Vitamins and supplements are great ways to give added support to healthy skin. The mineral and nutrient volume has significantly decreased in our food supply over the last 50 years or so. With the explorations of industrial farming, we have lost a lot of the nutrient value in the food we consume today. 50-100 years ago, the foods our ancestors ate carried 3-10x more nutrients than it does today. This unfortunate reality makes it harder for our skin to get the essential nutrients it needs from food sources. Vitamins can help fill in the gaps where nutrition is lacking. There are many vitamins for good skin as well as many vitamins for skin repair.
What Are The Best Vitamins For Clear Skin?
Many of us know that Vitamin E and C are good vitamins for clear skin. But there are additional skin clearing vitamins that can help support healthy glowing skin. Your skin covers your entire body and often shows outward signs of problems within your body. Gut and digestive issues often showcase themselves through our skin. Addressing the root causes of your skin problems will help get you closer to clear, healthy-looking skin.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps fight aging and free radicals that lead to disease throughout your body. Vitamin E helps absorb dangerous UV rays that damage the skin. This powerful antioxidant helps repair age spots, wrinkles, as well as dark spots on the skin. Inflammation is a huge cause of skin issues. Ingesting Vitamin E or rubbing it into your skin helps reduce inflammation and alleviates dryness, revealing glowing, healthy skin.
You can get vitamin E through your diet by eating foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, butternut squash, kiwi, trout, and olive oil - just to name a few. When supplementing with vitamin E, it is usually recommended to get no less than 15 mg per day. Putting Vitamin E along with vitamin C can help provide photoprotection from damaging sun rays.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a common ingredient found in skin care. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties as well as the ability to inhibit the growth of certain bacteria. High-dose Vitamin C therapy is used to treat all kinds of illnesses, even cancer. This powerful antioxidant slows cell damage and encourages cell renewal and recovery throughout the body. 1,000 mg is the recommended daily dose for oral Vitamin C. You can also eat foods like fruits and vegetables. For example, strawberries, guava, peppers, blackcurrants, thyme, kale, kiwis, and broccoli are all high in Vitamin C.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is also an essential antioxidant that fights cell death and premature aging. Vitamin A comes from two sources, retinoids and carotenoids. Retinoids come from animal sources and carotenoids from plant sources. The body takes carotenoids and converts them into beta-carotene, which becomes Vitamin A.
Retinol creams often promoted in the skin care industry come from a synthetic form of Vitamin A. Retinol is often used to treat skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, warts, and premature aging. Vitamin A is also very effective at reducing inflammation. It helps encourage new skin cell development and protects against pollutants.
Fat-soluble sources like animal liver, cod liver oil, salmon, goat cheese, and butter are just a few examples of ways to eat more food with higher levels of Vitamin A. Some people have genetic mutations that make absorbing the proper amount of Vitamin A difficult. These people may need to ingest more Vitamin A than recommended to make sure the body is getting enough. It's important to talk to your doctor to see if you are experiencing this issue.
What Are The Top Vitamins Used For Skin Care?
In addition to the previously mentioned vitamins, below are some great vitamins for clear skin and hair growth to integrate into your skin care regime to help boost your skin health:
Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral that aids in skin repair and the cell renewal process. Zinc supports growth and development in utero, throughout childhood, and adolescence. This supplement is helpful in developing muscle tissue as well as supporting eye health. Eating food high in zinc like oysters, beef, chicken, tofu, hemp seeds, lentils, and yogurt help the body support healthy skin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D absorption is crucial to maintaining healthy skin. Natural Vitamin D absorption occurs from direct exposure to the sun. Being outside for 10-30 minutes a day will help your body absorb Vitamin D. Vitamin D is very beneficial for those with certain skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
600 IUs per day is the recommended daily intake of Vitamin D. If you are pregnant, have osteoporosis, or other skin conditions your doctor may recommend a higher dose. Food like salmon, tuna, cod, yogurt, sardines, egg yolk, mushrooms, and fortified foods will help increase your Vitamin D levels.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps scabs, cuts, and scrapes heal faster on the skin. It helps with blood clotting, bruising, and swelling. You can ingest Vitamin K supplements as well as rub them on your skin. Vitamin D and K work together and use each other to gain better absorption by the body. Vitamin K is beneficial at healing varicose veins, dark circles around your eye, stretch marks, age spots, and scars.
Eating food like kale, spinach, cabbage, bok choy, and green beans are great ways to increase your Vitamin K intake. The recommended daily dosage is usually around 90-120 ug each day.
Multivitamins & Probiotics
Taking a good multivitamin for skin care that includes the daily recommended dosages of the above vitamins will help you get the right nutrients in your body. Probiotics are another way to help support a healthy gut microbiome as well as clear skin. Your gut is filled with loads of healthy bacteria that help digest your food, absorb nutrients, and create bright glowing skin. If gut balance is off, you will experience deteriorating health and digestive symptoms. Supporting your gut will help support your skin and overall wellness.
Does Vitamin A Help Clear Acne?
Vitamin A, also known as Retinol, comes in a cream that, when applied to the skin, has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties. This cream is often used to help people with their acne. Using oral Vitamin A for acne as well as topical cream help to reduce acne scarring by decreasing sebum (oil) production throughout the skin. Retinol helps create an even tone throughout the skin as well as protect against harmful environmental pollutants. If you are experiencing some type of bacterial infection, Retinol paired with an antibiotic can work very well at eliminating severe acne flares.
Which Vitamins Are Good For Oily Skin?
Vitamin A/Retinol is great at decreasing the amount of sebum produced by the skin. Niacinamide is an excellent ingredient to include in your skincare regimen. It increases the level of ceramide production in your skin and helps it stay hydrated and moisturized, which helps regulate the level of oil your skin produces. Your skin often has to overcompensate for dryness by producing more oil. Zinc is another mineral helpful for inhibiting sebum.
Sometimes your skin overproduces oil because you are exfoliating too often, which dries it out. It's important to exfoliate 2-3 times per week and avoid excessive exfoliating. Being mindful of exfoliating and using vitamins for oily skin should improve the amount of oil produced by your body within 3-6 months.
Which Vitamins Are Good For Dry Skin?
Using Vitamins D and C are great starting places to enhance the body's ability to hydrate. Drinking up to a gallon or more a day of clean, filtered water will create a huge impact on the level of dryness felt throughout your skin. Incorporating fish oils that include DHA and EPA are essential fatty acids that help reduce inflammation and increase the fatty acid barrier throughout the skin. These vitamins for dry skin help lock in hydration. Using collagen is another great supplement that increases the skin's elasticity and hydration.
How Long Does It Usually Take Vitamins To Help Clear Skin?
Depending on the level of your vitamin deficiency, you may notice positive effects quickly or over the next several weeks. Taking vitamins consistently is no replacement for eating healthy food but are great tools to effectively support the body. When trying to achieve healthy, clear skin, you will usually feel and see benefits from taking supplements within 8-12 weeks.
Which Supplements Help Reduce Wrinkles?
Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory supplements help reduce wrinkles. Vitamin C can help to heal damaged skin and supports the body's production of natural collagen. Using vitamin C serum on the skin can help hydrate and repair dry, wrinkled skin. Retinoids from Vitamin A also help reduce wrinkles and fine lines.
Which Supplements Support Elasticity In The Skin?
As you age, the volume of elastane decreases throughout your skin, causing crepey skin to droop and sag. By using collagen-based supplements that support skin care, like collagen peptides on the skin, as a digestive supplement or even an injectable is a great way to increase your skin's elasticity and hydration. Eating food high in antioxidants like berries, pecans, artichokes, and kale help increase the skin's elasticity. Increasing your intake of food rich in Vitamin C, E, Carotenoids, and lycopene help support this process as well.
Supplements Can Help
Using supplements in conjunction with a healthy diet and lifestyle will help your skin to stay hydrated and glowing as long as possible. Longevity Labs has created a wonderful supplement called SpermidineLIFE. This groundbreaking supplement mimics the benefits of autophagy like cell recycling and renewal. Using this product to generate the body's own cell maintenance system will help your skin to recycle old and damaged skin cells and create new ones giving you younger-looking radiant skin. Contact us today for more information about our life-changing supplements.
