Then something changed: I turned 30. Whilst I still stand by the notion that age is just a number, and you’re as old as you feel, I noticed some gradual changes. For the better – I knew who I was, what I wanted and I embraced that. For the worse – my skin started to look aged. Sunspots came out of nowhere, my skin was dry, that 20 something glow was gone and my skin became reactive to what I put in to my body and how I was feeling. With entering my 30’s also came more responsibility, so my stress levels went up immensely.

We can all have that youthful glow once more but to do so, we must understand that whilst you can choose your skincare wisely, glowing skin starts from within.

Here are our top tips for glowing skin.

1. Get your beauty sleep

Sleep may very well be the closest thing to the fountain of youth. There is a reason why they call it ‘beauty sleep’. The body’s time to repair and recalibrate is when we sleep. Blood flow to the skin is boosted when we sleep, delivering nourishment and nutrients to the skin. Sleep deprivation means this process in hindered. Ensure you are getting a minimum of 6 quality hours of sleep a night.

2. Drink plenty of water.

If sleep is the closest thing to the fountain of youth, then drinking water comes a close second. I cannot stress the importance of staying hydrated. The skin, like every other organ, is comprised of cells and these cells mainly contain water. If we are dehydrated, our cells simply cannot function at their best. By consuming plenty of water you are replenishing every single cell in your body, including your skin cells, and ensuring optimum function. Dehydrated skin is less resilient and more prone to dryness, tightness, flakiness and wrinkling. If glowing skin is what you’re after then a minimum of 2 litres of water a day is key.

3. Stop stressing, baby!

Let’s face it, we can’t avoid life. But we can choose how we respond to it. When you throw stress into any mix, it is a recipe for disaster. Countless studies have confirmed this.

When we are stressed our body is in flight or fight mode. Cortisol kicks in so that we can survive, and digestive and immune function is reduced as it is not essential in survival mode. Our ability to digest and absorb our nutrients is therefore compromised.

Cortisol is partly responsible in regulating inflammation. Prolonged exposure to stress alters the effectiveness of cortisol to regulate the inflammatory response. As immune function is decreased – another key regulator of inflammation – our body becomes chronically inflamed which presents a whole host of health problems.

Oh, and who else doesn’t sleep well when they are stressed? Yep, getting on top of this is key!

Can you allocate a few minutes every morning and every night to close your eyes, breathe deeply and mindfully and mentally list a few things you are grateful for and what things you achieved or want to achieve? Can you remind yourself that you are in control of how you feel in every situation? We always have a choice and every morning we have the opportunity to start over.

Find what activity reduces your stress and do it on the regular. Yoga, a bath, a walk along the beach, a dance in your lounge room, a cup of tea. Whatever works for you.

4. Look after your gut

Our skin is a mirror image of what is going on internally. The health of our gut will strongly impact the health of our skin and, all aspects of our health. In naturopathic practices, the gut will be the first line of treatment, no matter what the condition. If you’re interested in learning more about gut health, click here.

Ensure trigger foods are identified and eliminated. The most common triggers to avoid, or at least significantly reduce, when it comes to healthy skin are; dairy, wheat and gluten, sugar, alcohol, coffee and stress!

Start each day with ½ freshly squeezed lemon in warm water, or 5 ml of apple cider vinegar. This will kick start all aspects of digestion, including getting those bowels moving.

Be present when you eat. Sit down, breathe deeply and ensure you chew your food really well. If you suffer from bloating, pain, flatulence and/or indigestion, then adding digestive enzymes and probiotics into the mix to assist in digestion will greatly help.

5. Give your liver some love

We know that the liver is the master organ of detoxification. But some of us may not realise its important role in digestion. Under the guidance of the liver, bile is released from the gall bladder into the small intestine to digest fats. The liver also processes nutrients that have been absorbed from the small intestine.

The liver is like the factory that processes everything. In terms of detoxification, there are intricate phases which break down toxins to more absorbable forms so that the body can efficiently excrete them. This includes toxins that we ingest, inhale and absorb from the exterior, but the liver also processes our hormones. When the liver is under functioning, its ability to process and eliminate excess toxins and hormones is compromised, which again can present as skin problems such as acne or breakouts, and menstrual irregularities in women.

A poor diet, high in saturated fats such as fast food and takeaway, and high toxic load can burden the liver and hinder its ability to efficiently detoxify.

How do we support a healthy liver you ask? Reduce your intake of processed, packaged and fried foods. Choose whole foods such as fresh produce, whole grains and minimal dairy and gluten (or cut out completely if you can). Eat a rainbow made up of fruit and vegetables every single day. Read your labels – if it’s full of numbers or something you can’t pronounce then don’t eat it. Become mindful of household items and skincare items that may be full of chemicals and start thinking about what you could swap for a cleaner, less toxic option.

6. Drink herbal tea over coffee

Caffeine has some excellent health benefits, but it doesn’t agree with everyone. I’ve found that those with a sensitive gut don’t tend to tolerate coffee very well as this only exacerbates their gut sensitivity. What is actually going on when I say ‘gut sensitivity’? Our gut lining is inflamed and irritated. Our ability to absorb and utilise nutrients is compromised and a poor functioning gut will often present as break outs and dull skin.

Why not replace coffee with herbal teas that will support gut and liver function, as well as promote clear skin?

Dandelion root – considered a liver tonic, it is a great alternative to coffee due to its slight bitter taste. Dandelion root has been shown to increase bile flow and support the liver in its detoxifying function. As a result, it is an excellent tea to assist with clearing skin.

Nettle leaf – renowned for being rich in minerals, nettle leaf is anti-inflammatory and increases urine output which aids in the elimination of toxic build up within the body and taking the burden off the skin.

7. Strict skincare regime

Since your skin is not working hard to defend itself from harsh UV rays during the day, at night, it heals. Blood flow is increased for this purpose. Our skin is more receptive at night. We also lose more water from the skin at night, so having a solid skincare regime, especially at night is key.

The skincare industry is booming and, in my opinion, takes the piss a little bit. We don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on skincare – a few good products will do the trick. The type of products/regime I would suggest having as your staples, are as follows;

Day

A good quality cleanser, one that is free from foaming agents such as SLS’s and SLE’s etc. These dry out the skin which cause the skin to over compensate the oil production and strip our natural barrier function of the skin.

A hydrating moisturiser with SPF. If you are outside during the day, this is a must. UV rays are the biggest culprit for premature ageing of the skin as well as fine lines and wrinkles and dehydrated skin.

Night

Cleanse. Really important at night, to remove all the impurities from the day, and unclog your pores so they can breathe. If you wear make-up – cleanse twice.

Hydrating serum: A combination of hyaluronic acid and B5 is great. Hyaluronic acid is naturally found within our skin cells and encourages cell renewal. It’s amazing at retaining water too. It’s an antioxidant, therefore leaves your skin feeling hydrated and plump. You can use this morning and night, but I think it works best at night to assist with repair and prevent water loss. It will also end up a lot cheaper for you as you will go through it faster if you use it morning and night. Remember, glowing skin starts from within.

I think the jury is out on night creams… They are incredibly expensive and I am just not convinced they are necessary. Some of the leading experts in skincare recommend only using a hydrating serum at night after cleansing and that’s it.

If you would like something more, why not try a few drops of jojoba oil or hemp oil? The essential fatty acids will help regulate your skins oil production, and leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Youthful skin is not just in your genes. There is plenty we can do. Remember, glowing skin starts from within!

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Eating seasonally is really important, and something we should all be doing. When you see a certain food in the supermarket that isn’t in season, it raises a few questions – how far has this food had to travel to be available to us this time of year? Has it had to be sprayed/coated with anything to keep it in such great shape knowing the distance it has travelled? How large a carbon footprint has this food created just to appease our tastebuds?

These scenarios can’t be good for us, or for our environment. Something has had to suffer for us to enjoy a food that shouldn’t be available to us – the carbon footprint, the nutritional status, and/or the vitality and taste.

Eating seasonally means the produce you are consuming is at its most vital state; meaning the nutrients are at an all-time high. Not to mention cheaper as they won’t have had as far to travel to reach our home.

It also means you are in line with the environment around you. You know how mother nature provides us with everything we need? Well, she really has our back. We are slowly but surely coming into winter; a time for colds and flus to run rampant.

Let’s take a quick look at what foods are currently in season:

Kiwifruit, beetroot, bok choy, broccoli, carrots, capsicum, grapefruit, pumpkin, paw paw, lemons, oranges, fennel, leek, rhubarb, turnips, silverbeet, zucchini and tomatoes.

Would you like to know what all of these foods are really high in? VITAMIN C. Perfect timing really, isn’t it?

Vitamin C plays a huge role in supporting immune function. Not only is vitamin C antiviral, but it stimulates T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte proliferation (these are our soldiers that fight infection). Vitamin C stimulates our natural killer cell activity, reduces histamine and has a mucolytic effect (expels excess mucous), just to name a few.

Garlic, nature’s antibiotic, is also in season. It’s antibacterial, antiviral and antimicrobial. It has been shown in countless clinical studies to reduce the severity of cold and flu symptoms as well as work preventatively.

Lastly, mushrooms are also in season right now. Mushrooms have huge medicinal properties. They are immune modulating, antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer.

When doing your next grocery shop think about the foods that are currently in season and try to make them the staples in your diet. Not only will they taste better, but you will be using food as medicine to its highest capacity to protect against the inevitable cold and flu season.

Stuck for ideas? Here’s a few meal ideas that we’ll be cooking up:

• Healthy apple and rhubarb crumble
• Garlic, potato and leek soup
• Strawberries on your cereal, in your smoothie
• Lemon, garlic and olive oil as a dressing
• Roasted pumpkin, carrots, turnips and tomatoes with fennel using the above salad dressing
• Fresh juice; orange, lemon, carrot, grapefruit, silverbeet
• Warming mushroom curry with chopped greens

Happy shopping and happy cooking!

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