Curated by Paola Ferro, Naturopath

Natural supplements for the skin, food or herbal, are useful to improve elasticity, as anti-oxidants and anti-free radicals and to increase resistance to external aggressions. Let's find out better.

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Anatomical description of the skin

The skin, also called skin, is a tissue of the integumentary system.

It is composed of three main layers:

• epidermis (the most external)
• dermis
• hypodermis (or subcutaneous layer).

It is one of the major organs (by extension and weight) of our body as it has a surface between about 1.5 and 2 meters and a weight of about 10 kg.

The skin has multiple functions:

• protection : from trauma, ultraviolet radiation, micro-organisms and chemical agents;
• of thermoregulation : through the sweat glands that increase or slow down the dispersion of the heat of our body;
• metabolic : synthesis of vitamin D through exposure to sunlight;
• sensory : the most superficial layer receives and transmits tactile, pain and thermal stimuli to the brain.

Skin types

The main types of skin are:

• dry skin: due to lack of water or low production of sebum; the appearance is withered, thin, easy to cracking, very fragile and with a tendency to redness
• oily skin: due to an excess of sebaceous secretion; the appearance is shiny and oily to the touch with large pores and blackheads;
• mixed skin ; the skin has (in particular on the face) alternating areas between dry skin and oily skin.
• hypersensitive or couperose skin: it has capillary dilations and forms a purple network.

Food supplements for healthy skin

The health of the skin certainly also passes from a correct diet based on:

• the limitation of fatty and fried foods, food additives and refined foods, the abolition of smoking and alcohol, the reduction of chemical drugs where possible;
• a diet based on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, legumes with a limited supply of red meats and greater inclusion (if you do not make a vegetarian choice) of blue fish (rich in Omega 3);
• a targeted natural nutritional supplementation .

In the latter case we resort to:

• Vitamin A to improve the epidermal layer, is a fat-soluble vitamin that derives from two sources, retinoids and carotenoids. Retinoids are found in animal sources, such as liver, eggs, dairy products; carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, are found in abundance in "colored" plant foods such as dark or yellow vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, tomato, mango, papaya, apricot, melon, watermelon.
• Vitamin E to improve its elasticity, and is contained in vegetable oils, such as wheat germ oil, almond oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, safflower oil, l 'borage oil ; dried fruit such as: almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, whole grains, spinach, asparagus, chickpeas, watercress, marroni, broccoli, tomatoes.
• Vitamin C as a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-free radicals, responsible for cell and skin aging; the food sources of vitamin C are mainly fresh fruits and vegetables such as guava, and in particular citrus fruits, namely lemons, oranges, grapefruits, wild berries, melon, watermelon, kiwis, peppers, asparagus, turnip tops, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, potatoes, spinach and tomatoes among the vegetables.
• Zinc useful for increasing its resistance to external aggressions; it is contained in some food sources: in fish, red meat, cereals (preferably whole), legumes, nuts and seeds, such as sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, oysters, yeast, milk, in mushrooms, cocoa, walnuts, egg yolk.

You can also explore natural remedies for skin blemishes

Herbal supplements for the skin

We have seen that the beauty of the skin inevitably passes from a healthy diet; according to Traditional Chinese Medicine the health of the skin depends on the perfect balance of the Intestine-Lung-Skin Energy Lodge; in fact, a good intestinal bacterial flora and a good emuntorial capacity (or the ability of each of us to get rid of internal toxins ) of our intestines make our skin enjoy greater health.

Oily skin visually presents overloads that can be drained with herbal remedies such as:

• Artichoke, Dandelion, Milk Thistle, which activate the liver, an organ used to drain toxin derived from endogenous toxins (of internal production) and exogenous (from outside (drugs, environmental toxins, food additives, pesticides ...)
• Burdock and Viola tricolor both internally and topically (external) to rebalance the external mantle and any impurities;
• Juglans regia that works in the intestine and in the skin, and detoxifies the intestine from intestinal micro bacteria (parasites, mycoses)
• Tea Tree Oil (melaleuca alternifolia) for topical use diluted in a Calendula Officinalis cream, as an anti-bacterial