Stay beautiful inside out with the delicious and colorful Fall harvests
Fall is arguably the best season of the year, at least for me. This is where I get to raid my closet and put on many layers and look as bulky as I like without much criticism. If Summer brings out the sunshine and all the outdoor activities, Fall is when it’s chilly enough to dress in more layers but still warm enough to walk down the streets. It is the time of the year that people will enjoy the cozy conversations over a cup of hot mint tea or apple cider, and maybe some sweet cookies or a piece of pie. The days start to shorten and people start to prefer the warm indoors to breezy patios.
However, along with the cool breezes and the more refreshing air, out skin starts to feel the dullness from the dry air and looses the complexion it has during Summer. Additionally, our hair also starts to get dry and dull. Worry not!!! With every shortcoming of the season, there will always be a way to stay beautiful and energized with the seasonal and colorful produce around you. Eating seasonally has always been nature’s best answer to a beautiful and healthy life. If Summer’s intense heat and UV exposure took a toll on your skin and hair, Fall is the time to revive and repair. The Autumn’s harvest contains some of the best nutrients to detoxify and restore the body from the Summer treats.
Below are my top 5 recommendations on beauty foods for Fall. These are easily found in your local groceries wherever you are. They might seem too familiar to you, but unknowingly to you, they might just be the best answer to your Fall skin and hair concerns. Besides the pantry staples such as the gluten-free grains like quinoa, or buckwheat, which is amazingly versatile and beautifying, you can add the below fresh and colorful produce to your meals this season. Before you start a delicious beauty meal everyday, always remember a cup of warm water with lemon to start a day will help detoxify your liver naturally and effectively.
This is in no way strange in Fall. Either you see them carved into creative lanterns or turned into savory or sweet treats, pumpkins are extremely rich in antioxidants and vitamins. Just a cup of pumpkin puree offers enough beta-carotene to deliver seven times the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin A. This means your body will be beautified from head to toe, from hair, skin, to nails and bones. Pumpkin also contains Lutein and Zeaxanthin to protect your eyes from free-radical damages. Its high content of fiber helps reduce water retention,so you can stay comfy in your skinny jeans. Now this is the real selling point!!!
If you think carving a pumpkin is a waste of food, worry not! The pumpkin seeds from the carved pumpkins contain a great source of nutrients. They are extremely rich in Zinc, an essential anti-inflammatory mineral that promotes hair growth, strong nails, and smooth skin. This is good news to people suffering from acne, especially constant and regular breakouts. These delicious seeds serve as a healthy snack (only when consumed raw or blanched), and help reduce Propionibacterium acnes, which are bacteria that causes blemishes. Pumpkin seeds are also a good source of Tryptophan, which helps the body produce calming and relaxing serotonin for better sleeps. Moreover, you can also find a bunch of other nutrients in pumpkin seeds like omega 3, vitamins A, B, K, and minerals niacin, magnesium, iron, and copper. Now don’t get too excited and stuff your stomach with just pumpkin seeds. These beauty foods only work with controlled and appropriate amounts.
Are you enjoying Fall less because of flaky skin and dull hair? Sweat not! Fill up your fridge with some biotin-rich chard. It is extremely easy to include chard in your daily meals, from steamed to stir-fried to warm salads. Biotin is essential in helping the body use proteins, which will be delivered in many parts of the body and keep skin, hair, and nails strong. Besides biotin, chard also provides the body with vitamins A and C, two of the nutrients essential for cell repair, and vitamin K, which is essential for the body to deliver calcium to the bones.
Out of all types of grapes, the deep red and dark purple colored grapes provide the most beautifying nutrients. Grapes provide the body with strong antioxidant phytochemicals that keep the blood vessels healthy and beauty nutrition flowing throughout the body. Among these phytochemicals, resveratrol is concentrated in the skin and seeds of grapes. Just like how it helps the grapes defend against bacteria and sun damages, resveratrol also has the same effect on our bodies.
You probably see apples everywhere and every time you visit a grocery, but you probably don’t know during Fall, apples are prized for their ability to detox and cool the body from the Summer heats. Try taking a bite from an apple picked straight from a tree (extremely crispy and juicy and sweet!!!!). Apple skins contain quercetin, which is a hot skin-care ingredient for its powerful defense against free-radical and UVB damage. It is also an anti-cancer and anti-aging compound, and a natural anti-histamine. Apples offer a great source of pectin, which will fill you up and help the body detoxify. An apple a day keeps the breakouts at bay!
Along with the colorful and deliciously fresh produce in Fall, it is also that time of the year where you will likely enjoy a cup of tea just as much as a cup of pumpkin spiced latte. In fact, teas offer so much more to our beauty diet than just warmth and hydration. Here are some of the tea staples you can keep in your pantry to stay pretty and warm:
Chamomile tea: Protects your skin against sun damages
Ginger tea: Chases away the cold and helps with digestive problems
Green tea: A great source of antioxidants and helps the body fight against free-radicals
White tea: Prevents the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin, which helps slow the aging process.
