The connection between health and beauty is intuitive. On some level, we all understand that living a healthy lifestyle improves our appearance, and that the health of our skin is an indicator of our overall health. But, what many of us don’t realize is that the connection between beauty and health is just as strong.
First: The Obvious
Food, water, stress management, and sleep are more important than cosmetics and skincare products. Properly managing these four key ingredients will not only have us looking and feeling our best, but also improve our health in ways we can’t see. Now, you probably already know all of this, but let’s take a quick refresher before jumping in to the not-so-obvious:
Food
Sugar, processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and even dairy all can cause inflammation of our body’s tissues. Breakouts in our skin are just one symptom of the destructive nature of these substances in our bodies. They can often wreak havoc in our digestive tract and other body systems as well.
The best solution is to eat more fresh whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables that contain nutrients and antioxidants that fight systemic inflammation. For a little more information about this read this article from St. John’s health.
Water
This is perhaps the most obvious ingredient to being our most beautiful. After all, our bodies are composed of somewhere around 60% water! Staying hydrated allows nutrients to more easily reach our cells. It also reduces our skin’s natural defense mechanism – oil production – which helps to clear up our skin.
How much water should we drink? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that, for people living in a temperate environment, an adequate daily fluid intake is about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters, or 125 oz) of water for men and about 11.5 cups
(2.7 liters, or 91 oz) of water a day for women. That water can come from multiple sources such as juices and the like, but you’re not getting it from diuretic drinks such as soft drinks and coffee. In fact, those drinks actually dehydrate you. So, be careful about what you reach for in the fridge.
