Skin Health Essentials

Healthy skin comes from the inside, which is why anyone looking to improve the condition of his or her skin needs to take a good look at what vitamins and minerals their diet may be lacking. Whether it’s blemishes, dryness, or wrinkles you’re looking to banish, your first step toward better skin health is a nutritional analysis.

You can get a good idea of your vitamin and mineral picture a couple of ways. There are several free tools available online where you can keep a diet diary, and then view the nutritional analysis afterwards. The more days you log, the better of a picture you’re going to get.

If logging your food is too time-consuming or cumbersome, you can get tested for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, either from your primary care physician or by ordering test-kits online. You might have to do several different kits to check all the various vitamins and minerals. One such kit to get you started is Dr. Loomis’ 24 Hour Urinalysis Test Kit.

6 Important Vitamins and Minerals for Healthy Skin

Biotin is a B vitamin that helps to support your skin, nerves, digestion, and metabolism. It is often called the “beauty vitamin” because it is well known as an essential part of maintaining healthy skin, hair, and nails. Skin issues such as dryness, itch, and rashes can be related to a biotin deficiency.

Zinc is one of the most important minerals for skin health. It plays a role in controlling oil production in the skin, and may contribute to controlling some of the hormones that create acne. In fact, acne is a common symptom of zinc deficiency.

Vitamin C is key when it comes to protecting the skin from sun exposure. It’s very effective at fighting free-radical damage, which are known for consuming the fibers that support skin structure – collagen and elastin. It’s best to get your vitamin C from a food source, rather than the synthetic version, ascorbic acid.

Silica is a trace mineral that’s essential for maintaining the health and strength of all the body’s connective tissues, including the skin. It is found in many leafy greens and other vegetables, and is found in especially high concentration in the herb, horsetail. Symptoms of a silica deficiency include reduced skin elasticity and slow wound healing.

Selenium is another mineral that’s vital for maintaining skin elasticity. It also helps to prevent cell damage caused by free radicals, and can protect the skin from damage due to ultraviolet light exposure. Brazil nuts are a great source of selenium – about 7 a day gives you 100% of what you need.

Copper is a vitally important mineral when it comes to the production of collagen and elastin. It also enhances the function antioxidants in the elimination of skin-damaging free radicals. It’s anti-inflammatory and helps the skin day soft, firm, and flexible.

Supplementation for Healthy Skin

While it’s always best to get your vitamins and minerals from food sources, in today’s busy world, that’s not always an easy thing to do. Fortunately, if skin health is a concern for you, you have some great options when it comes to supplements.

If you’re looking for single-mineral supplements, Pure Encapsulations also has selenium and zinc supplements. Not only does PE Selenium play a key role in skin health, but it helps protect the heart, regulate thyroid hormones, and boost immune system. PE Zinc is not only good for your skin, but it plays an important role in supporting the immune system and is a component in over two dozen enzymes that are involved in digestion and metabolism.

If you’re looking for a vitamin C supplement on its own, go for Premier Research Labs Vitamin C, which is a whole-food, highly absorbable of this key nutrient. It contains no synthetic ascorbic acid or calcium ascorbate.

For more on maintaining healthy skin, check out our skin-care archives!

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