Beauty From The Inside Out: Getting That A-List Glow For the Summer Season… 

We all want to look good throughout the year and summer represents a fresh new beginning, where we start to take off our winter layers. Summer’s lighter layers and looks however remind us that the stodgy food of the festive cold season has left us with unwanted weight gain and dull looking skin, hair and eyes. Beauty products and spa treatments are all well and good for creating instant allure, however, for long-term benefits and to reveal a sleeker more transformed look to our face and body, nothing beats eating and drinking the right foods for giving you that glamorous inner and outer glow no matter what style of clothing or makeup you wear.

To get that A-list glow, think in terms of the following when preparing food:

1.     Eat Clean and Think Before You Eat

When you think of your body as an engine that requires the right fuel for your needs (whether that’s more energy, better brain power or even food to create and maintain the beauty of your skin, hair and nails), you will begin to associate different foods with different benefits and drawbacks. This mind-set is key to staying away from over-processed, chemical laden foods and instead stick to eating pure, fresh ingredients which have the added advantage of being healthy as well as bursting with added flavour and goodness. Eating clean will give you smoother, clearer skin as well as a leaner figure and better energy and concentration levels. Simply stay away from unnecessary chemicals and preservatives in food, as well as excessive sugar, salt and saturated fats.

2.     Stay Hydrated

Select fresh ingredients that have high water content. Eat lots of things that contain water such as tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, watermelon etc. They are 90-95% water and you have nothing to lose by eating lots of them! They contain little to none of the wrong substances (e.g. refined sugar, salt, and fats) yet give you all of the benefits of stocking up on the right minerals and vitamins for your body and boosting energy levels.

3.     Eat More Protein

Fill up on extra protein (e.g. lean red meat, poultry, fish, and pulses) instead of stodgy and starchy simple carbohydrates (e.g. bread, white rice, and pasta). This will give you more energy, keep you feeling full for longer to create a leaner looking figure and also help maintain the health of your skin, hair and nails making them look vibrant and sleek. Curb the carbs by simply upping your protein intake with foods such as chicken, chickpeas (hummus is a great source of protein), pules (Dhal is a another wonderful protein source) and by limiting your intake of carbs only to smaller portions of complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and whole-grain breads.

4.     Don’t Forget Fish

We all need Omega-3 fatty acids for our hearts and our joints but it is a little known fact that your skin cells also need to use Omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish in order to maintain healthy cell membranes to maintain hydration by retaining enough moisture in the skin, preserve the health and smoothness of the skin and ensure you are able to ‘moisturize from the inside out’. Without enough Omega-3 fatty acids, your skin and hair will look lack-lustre and lose that all-important A-list glow. Try this Smokey Steamed Indian Mackerel Salad as part of your main meal, accompanied by Basmati rice or brown rice, to give your skin and hair a super beauty boost whilst also ensuring your heart and joints remain health.

Guest Blog with kind thanks to Shahena Ali