This the season to eat and be beautiful
The festive season is fast approaching at an alarm rate and while pondering on the daunting task of financing Christmas for my three young children and expansive, extended family my thoughts turned to the Christmas dinner I had volunteered to host this year. Traditionally a time of over indulgence and all manner of food that can wreak havoc with the bathroom scales and more to my point our overall health, well being and appearance of our skin. So mentally going through traditional festive foods there are obvious no no’s where the skin is concerned, mince pies, all that soft melting pastry is never any good for you, the Christmas cake with 2 inches of marzipan and icing (the best bit), such a sugar rush is hard to mimic, the tin of family chocolates, those shiny, golden spheres that you won’t share with the children, goose fat roast potatoes, devils on horse back (my brother insists Christmas dinner is not Christmas dinner without these crispy pork gems, no really one year he refused to go to fathers house because it was not on the menu!) 2 pints of Irish cream which you also sneak into your coffee justified by the fact that it is Christmas, the 4 gallons of mulled wine, and occasional glass of sherry, surprisingly great while cooking the dinner, not to mention the festive breakfast of croissants, smoked salmon and bucks fizz, it’s all not sounding too good actually worse than I first thought but It can’t all be bad, there has got to be some good guys amongst all this over indulgence, something that’s going to benefit your health.
Well there are some very traditional glimmers of hope for us all especially Cranberries….
Cranberries
These little berries offer huge health benefits, packed full of antioxidants, fibre and vitamins, they are best known for the benefit of drinking the juice to combat urinary tract infections by keeping ecoli bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract walls. Being packed full of antioxidants can help protect against heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
So how can these berries help your skin? They are packed with Vitamin C which helps to build collagen, the protein in the skin that helps it look firm and healthy. Vitamin B3 – has been shown to effectively treat acne and possibly slow skin cancer, Vitamin B5 – increases moisture content in skin.
It doesn’t end with just the berries, but also the cranberry seed oil, the seeds are about the size of a pin head and each is packed full of vital nutrients, a blend of omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids that are crucial to skin health. Cranberry seed oil is the only oil with a naturally balanced omega 3 and omega 6 ratio; these essential fatty acids are not produced by our bodies, but are vital for normal skin functions. The oil contains a high concentration of tocotrienol antioxidants, which protects the skin from environmental damage, carotenoids which gives cranberries their deep red colour, like other antioxidants, help protect cells from free radical damage
Antioxidants are among the best preventive ingredients in the fight against skin aging they can effectively prevent and minimize redness and inflammation, and are essential for slowing the signs of skin ageing. Incorporating them into your diet and also applying topically to the skin is the most effective way to get the best benefit from these helpful free radical scavengers.
Eat them, drink them, mash them up and put them on your skin, or buy skincare products that contain them, cranberries are an all round skin friendly ingredient with huge benefits.
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