Written by our Nutritionist Lisa Baker

Healthy glowing skin is a lot more complicated than we would hope, and it requires more help from your diet than just the occasional green tea. There are so many functions that need to be supported in order for your skin to glow. Skin needs to be able to defend itself against bacteria, UV rays, and pollution, it needs to keep building collagen and elastin fibres, it needs to remain hydrated and turn over cells quickly. To support all of these functions, here are the 6 most important nutrients for glowing skin.

Vitamin C

Any list, ever, about supporting skin, that doesn’t start with vitamin C, should be thrown out. Vitamin C is the master skin vitamin! As a water soluble vitamin, the body is unable to store much, and it is essential in the diet every day! Collagen formation can’t happen without Vitamin C and it’s also an antioxidant, essential for iron absorption and immune function (including fighting off bacteria involved in acne). A diet without Vitamin C will start showing signs of scurvy in as little as 4 weeks (symptoms include bleeding gums and loose teeth, easily bruised and bleeding skin, bulging eyes, dry skin and brittle hair). Luckily, Vitamin C is easy to get if you’re consuming a balanced wholefood diet with your 2 fruits and 5 veg daily! Collagen Beauty™ contains 19% of your Vitamin C RDI in bioavailable wholefood form too, so great for helping to hit your daily quota.

Collagen

No surprises here. Collagen fibres make up a huge part of the skin matrix and as we age, these fibres break down at a rate faster than we can repair/rebuild them. By including collagen in your diet, you are providing your body with exactly what it needs to build its own collagen – makes sense! Studies have demonstrated that supplementing a healthy diet with collagen can reduce wrinkles and improve hydration and elasticity, and our Collagen Beauty™ has been scientifically formulated to do all of this, plus support healthy hair, nails and gut.

Zinc

Zinc is an amazing little trace mineral. It helps to protect our cells from UV damage, reduce inflammation, and promote wound healing. There are hundreds of enzymes in the body that can't function without zinc, so a deficiency becomes obvious on the outside very quickly. Symptoms of zinc deficiency include fatigue, open sores and hair loss. Oysters are the best source of zinc, but other foods containing this mineral include meat, legumes and seeds. Collagen Beauty™ also contains 15% of your Zinc RDI in bioavailable wholefood form.

Folic Acid

Folic Acid plays an essential role in cell division, so it’s especially important in tissues that turn over quickly such as skin and gut lining. Skin replaces itself about every 30 days, and it's the largest organ of the human body, so that's A LOT of cell division. Foods rich in Folic Acid include leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, kidney beans and avocado.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A is essential for skin health. It helps to regulate the turnover of skin cells, enhances new collagen production and is an essential nutrient for immune function. Vitamin A deficiency can cause the build up of too much keratin in hair follicles (a condition known as follicular hyperkeratosis) causing raised bumps and provides the perfect conditions for acne. Foods containing high amounts of Vitamin A include Liver, Salmon, egg yolk, butter and cheese, carrot, pumpkin, broccoli and dark leafy greens.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3s are great for skin, they reduce inflammation, improve acne, improve barrier function and even help to protect the skin from UV radiation. Good sources of omega 3s are fatty fish (like salmon or tuna), nuts, seeds and avocado.

The great news is that by adding Collagen Beauty™ into a green smoothie, you will be getting all of these nutrients and then some! Our original Collagen Beauty™ ticks off so many of these boxes by providing you with 10g Collagen Peptides, Vitamin C and Zinc. The real magic happens with the VERISOL® Bioactive Collagen Peptides, which specifically target skin. VERISOL® has been proven in multiple clinical trials to improve skin quality by increasing hydration, increasing elasticity and reducing the appearance of wrinkles, as well as strengthening & growing hair and nails.

If you aren’t a smoothie person, we have you covered with our three delicious, fruity and natural Collagen Beauty™ flavours - just add water! They are the most convenient way to consume Collagen Beauty™, and even won Convenience Product of the Year at the 2020 Food and Beverage Awards.