Eat Well, Look Better

Super foods to eat and rub onto your skin for optimum health…
 
In his brand new book The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance, New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, otherwise known as Mr. Giselle Bündchen, outlines his personalized self-help manual for optimum health, exercise and nutrition.
 
“The regimen I follow is a mix of Eastern and Western philosophies,” preaches the larger-than-life Brady in his book. “Some of these principles have been around for thousands of years. My nutritional regimen may seem restrictive to some people, but to me it feels unnatural to eat any other way.”
 
Brady’s TB12 Method advocates a plant-based, locally sourced, organic diet complete with foods such as artichokes, dandelion greens and escarole, and shuns high-caloric and inflammatory foods like sugar, carbohydrates and packaged goods that can wreak havoc on your body and skin. While promoting natural living plus beautifying and health-inducing foods is not a new concept, Brady’s point of view—not to mention his attractive physique and clear-skinned complexion—inspires, making us take a closer look at how certain foods can benefit the body inside and out thanks to their anti-inflammatory and cell-rejuvenating properties when simultaneously eaten and rubbed onto our skin.
 
Charmaine Cooper, the master educator for Dermalogica and The International Dermal Institute, agrees with Brady. She believes many natural ingredients benefit your internal organs first, before their skin-enhancing attributes are seen on your face. “We often say that the skin never lies and is the mirror of the body, reflecting the truth of what is happening on the inside,” says Cooper. “So it’s critical for skin health that we include great skincare habits into our healthy practices.”
 
With approximately 10 per cent of the nutrients we ingest making their way to the surface, dermatologists and skincare companies now incorporate key nutritional items into lotions, creams and more to enhance their internal/external aesthetic impact. Ingredients such as chia seed extract fights free radicals generated by pollution, and repairs cellular damage to help reduce the signs of aging. Rice bran and ginger exfoliate dead skin cells to brighten your skin and promote cellular renewal. Tamarind seed extract works to retain moisture in your dermis to keep your epidermis hydrated, while rosemary and oatmeal act as an anti-inflammatory, diminishing red itchy skin and healing wounds such as shaving nicks and cuts as well as acne blemishes. Cooper adds that renowned super foods, such as blueberries, rhubarb and green tea, are also a rich source of antioxidants, and that vitamins A, B,C, D, E and F, as well as vegetable enzymes, coconut oil and gel, all work to assist your skin’s cellular turnover to keep you looking healthy and young.
 
“The skin is a brilliant organ and has the built-in ability to recover itself, renew and repair itself,” says Cooper. “So selecting a line of skin care that contains ingredients to deliver these properties directly to the skin, along with choosing healthy eating habits that nourish the body within, will all support your optimal health.”
 
FIVE MUST-HAVE, SUPER FOOD SKINCARE PRODUCTS

 
Pretty Cosmetics In Harmony Balancing Cream
$35 for 30 mL, available online at prettycosmetics.ca
Lightweight, easily absorbed and conditioning, this day cream is replete with hydrating coconut oil and balancing rosemary extract.
Dermalogica Sound Sleep Cocoon
$108 for 50 mL, available online at dermalogica.ca
The tamarind seed extract and vitamin C-infused night treatment hydrates and brightens your skin while you sleep.
Aveeno Ultra Calming Nourishing Night Cream
$20 for 48 mL, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
Nourishing and soothing oats along with calming feverfew plant replace red, dry and itchy skin with a smooth, hydrated epidermis.
Farmacy New Dawn Mask Medley Sheet Masks
$32 for 3 sheet masks, available exclusively at Sephora
These non-greasy, one-use only sheet masks have been soaked in rhubarb, coconut and vegetable enzymes to hydrate, firm, brighten and smooth away the appearance of fine lines.
Olay Cleansing Infusion Crushed Ginger Facial Cleanser
From $11 for 150 mL, available at Shoppers Drug Mart
Fresh and invigorating, this ginger- and citrus-based face wash gently eliminates dirt, grime and dead skin cells from your skin to leave you with a youthful glow.
 
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ADRIANA ERMTER is a Toronto-based, lifestyle-magazine pro who has travelled the globe, writing about must-spritz fragrances, child poverty, beauty and grooming.