your diet. In this article, I will go over several of the ways that diet can affect skin so you know what to look for.

1 – Acne

Acne is caused when your pores get clogged with oil and dead skin cells. This can trap bacteria which then grow and cause an uncomfortable blemish as it is now infected. Your body produces natural oil which is supposed to travel up the pores to flush away the dead skin cells, yet, if there’s too much oil it can have the opposite effect.

Hormones are a big reason why this happens and is why teens have acne problems more than adults since they have a lot of hormones raging at that time in their life.

However, there are also foods that cause excess oil production. Insulin is something that causes the body to produce too much oil and this can cause acne. The foods we eat will cause a spike in insulin and can lead to acne. The leading foods that cause a spike in insulin are processed foods that are high in carbs and sugars.

If you have a poor diet that involves a lot of fast food or packaged goods and have acne then this is the reason. Before you call a dermatologist in Utah County or wherever it is that you live, then you need to change your diet first.

Start out by cooking foods from scratch and getting rid of the processed foods you eat. Cooking whole foods forces you to think more about what you are eating and will end up cleaning your system out.

2 – Dry itchy skin

One of the biggest issues people have with their skin is that it can be dry and itchy. This is especially true in the winter for a couple of reasons. The major reason is that the air in winter is very dry and cold and this pulls moisture away from your skin. This is why many people have uncomfortable skin on their faces since that is usually the only thing exposed in the winter.

The secondary reason is that people drink less water in the winter as opposed to when it’s hot since they aren’t feeling as thirsty. In the summer you are sweating away a lot of moisture but since you feel thirsty you are replacing it quickly by drinking a lot. In the winter, we need to drink even when we don’t feel thirsty since our skin depends on us staying hydrated to not get dry and itchy.

3 – Bags under the eyes

Most people see bags under their eyes and think they need to start sleeping better to get rid of them. While this is good advice, it doesn’t exactly solve the problem since there are dietary issues also contributing to those bags.

For starters, if you are drinking a lot of alcohol then this could be one of the biggest reasons. Alcohol dries out the skin and this will lead to those bags developing. If you aren’t a big drinker then it could be what you aren’t eating that is the problem. A lack of collagen in the diet can be causing those bags as that is an area where the skin is prone to sage and needs that collagen to stay firm and plump. Try eating things like avocado and egg whites.

4 – Pale complexion

Sometimes your complexion just doesn’t look right. When your pale complexion looks extra pale and even sickly, it is likely that you are not getting enough nutrients from your food. While an underlying medical condition may be at play, poor overall diet may be the cause, so you need to start cooking some balanced meals to get your skin looking healthy and with the right complexion.