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With age comes experience and wisdom. But it’s also completely natural to notice changes in your complexion like looser skin, wrinkles, and fine lines — and to have feelings about these shifts in your appearance. We can’t completely prevent aging, nor should that be everyone’s ultimate goal, but a few lifestyle changes can take you a long way toward healthy, glowing skin at any age. And that starts from the inside out. Alexis Parcells, MD, board-certified plastic surgeon, owner of Parcells Plastic Surgery and founder of SUNNIE Wrinkle Reducing Studio, spoke to us about foods that can make sagging skin so much worse — as well as a few of her best tips on the foods she recommends to boost skin health.
Alcoholic Beverages
Celebrating an occasion with a glass or two of champagne is one thing, but if you’ve noticed your daily routine includes alcoholic beverages, you might also notice your skin suffering some of the consequences of a good time. “Drinking alcohol can lead to sagginess in the skin because it causes us to excrete large amounts of water and lead to dehydration,” Dr. Parcells says.
Limiting your consumption of alcohol will always help your skin. But if you are enjoying a cocktail, it’s also a good idea to keep a glass of water next to you and take sips in between to rev up your hydration levels.
Sugar
A disappointing fact for anyone with a sweet tooth: sugary foods can actually break down the collagen and elastin in our skin, and that can cause skin to sag faster. As with most foods, moderation is key. A few gummy bears or a chocolate treat now and then won’t make or break your skin. But so many everyday foods we eat contain sugar — foods like flavored yogurt, raisins, and salad dressing — that it’s as important to be mindful of these as it is your typical candy stash.
Simple Carbohydrates
Carbs are not an enemy, despite what you might have heard. They provide necessary B vitamins and are an important source of energy and other nutrients. But limiting your intake of simple carbs like white rice, pasta, and low-fat treats like popcorn and rice cakes helps keep glucose levels stabilized, and this can prevent damage to the skin’s collagen that can result in saggy skin.
Caffeine
Similar to the effects of too much alcohol, consuming too much caffeine from coffee and tea can have a dehydrating effect on your skin that results in a more dry complexion that can eventually lose laxity. If your daily cup has become an all-day coffee-drinking affair, cutting back on your caffeine may be the best thing you can do for your skin.
And another habit that sometimes goes hand-in-hand with coffee and alcohol should also be cut if your skin is a priority: smoking. “Smoking damages collagen and elastin, which are the fibrous components of skin that keep it firm,” Dr. Parcells.
Now that you know which food types to avoid, what should you be eating for more youthful-looking skin? Stick to vitamin E-rich foods and you can’t go wrong. “Vitamin E rich foods include nuts, spinach, whole grains, and oils including sunflower and olive oil,” Dr. Parcells says. “Vitamin E acts a free-radical scavenger. Alpha-tocopherol (a natural form of Vitamin E) reduces collagenase, which is an enzyme that destroys collagen and increases skin aging.”
Diet can affect skin from the inside out, according to Dr. Parcells, while topical skin care products and in-office procedures work by penetrating outside in. “Products that contain hyaluronic acid can penetrate and plump skin if used regularly,” Dr. Parcells says. “Additionally, dermal fillers contain hyaluronic acid that can directly be injected into the dermis - with an immediate result.”
