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Dive Into Dark Chocolate

by — Last updated: 2022-08-26 in Nutrition & Dieting

Table of Contents

Women do everything they can to make themselves look younger - from injecting toxins into their skin to undergoing harsh and invasive laser therapies, they'll try anything to get smoother skin. But it's what goes into your body that's most important.

Chocoholics rejoice - study after study has shown that frequent portions of dark chocolate could improve the texture and look of skin. To get your chocolate fix, be sure to choose dark varieties that are at least 70 percent cacao - unfortunately, the antioxidant content in chocolate decreases drastically as the milk content increases, so milk chocolate and white chocolate won't do the same job.

The antioxidants found in in chocolate are known as flavonols, and one study in particular has shown that these flavonols could actually help to protect against damaging UV rays.
Read More: 5 Things That Will Keep You Young Forever

Sun damage is widely considered to age skin more than anything else - which is why dermatologists warn against sitting in the sun for too long in your 20s, as you'll pay for it dearly in terms of wrinkles and lines once you hit your 40s. What a great excuse for eating chocolate! For the best results, and to keep skin looking vibrant, snack on one ounce of dark chocolate everyday - yes, everyday!

Learn to Love Leafy Greens

Leafy greens such as spinach, spring greens and kale are not only low in fat and low in calories - making them a great addition to any healthy diet - but they're also packed with antioxidants. Calorie for calorie, they're more nutrient-rich than virtually any other food, containing an A-Z of minerals, nutrients and antioxidants, the most important of which for anti-aging are lutein, omega-3s, beta-carotene and zeaxanthin.

These anti-aging antioxidants protect your cells, including skin cells, from free radical damage and boost the production of new cells - while lutein in particular is known to protect against and prevent sun damage as well as the associated skin inflammation and wrinkles. Boost your intake of leafy greens by having a portion with your dinner everyday, eating them either raw or lightly steamed, or whiz them up into a green smoothie.

C for Citrus Fruits (and Vitamin C)

We all know that orange juice is a fantastic source of vitamin C, but virtually every citrus fruit is a great source of vitamin C.

Add oranges, lemons, grapefruits and acerola cherries to your diet (just one acerola cherry contains 100% of your daily needs of vitamin C) and you'll boost collagen production.

As we mentioned earlier, collagen is essential for youthful-looking skin and luckily, vitamin C is one of the essential building blocks for collagen production. When we reach the age of 35, collagen breakdown really starts to speed up, so it's even more important to up your intake of vitamin C in your 30s. Vitamin C also has antioxidant properties, which can prevent against the free radicals that could damage skin cells.

Who knew that anti-aging could be so delicious?