Superfoods to Savor: Nourish Your Body Inside and Out

If you’re a health-conscious shopper, you’re probably a big fan of superfoods that are rich in compounds considered beneficial to your health. We don’t blame you! These foods are the MVP of the ingredients list on the label of your favorite products, offering potent benefits that can help boost your overall health, hair and skin.

We’ll outline all the reasons why superfoods are essential for all your organs including the largest one, your skin, and provide you with some next-level superfood-enriched food and health products that’ll make you feel like a superfood superhero.

Skin Superfoods: What You Need to Know

You’re picky about what you put in your body, so why not use the same level of critical judgment when choosing skin care products, too? Skin superfoods are ingredients that are extra-beneficial not only to your health, but also to your body’s biggest organ.

Just like your diet requires a healthy mix of nutrients, so does your skin. You’ll get beautifying benefits when you eat nutrient-rich foods, but you can also use superfood-enriched skin care products to instantly deliver beautifying benefits.

But not all superfoods that are ideal for your body are the best for your skin. Choose products fortified with honey and other components derived from bees such as royal jelly and propolis, antioxidant-rich botanicals, and cupuaçu butter and citrus extracts for extra moisture and purifying properties.

Choosing products fortified with ample antioxidants will help ensure that your skin has the tools it needs to fight off free radicals for a smooth, glowing complexion. You’ll find skin-boosting antioxidants in products with cichoric acid, which is most commonly derived from Echinacea purpurea.

What’s So Great About Superfoods?

Superfoods generally have a high concentration of all or some of the following ingredients, which are considered essential parts of a healthy diet.

• Vitamins — The body needs vitamins for proper growth and function, which helps ensure overall health and well-being from head to toe. Your skin also thrives off vitamins, and requires a healthy dose of extras to ensure beautiful, glowing skin. Vitamins C, A and E are particularly important in helping curb skin damage associated with aging and exposure to the sun. Vitamin-rich superfoods include berries, citrus, papaya, dark leafy greens, broccoli, eggs, fish, nuts, sunflower seeds and asparagus.
• Antioxidants — You probably know by now that antioxidants are essential for maintaining healthy. These small but mighty wonders ward off free radicals, which can damage cells throughout the body and the skin. That’s why antioxidant-rich foods are often cited as a way to reduce the risk of cancer. Free radicals can also damage your skin by compromising cells and leading to loss of collagen and dull skin. Foods with a high concentration of antioxidants include berries, honey, kale, tea, beans and whole grains.
• Fatty Acids — When people talk about fatty acid superfoods, they’re typically talking about foods fortified with omega-3. These fatty acids can help lower your risk for heart disease, curb joint pain and even lower levels of depression. Omega-3 is also essential for skin health, too. Eating foods that contain this essential fatty acid can help fortify the cell membrane and protect against harmful free radicals while also helping the skin lock in moisture and nutrients. The result is smoother, younger-looking skin. Foods rich in omega-3 include all kinds of fish, flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts and walnut oil.
• Amino Acids — Because the body cannot produce essential amino acids which help the skin and body better synthesize proteins, enzymes and hormones, it’s important to introduce foods rich with the acids into your diet. Amino acids are especially beneficial for their reparative properties in the skin. Not only can they help delay the aging process, but they can also help make the skin feel smoother and more elastic. Choose foods and skin care products with cashews, almonds, lentils, beans, brown rice, cabbage, apple, blueberries, fermented soy, royal jelly and more.

Four Must-Try Superfood-Rich Products

1. Organifi Green Juice — This juice claims to give you all of your superfoods in a single drink. It’s jam-packed with tons of beneficial non-GMO and organic superfoods — chlorella, Moringa, spirulina, beets, matcha green tea, wheat grass, turmeric, lemon and coconut water among them so you get an instant dose of all your favorite antioxidant and vitamin-rich extras with one glass. It comes in a gently dried formula and requires no blending or juicing, so it’s perfect for those times where you want a healthy pick-me-up throughout the day.
2. Farmacy Honey Drop — This honey-rich daily moisturizer is fortified with various health-boosting ingredients that make your skin positively glow. Besides honey, which acts as a natural humectant that helps revitalize the skin through deep hydration,  Honey Drop is also finished with many more vitamin- and antioxidant-rich ingredients. This is the finest example of a skin superfood, with six superfood ingredients. It contains honey, royal jelly, propolis, cupuaçu butter, fermented soy and tons of green botanicals and oils.
3. Alterna Haircare Bamboo Shampoo — Yes, it’s true, superfoods are even good for your hair! Alterna’s Bamboo Shampoo is packed with the best hair-boosting superfoods out there, including Indian gooseberry, which offers the highest level of vitamin C found in any naturally occurring substance. Plus, it also has plenty of botanical oils and extracts that contain all sorts of beneficial vitamins and minerals. This shampoo promises to leave your hair with a natural mirror-like shine.

Photo Credit: NailsInc

1. Nail Kale Base Coat — You read that right. This nail base coat is fortified with kale. So, why would you want to put kale on your nails? Because this superfood is huge on antioxidants, that help keep your nails strong and healthy. Kale is rich in keratin, which is a tough protein that can help build the structural integrity of the nails and leave them longer and stronger. It can help stimulate nail growth while preventing breaks and splits. Your nails need nourishment, too!