Spring shakes up your routine with sunshine, warmer temperatures, and a fresh, healthy harvest of nourishing foods. Your goal—sensational spring skin —comes from a combined focus on detoxification in the spa as well as in your diet, spring nutrition, topical treatments, and freshening up of your mindset and living space. The Nutritional Aesthetics® approach to spring skin shows you just where to direct your efforts, while closely connecting to nature, tasting the deliciousness of the season, and treating yourself well from the inside out.
The newness of spring creates an exciting moment of the year, when your skin and body transition right along with nature. As the weather warms and you enter a season with a strong focus on detoxification, the nutritional needs of your body and skin shift.
Try these essential nutrition strategies for sensational spring skin:
Think green for gorgeous skin. That fresh, beautiful hue of budding leaves is called ‘spring green’ for a reason. Nature is coming back to life around you, and your farmers’ market and grocery store will soon be brimming with a spring harvest in myriad shades of green. The green foods of spring, from asparagus and artichokes to arugula, spinach, and dandelion greens, share the quality of supporting and speeding up detoxification processes in your body. When you shop, reach for chlorophyll-rich leafy greens and green vegetables often. Aim for at least one serving of greens each day, to support the clarity and sebum balance of your skin, as well as skin cells that are repairing and rebuilding with vitamins A and C, and eat detoxifying asparagus or artichokes a few times per week.
Lighten up your meals. Heavy meals suit a winter body, but springtime calls for lightening up. Eating meals that are simple in ingredients or easy to digest, and making an effort not to overeat regularly encourages your body to detoxify optimally. Choose warming soups that nourish your body and digestive system, along with raw or lightly- cooked vegetables and salads where you might otherwise have starchy, cooked sides.
Brighten up with lemons. Lemon juice is one of the most alkaline foods for your body, which needs a balance of acidic and alkaline foods to thrive. If you make lemon water a regular habit, you may notice that this simple, alkaline-boosting and detoxifying drink can brighten and breathe new life into your skin as well. Increasing the alkalinity of your diet, which you can also do with an abundance of green vegetables (see number 1 on this list!), is a top spring priority, so add lemons in wherever you can.
Eat more fiber. The word ‘fiber’ conjures up images of stirring starchy powder into water. But that image is not what nature had in mind. Eating more fiber can be as delicious as increasing your intake of raw seeds like chia and flax, beans and legumes, and fresh berries like raspberries and blackberries. The extra fiber helps your body usher out toxins each time you eliminate, plus it’s a proven aid to weight loss without dieting.
Sip, and sip some more. This spring, be sure to drink plenty of fluids—like filtered water, herbal teas, and broths—to encourage cleansing as well. Click HERE to try the NAA’s signature Beauty Water! On chilly spring days, or as often as you like, sip hot water to practice an Ayurvedic detox strategy that flushes the lymphatic system, supporting radiant skin and less cellulite. Overall, staying hydrated will keep your skin looking more youthful, with less prominent wrinkles and pores.
Want more integrative skincare tips for sensational spring skin?
Click HERE to download our complete Sensational Spring Skin Guide (available all spring long!).