A reader recently asked me what I eat; I assume she meant what do I eat to maintain a healthy-looking complexion. Or she may have been asking in the way you might ask about the Pilgrims… I wonder what they ate? In either case, as my son’s babysitter once observed while I compiled an enormous salad for lunch, “You sure put away a lotta leaves.” Mostly arugula and watercress, which I love the way some people love chocolate. (I love chocolate, too, but eat far less of it, even though studies have shown a dark chocolate a day can keep the Prozac away.)
So nutrition was on my mind when I came across a recap of a talk given last month at the American Academy of Dermatology Association’s annual meeting. The subject: how to help patients learn to eat for optimal skin, hair, and nail health. Thank you, Dermatology Times and esteemed dermatologist Zoe Draelos, MD, FAA, consulting professor in the department of dermatology at Duke University!
You might already know that it’s wise to eat a colorful diet—a rainbow of foods generally means you’re consuming a variety of the vitamins and minerals you need to support a healthy body. Draelos explains in scientific detail how each colorful food group specifically helps your skin, hair, and nails—and though I’ve simplified her information, I include her suggestions for the best sources for your daily diet.
Orange or yellow foods for vitamin A, which can support immune function.
2/3 cup of 🥕
Red or orange foods for vitamin C, which helps with tissue repair, neurotransmitter production, and immune system and antioxidant (cell-protection) support.
One raw 🍅 or a handful of cherry tomatoes
Green foods for vitamin E, which helps protect cell membranes, and also for folic acid, which is required for the reproduction of DNA, RNA, and RBC (red blood cells).
One or more 🥑
Brown foods for trace minerals and biotin. (BTW, Draelos says biotin deficiencies are rare.)
One Brazil nut (packed with minerals!) or a handful of almonds per week
Pink foods for pure protein, as skin, hair, and nails are made of protein and need it for repair.
🐔, 🍖, 🐟 —and mature friends, take note: You may have discovered that in middle age you start losing things, like your glasses, car keys, and muscle mass. The Mayo Clinic website suggests that to help prevent losing the latter, or at least to slow down the process, you need to increase protein intake.
Blue or purple foods for antioxidant activity.
One cup of 🫐
Draelos told Dermatology Times that the most common vitamin deficiency she sees among post-menopausal women is vitamin D, which is difficult to obtain from food. She says a supplement of 2000IU minimum is recommended for them.
I think I need to start adding some protein to my bowl of leaves. For inspiration, I’ll visit this delightful reader-certified destination.
🤳
Moving on to a question I think we both know the answer to. Are you happy with the face you see when you take a selfie? Maybe a different question first: Why are you taking a selfie? That’s what I tend to ask myself every time I hit that little circular arrow button on my iPhone. I’m embarrassed to tell you I sometimes try a selfie when I think I look good enough to be captured for posterity—whose posterity is up for grabs. I do it in private, because I believe it’s a kind of visual masturbation (which is why I think it looks weird when people do it in public). Maybe I think I need the selfie to remind myself I can look good on a day when I feel un-good. The problem is the picture usually doesn’t look anywhere near as fine as I’d hoped and I wind up deleting it.
Well! Now there’s a study that’s found how selfies can significantly distort facial features—making the nose look longer, the chin shorter, and doing something weird about nose-to-chin length. This sounds like a twisted filter, right? And it seems to be driving an uptick in requests for plastic surgery with an emphasis on rhinoplasty. What a nasty trick. Imagine if whenever you looked in the mirror, you saw a distorted version of yourself. Oh, wait. That is what you see.
You could instead look at a distorted version of me (unfortunate computer camera angle) in a clip from a show called “The Why” on the Newsy network. It’s from what I hope is a fine report on Attitudes About Aging in America. I say “I hope,” because I haven’t seen the whole show as I don’t have the internet platform to support it (🤦♀️).
Finally, in the Department of Holy Shit: A new documentary series on HBO Max examines the deleterious effects of cosmetics and other beauty products on workers and consumers. It has the tone of a horror movie which, considering the content, seems totally appropriate. The call is coming from inside the…cosmetics bag. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Also, be prepared to prune your beauty routine.
Val Asks You
Don’t be shy! What’s your most vexing or intractable appearance issue? Send your beauty-related questions to valeriemonroe@substack.com. If I don’t have a good answer, I’ll find someone who does.
HNTFUYF, a Payola-Free Zone
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"You sure put away a lot of leaves." Hahaha.
I agree with your assessment of publicly indulging in selfies. Gauche. Even without the duck lips and peace signs, which makes no sense when you put them together!
Enjoyed reading the nutrition side for facial care and definitely motivating to eat a little more protein (roast chicken, anyone?) And, yes, arugula! Love it especially as a salad I got in Providence, RI in a tiny sandwich shop. It was suprisingly fancier than I expected at a place that sold meatball subs. There was sliced pear, goat cheese, almonds, chicken, and plenty of arugula. But my fave way to enjoy it is to simply stir fry with a touch of EVOO and sea salt. In fact I can cook and eat an entire package as it all shrinks down (like spinch but less soggy-ish) along with that roast chicken from a local supermarket (nothing fancy - Shop Rite or Hannaford's) and a scoop of white rice (yup, no brown rice for me as eating fragrant white rice reminds me of my mom), and oh, I must confess, way too much [organice] ketchup. A perfect meal aind hopefully nourishing to my skin.