For healthy skin, hair and nails, he tells us, make sure your diet includes good sources of protein (salmon, other types of seafood, poultry, yogurt) and essential fats (nuts, seeds, salmon, avocados, omega-3 fish oil). Protein is necessary to maintain and repair the body, including the skin, on a cellular level. Protein cannot be stored. For optimum health and cellular repair, we need quality protein at each meal. Some sources of protein, such as the fish listed above, provide powerful anti-inflammatory benefits, which keeps skin radiant, supple and wrinkle free, moods upbeat and brain functioning at optimal levels. With cold water fish, we get a double benefit: protein to protect and repair skin, hair and nails, and essential fatty acids to keep skin supple and radiant, hair strong, glossy and healthy and the nails strong and beautiful.
Watercress
Watercress, Dr. Perricone says, possesses a storehouse of nutrients that have been used as a tonic since ancient times to cleanse the blood and liver of toxins, and promote an overall feeling of good health. Watercress decreases white blood cell DNA damage (DNA damage is an important event in cancer development). Because of its high potassium content, it is strongly alkaline and therefore considered useful in treating acidity and purifying the blood. By cleansing the blood, watercress has been useful in treating skin eruptions, eczema, acne, rashes and other skin infections.
Eggs
I eat the entire egg and enjoy them scrambled with a quarter teaspoon of turmeric, hard-boiled and in omelets. Only choose eggs from cage-free, free-range chickens. I buy my eggs at the farmer’s market, so that I know they are from a local organic farm.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a superb anti-inflammatory thanks to its superior antioxidant properties. It also increases blood levels of the enzyme glutathione S-transferase, an important antioxidant and vital in the body’s detoxification system to keep skin clear, firm, toned and radiant.
