We’re talked before about the importance of skin care from the inside out. As our Education Director, Gregory Dean, reminds us: “what goes in, shows on the skin.”

FEED YOUR SKIN’S HEALTH

In addition to nourishing your skin with C’watre oceanic skin care products, your skin will thrive if you nourish your skin with a strong and healthy diet. Foods rich in anitoxidants, vitamins, healthy oils like Omega-3s, and lean proteins are great for your overall wellness as well as the vibrancy of your skin.

A healthy diet need not be difficult or expensive, and the summer poses great opportunities for healthy meals with seasonal, local foods. Fruits and vegetables are at their peak throughout the summer, providing abundant options in the grocery store as well as the local farmers market. When out of season, look to frozen fruits and vegetables, which have been harvested at their peak and quick frozen, preserving all the great nutrients.

Some helpful tips to choosing the best options for your skin and your wellness, consider the following:

The more color the better: Fruits and vegetables with vibrant colors such as: spinach, kale, broccoli, and also blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and cranberries hold the highest levels of vitamins and antioxidants. Try to get several servings per day of nutrient power-players like these.

Eat more fish: As far as we’re concerned oceanic skin care should also include at least 2 servings of fish a week. Choose low mercury fish, rich in Omega-3s like salmon, tuna, trout sardines, shrimp and mackerel.

Great grains: Despite earlier diet trends, dietary fiber is an essential component to overall wellness. Choose whole grains like whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, and oatmeal. You can see more on choosing great whole grains on the MayoClinic.com.

You can learn more through a great article on iVillage about eating for wellness [http://tinyurl.com/ma99pn] as well as an article by Real Age.

To help you jump start your Great Skin Diet try our fresh and vibrant Spinach Salad with Salmon and Blueberry Vinaigrette!

Spinach Salad with Salmon and Blueberry Vinaigrette

4 servings

salad:

2 c. arugula

2 c. spinach

2 c. mixed greens/Mache mix

1 c. blueberries

1/2 c. walnuts

1/2 c.  thin sliced red onions

8 oz. cherve/goat cheese

4 – 4oz. fillets of grilled salmon

vinaigrette:

1/2 c. fresh blueberries, washed

1/4 c. good olive oil

3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

directions:

To make salad, combine in a large salad bowl arugula, spinach, mixed greens, 1 cup blueberries, walnuts, red onions, and cherve.

For vinaigrette, in a blender or small food processor, combine 1/4 c. blueberries and balsamic vinegar. Blend until pureed. Slowly add olive oil while blending on low. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss salad with dressing and arrange on 4 plates. Place grilled salmon over salad and serve.

LOCAL RESOURCES:

Find a local Farmers Market through Local Harvest: http://www.localharvest.org/farmers-markets/

Local Farmers Markets are also listed through the USDA’s site: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets/

Learn more about the nutrients of your foods at the American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition.html

The more we examine the aging process the more we recognize the importance of the function of the individual cell. If we keep the individual cell healthy then we keep the skin healthy and looking young, as well as keeping the body healthy and feeling young. If we treat the body on an individual cellular basis, we treat the aging process at the foundation.

Water is the most important substance we need to function and be healthy. It is widely believed that water loss is directly responsible for the aging of the skin and body, the increase of sensitivity, and the decline in function as we age. Dehydration results in a drop in function of the cells of the skin and body. Compounding this problem is Mineral Deficiency, which prevents cells from holding an adequate amount of water inside the cell membrane. A person drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day is only doing half the work necessary for hydration.

Cells must absorb and retain sufficient amounts of water to function at a full, youthful capacity. The key is to increase the cell’s energy through supplementation. The use of key nutrients such as minerals, glucosamine, amino acids, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients, enables cells to increase water content, encourages the healthy formation of collagen and elastin, protects against free radical aging activity and soothes skin irritation. The resulting changes can be seen in the smoothing of wrinkles, the faster healing of acne and reduction of breakouts, the reduction of dryness and irritation of Eczema and other skin irritations. Bottom line is that the symptoms or signs of aging are warded off. Hydration and nutrients increase the essential process of metabolism and preserve the integrity of the cell and tissues of the skin – and there is no better source of these than the sea.

With its long history of therapeutic uses and the numerous scientific studies supporting the beneficial applications of seawater, the tradition is well established. When applied topically, products based with seawater create an ion-transfer – improving conductivity, enhancing circulation and sensation, diminishing redness, detoxifying and remineralizing the skin – restoring moisture, stimulating cellular turnover and infusing a full spectrum of 78 elemental nano-nutrients into the skin.

Every year we learn more about the prevention of the signs of aging. One theory is that the symptoms we see as “aging” are actually an accumulation of tissue damage – that the signs of aging are more related to the damage of tissue than the actual passing of years. This is a theory that I find very intriguing, mainly because it gives us hope. There is something that we can do. If we target the skin on a cellular basis, deliver the right ingredients of metabolism – like trace minerals and amino acids, increase the moisture delivered and retained by the cell, then the symptoms or signs of aging may be lessened. We all have to age – so we should all do what we can to age intelligently.

-Gregory Dean, C’watre National Education Director [from the May '08 issue of C'watreMonthly]