The paradigm of beauty has undergone a significant shift, marked by continuous technological advancements that have led to the formulation of intricate products designed to combat aging. While these advancements have demonstrated efficacy, the adverse effects of chemically enhanced products on long-term health have raised concerns. In response, there’s a growing movement urging a return to the fundamentals of beauty. People increasingly embrace lifestyle-based initiatives that offer sustainable solutions for maintaining youthful and healthy skin.
Recent trends highlight a shift towards evidence-based practices, emphasizing the potential of natural options to promote youthful and glowing skin. However, before delving into these practices, it is crucial to comprehend the composition of our skin and understand the processes that occur as it ages. By gaining insight into these factors, individuals can make informed choices and adopt holistic approaches that prioritize both short-term cosmetic benefits and long-term skin health.
What constitutes the human skin?
Our skin comprises many biological components, including collagen tissue, which accounts for up to 30% of the protein components (1). Coupled with elastin, hyaluronic acid (HA), and proteoglycans, collagen forms an extracellular matrix (ECM), which is a skin component that endows cells with mechanical features and molecular cues for cell stabilization and functionalization (2).
Why Skin Age?
Our skin is directly exposed to the environment. Therefore, its appearance represents the entire aging process of the human body. Human skin aging is characterized by wrinkles, laxity, brown spots, thickening, and coarseness, a degradation process associated with the breakdown of ECM proteins and the piling up of high glycation end products.
Collagen proteins account for 95% of the skin and are responsible for resilience, strength, durability, and elasticity. With the passage of time, 1% of the collagen protein content is degraded every year.
Drinks that will keep your skin young and glowing
The key to maintaining vibrant and resilient skin often revolves around preserving the health of your Extracellular Matrix (ECM). Amidst the various approaches to achieve this, we spotlight some essential beverages that can play a pivotal role in sustaining the integrity and elasticity of your skin. Explore these nine anti-aging drinks tailored for women, providing a holistic strategy to defy the effects of advancing age and nurture your skin from within. Elevate your skincare routine with these nourishing and rejuvenating beverages.
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1. Water
Water not only plays a vital role in digestion and circulation, but it’s also vital for the health and beauty of your skin (3). Water is essential in delivering nutrients to the skin cells and maintaining optimal skin moisture. Water helps to hydrate the body and moisten the skin. It helps regenerate skin tissues and increases their elasticity, delaying signs of aging like wrinkles and soft lines. This ensures that the skin remains supple. Hydrated skin retains its elasticity.
It is recommended that a person drinks at least 8 glasses of water in a day. If your skin doesn’t get enough water, it not only becomes dry but will also be more prone to aging.
2. Pink Grapefruit Juice
This juice contains vitamin C, which helps combat skin diseases and illnesses (4). In addition, the pink pigment in grapefruit shows lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals in our bodies. Lycopene protects the skin from UV sun rays that damage the skin cells. Drinking grape juice leaves your skin moisturized and well-nourished.
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3. Lemon Juice
Lemon juice contains vitamin C, which is an antioxidant and brightening agent. Drinking lemon juice every day increases the amount of collagen in the body, thus reducing the appearance of wrinkles (5). Applying a mask with lemon juice as one of its ingredients helps eliminate excess oil from the skin and reduces acne and breakouts. Lemon juice also stimulates the liver to fight against toxins.
4. Soy Milk
Soy milk is one of the wealthiest drinks because it constitutes vitamin E, which helps renew dead cells and moisturizes the skin. It prevents wrinkles by maintaining elastin and collagen levels in the skin. The flavones in soy hold the power to retain collagen levels needed for firming and preserving the skin’s youthful texture. (6)
5. Green Tea
Green tea may appear simple, but it is made up of polyphenols, an antioxidant that destroys free radicals, thus slowing down the aging process. The skin is also protected from the sun’s UV rays, which can damage the cells. In addition, green tea has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties (7).
6. Cocoa
The cocoa drink can be applied directly to the skin or as a beverage. It is rich in flavanols, which may boost the function of blood vessels and reduce the risks of high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney disease. Cocoa improves blood flow and prevents the buildup of cholesterol. When applied to the skin, it increases skin elasticity. Cocoa softens, cleans, and detoxifies the skin (8).
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7. Beet Juice
Beet fruit purifies the blood by eliminating toxins from the system. It is high in vitamin C, which helps in collagen synthesis and prevents dry skin. In addition, beet juice has carotenoids that ward off macular degeneration, i.e., an eye disease that causes vision loss. (9).
8. Carrot Juice
Carrot juice is endowed with Vitamin C, which has antioxidant properties. It increases the cell turnover to fight against the appearance of wrinkles. Beta carotene, an antioxidant in carrots, protects the skin from free radicals (10). Carotenoids found in carrots protect the skin against sunburns. Carrots are also rich in luteolin and flavonoids that decrease the inflammation that can cause dementia.
9. Orange Juice
It contains high levels of nutrients like citric acid, which reduces the appearance of wrinkles. The citric acid in orange juice helps in skin exfoliation, thus improving the skin’s overall look. It is also rich in vitamin C, which aids in collagen synthesis. In addition, orange juice can help in weight loss. The juice should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning to absorb the nutrients better. (11)
Summary
The human skin is the largest organ of the body. Since it is directly exposed to the environment, it is a perfect reflection of what is going on inside the body. The aging process is one of the factors that is highlighted by the human skin. Experts recommend anti-aging drinks for women to conquer over growing age. These include water, pink grape juice, lemon juice, soy milk, green tea, cocoa, beet juice, carrot juice, and orange juice. Always remember that habitual use with consistency and resilience will help you achieve the goals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What can I drink to make my skin look younger?
The list of drinks you can intake to reduce aging is endless. While this post only provides a handful of home remedies, many drinks have been known to offer the much-needed reprieve to keep the skin looking younger and healthy. Apart from the ones listed above, some of these drinks include tomato juice, pomegranate juice, watermelon juice, and kiwi juice.
What drink helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles?
Lemon juice, whether taken internally or applied topically, is by far the best remedy for wrinkled skin. The acidity of the lemon plays a critical role in keeping your skin brighter while significantly reducing the appearance of wrinkles. You can make a home-based DIY lemon juice fruit acid facial. The citric acid in lemon juice can be a gentle exfoliator that makes your skin look and feel smoother and softer.
Which alcohol is best for anti-aging?
Red wine has unique anti-aging properties and is a primary component in the wine facial. Loaded with antioxidants, they work in such a manner that they destroy free radicals that play a central role in aging and age-related diseases.
Does drinking water stop aging?
Absolutely! Despite its tasteless and colorless nature, water is a powerhouse for maintaining youthful skin. Proper hydration is fundamental since water constitutes over 70 percent of the human body. The rule of thumb is clear: individuals who consistently consume ample water are less prone to experiencing scars, wrinkles, and fine lines. This hydration practice is a powerful defense, visibly reducing signs of aging and contributing to a more youthful and radiant complexion. So, while it may seem simple, staying well-hydrated is a fundamental and practical step in your anti-aging skincare regimen.
Does coffee age your skin?
Yes, coffee is not suitable for your skin. Like junk foods, coffee can dry and wash your skin. Caffeine constitutes the main component of coffee. It acts as a diuretic, preventing your skin and the body from holding on to water. We need six to eight glasses of water daily; however, if your daily habit involves drinking many caffeine-filled drinks, the eight-glass quota may not be enough for you. You need more water in your system to help you fight the diuretic tendencies of caffeine.
References:
- “Collagen” – sciencedirect.com
- “Extracellular matrix” – en.wikipedia.org
- “Fifteen benefits of drinking water” – medicalnewstoday.com
- “Three Ways Grapefruit Fights Aging” – eatingwell.com
- “Effects of lifelong intake of lemon polyphenols on aging and intestinal microbiome in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 1 (SAMP1)” – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- “Health Benefits of Soy Milk“- webmd.com
- “Green Tea Extract Suppresses the Age-Related Increase in Collagen Crosslinking and Fluorescent Products in C57BL/6 Mice” – ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- “Cocoa and Aging” – now.tufts.edu
- “Does Beetroot Offer Benefits for Your Skin?” – healthline.com
- “How can I get the benefits of carrot juice?” – medicalnewstoday.com
- “13 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF ORANGE JUICE AND IT’S USES” – dabur.com