3 Easy Steps to Naturally Beautiful Healthy Skin

You can spend a fortune on beauty products to give the appearance of healthy skin, or you can follow these simple steps to get healthy skin from inside out, plus get a healthier body too. Since our skin is a reflection of our overall health, living a healthy lifestyle will give us naturally radiant skin. These steps involve no expensive creams or surgical tools. As long as you can commit to a change, you will see results in a matter of days. What are you waiting for? Give these easy steps a try!

Step 1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Not drinking enough fluids can cause headaches, drowsiness, and long term effects such as kidney stones and urinary infections. Some 75% of Americans don't drink enough water, so chances are, adding more fluids into your day will help you feel and look better. You can go by the standard 8 glasses (8 oz each) of water per day as a rule of thumb, but to be more exact, how much water you need to drink depends on your gender, body weight, and activity level. A sure way to tell if you're drinking enough is by observing the color of your pee, aim for colorless to slightly yellow and you are good to go. Also, try to remember to hydrate before you get thirsty, since you might already be slightly dehydrated when you experience thirst. Watching what you drink is important too, for instance, soda, coffee, alcoholic beverages, or salty soups doesn't count since they may actually dehydrate you. A good way to remember is to drink a glass of water when you wake up, one with every meal, one before, during, and after exercising, and one before going to bed. Hydrated skin cells are juicy and plump, reducing fine lines and gives a nice dewy look. Folks with dry skin will see clear benefits while oily skin friends will have less acne breakouts.



When I got pregnant, I got this sippy cup for $7.99 to get myself to drink more water, and it really worked! I found that removing the barrier of having to open a cap made me drink more water more often, it's so easy to take a sip. Plus it feels like a Starbucks cup and looks nicer than most water bottles, and can be used again and again. Just cut a slice of lemon, and fill up with filtered water and you're ready to go!

Step 2. Eat your fruits and vegetables
At the risk of sounding like your mother, I must remind you how important it is to consume raw fruits and veggies. They are packed full of antioxidants and are not only good for your skin but also naturally boost the immune system. Many vitamins are destroyed by heat, so eating raw foods whenever possible is the way to go.  For maximum benefit, eat fruits and veggies with their peels whenever you can. It's been shown that up to 90% of nutrients such as vitamin E (a great skin healer) is found in the peel only. While I wouldn't eat the peel of a pineapple or orange, apple and pear skin is not too bad at all. To avoid dangerous pesticides and herbicides, soak fruits and veggies in water with a teaspoon of baking soda for 10 minutes. Since most chemicals sprayed on crops are acidic, baking soda neutralizes and dissolves these chemicals quickly and safely. Even better, buy fruits and veggies that are certified USDA organic to be on the safe side. Besides, organic fruits and veggies tend to be more flavorful and tend to be packed with more nutrients anyway. Aim for 5 fruits and 5 veggies per day: Bring carrot sticks for a snack, an apple and an orange for breakfast, some blueberries with ice cream for dessert. The delicious possibilities are endless. Stick to it for a few weeks and you will see more even toned, radiant skin, make the change forever and delay the aging process!


Step 3. Exercise everyday
Skin cells are regenerating as we speak, every second there is new skin ready to replace the old. The speed at which this happens however depends on genetics, age, and your activity level. Just like every other organ, the skin takes in nutrients and excretes waste products as it works. Exercising your body will boost this natural regenerating process and sweating will help skin release its waste. (It's true that sitting in a Sauna also does this, but the other health benefits to regular exercising makes it completely worth it.) I know it sounds daunting at first, like, where do I find time to work out when I've got work, and kids, and dinner to make... etc. In fact, finding clever ways to squeeze in exercise can be fun and fast. It's been shown that exercising for 3 ten minute stretches is equivalent to exercising for a full 30min stretch. That means you can take a walk around the block with the dog (10min), take the stairs whenever you can (5min), do some pilate moves while being put on hold with the phone (5min), do some squats while brushing your teeth (5min). Deep breathing is also considered a form of exercise and a great relaxation tool. Do this while driving and it will decrease road rage and give you better complexion once you arrive at your destination.

Making lifestyle changes is never easy. But making small changes everyday without beating yourself up will build life-long positive habits in the long term. Try to make a commitment to make a change for 21 days. It's been shown that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, after that it just becomes second nature. Here's to more healthy skin naturally! Stay tuned for more tips, next up "3 steps to naturally beautiful hair".