Eating For Beauty
Eating for Beauty
by Dr. Alisa Cooper, D.C., C.C.N.
Depending on what we eat, food can either nourish us or poison us. It can tear us down and deplete us, or build us up and energize us. It can rob of us of our looks prematurely, or it can ensure natural beauty well into our later years. The diet that will give you radiant good looks is the same diet that will give you vibrant good health! It is a diet that focuses on balancing carbohydrates, protein and fat. It sounds simple, and it really is. To experience beauty, you must eat for beauty!
You Are What You Eat
You are as beautiful and the quality of the foods you eat. The first step of the beautification process is to replace unfavorable carbohydrates with more favorable carbohydrates. Unfavorable carbohydrates are the ones that turn quickly to sugar in the body and which cause insulin levels to spike. High insulin levels cause your appetite to increase while signaling your body to store, rather that burn fat. Examples of unfavorable, or simple, carbohydrates are white bread, pasta, potatoes, white rice, muffins, bagels, pretzels, chips, cake, cookies, pies, soda, sugary fruit drinks, and sweetened coffee beverages. Did you notice that they all contain white sugar and/or white flour? These are the evil twins that rob of our vitality and luster.
The Good Carbohydrates
Favorable carbohydrates, on the other hand, also called complex carbohydrates, are broken down more slowly during digestion. This is more favorable metabolically because it tempers the insulin response and maintains glucose, or sugar levels, on a more even keel. The result is a more normal appetite and a body that can effectively burn rather than store fat. Examples of favorable carbohydrates are fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, beans and lentils. Nearly every colorful fruit and vegetable on earth will do wonders for your complexion! Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, renown for her unsurpassed beauty, took dietary measures to correct constipation as she feared it dulled her complexion. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains all provide wondrous fiber that leads to regularity… and glowing skin!
The Power of Protein
The next step of your natural beauty diet is to eat a moderate amount of lean protein at each and every meal. Most of our protein comes from animal sources, but there are vegetarian sources of protein such as tofu, tempeh, soy “meat” substitutes and protein powder made from soy, hemp, rice or peas. Regardless of the source, protein is needed for growth, healing and repair. A lack of adequate dietary protein causes you to lose muscle tone, and skin, hair and nails to lose strength and shine. In a nutshell, it will put you on the fast track to showing all sorts of signs and symptoms of aging. For enhanced beauty, choose organic chicken or turkey, cold water fish, tofu, free-range egg whites, low-fat, organic cottage cheese and yogurt, and on occasion, even very lean organic, free-range beef.
Fat Phobia
We have become a fat-phobic society. We think we get fat from eating too much fat, but Americans have been eating low-fat foods for decades and we are fatter than ever! Now here this: you need fat to burn fat. Fats make food taste good and they give us the feeling of being satiated, or satisfied enough to refrain from overeating. We just need to learn to eat the right fats!
Step three of eating for natural beauty is to incorporate some healthy source of fat at every meal. Examples are extra virgin olive oil, raw, unsalted nuts and seeds, freshly ground flaxseeds, avocados, and cold water fish like salmon, sardines, herring and halibut. Fats to avoid are the trans fats like margarine, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, egg yolks in excess, and meats laden with saturated animal fat like ham, sausage, and bacon.
Fat is Complicated
We need to balance our omega-3 fatty acids, those that fight inflammation in the body, with our omega-6 fatty acids, those that promote inflammation. The typical American diet is very high in the omega 6’s found commonly in corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils, and very low in the omega 3’s found mostly in deep sea, cold water fish. Unfortunately, few of us relish the thought of eating mackerel, snapper, bass, bluefish, and trout!
Something Fishy
Yet, to have supple skin and lustrous hair, not to mention to be healthy, we need to raise our level of omega 3’s and scale down our omega 6’s. If you want to look amazing, you need to eat more wild-caught, cold water fish! Have you ever gone on Dr. Perricone’s Three Day Diet for absolutely gorgeous skin just prior to a reunion, wedding or milestone event? It consists of three days of eating salmon three times a day! That, and an abundance of green, leafy salads and raw fruits and vegetables along with copious amounts of H20. If you don’t like fish, or are not willing to develop an appreciation for it, you will have to take a quality fish oil, or krill oil, supplement.
Sweet Misery
The final dietary step to enhancing beauty is to eat less sugar. A lot less. Sugar is incredibly damaging to your looks because of the effect it has on collagen, the protein that lends strength, structural support, and resilience to your skin. As we age, our collagen naturally starts to break down, a process greatly accelerated by excessive sun exposure. Science reveals that eating sugar also accelerates collagen breakdown leading to skin stiffness and wrinkling.
There are literally more than 145 ways that sugar is ruining your health, but they pale in comparison to what sugar is doing to your looks: aging you, wrinkling you, making your skin saggy and crepey! Sticking to a wholesome, balanced diet will go a long way in helping to reduce your sugar intake. It’s hard to find room for candy and cake when you are eating complex carbohydrates likes fresh fruits and vegetables, adequate lean proteins, and healthy omega-3 fats. In other words, when your diet is nutritious and satisfying, you’re far less likely to go ransacking for sweets!
And lastly, to look your absolute best it goes without saying that you must get adequate sleep, plenty of fresh, pure water each day, and a moderate amount of exercise regularly. If the saying is true that “you are what you eat,” would you rather be fried, packaged and preserved, or fresh, earthy and organic? Throwing bad eating habits out, means inviting beauty in. Welcome and embrace your new guest!
Dr. Alisa Cooper is a chiropractor, CCN (certified clinical nutritionist) and EFT practitioner in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is a popular speaker, writer and health advocate. Dr. Cooper can be contacted for appointments, speaking engagements and interviews at alisajoy61@hotmail.com, by phone at 480-699-9735, or visit her website www.LiveAndBeWell.com
