Winter Skin Survival

Winter can be a cruel season for your skin. Extremes of temperature, typically moving from cranked up central heating to the chilly outdoors, and perhaps eating less healthily than you might in summer, can conspire to reduce the quality and health of your skin.

Skin is a remarkably hard working organ. Yes, you heard right, it’s an ‘organ’, and the largest one in your body too! It forms a protective barrier, keeping harmful viruses and bacteria at bay. It also helps with temperature regulation; eliminates body waste via sweat; and manufactures Vitamin D in the presence of sunshine. And of course, the way skin looks reflects your inner health, so it deserves to be treated well.

Eat your skin healthy

Winter is a time when it is easy to give up on the, now familiar, five portions of fruit and vegetables advice. It’s cold outside and comfort-eating is so tempting. Fruit and vegetables provide antioxidants which are necessary for keeping skin supple, helping to combat the effects of ageing. Winter treats could include dried fruits, warming soups, fruit compote, vegetable and bean laden casseroles and hot fruit puddings. Eating vitamin C-rich foods is also great as this is the vitamin which is essential for building collagen. Collagen helps to ‘glue’ skin cells together, protecting skin from damage and creating a barrier against invaders.
Skin cell membranes need to stay flexible and for this they also need the right fats in the diet. A great help is omega 3, found in oily fish, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. Omega 3 also reduces the inflammation and itchiness of skin that is typical of eczema or poor wound healing.
GLA is a skin-essential fatty acid which is hard to get from the diet but is available from evening primrose oil and borage oil supplements. GLA is one of the omega 6 family but is in a form that is ‘ready for action’ and can go to work directly on reducing inflammation. At the same time, it is advisable to reduce sources of saturated fats in your diet. Try adding walnut, flax oil or grapeseed oil to salad dressings to vary the taste and for skin support.
Zinc is another nutrient for skin health and a deficiency soon shows up as easily broken skin and poor wound healing. Foods rich in zinc include nuts, seeds, lean dark meat (so the leg of chicken in preference to breast meat), fish, pulses and beans. Nuts (particularly Brazil nuts), sunflower seeds and wholegrains are also rich in selenium - an essential antioxidant mineral which is often low in the UK diet. Remember to drink plenty of water to help keep skin hydrated. Too much alcohol and coffee can be fairly dehydrating and many people are aware that a night on the tiles reflects in dry looking skin the next day. Lower in caffeine than other drinks is green tea which also helps some people with acne and may also help against psoriasis.
Eating a fibre-rich diet helps your digestive system to work well to help eliminate waste products. As the skin is also an organ of elimination, good bowel function has a knock on effect on skin health. Fibre rich foods include porridge oats, wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, pulses, nuts and seeds.
Women often notice that their skin condition can alter with the menopause when oestrogen levels decline. The hormone oestrogen serves, amongst other things, to improve collagen, keeping skin ‘plumped up’ and looking youthful. Some foods are natural sources of phyto (plant) oestrogens which are milder than HRT and work naturally and should help to keep skin quality. Phyto-oestrogens also help to regulate hormonal imbalances in younger women.

Topical help

Vitamin E in particular is known as the skin vitamin and throughout the millennia women have massaged wheat-germ oil into the skin to keep it healthy.
It is always important to use a cream with sun protection (at the very least SPF15) as the sun’s rays can damage skin even in winter time.
Another useful remedy for eczema sufferers is to pierce a capsule of evening primrose or borage oil and rub it directly onto any affected areas (taking care not to rub broken skin too vigorously, obviously!)

The best supplements for radiant skin: • Make sure the supplements you take have a broad range of antioxidants. Vitamin A, beta-carotene, Vitamin C and vitamin E are better in combination than separately. • If you have eczema consider taking a zinc supplement. • GLA (from borage or evening primrose oil) is one of the most useful supplements as it means the body doesn’t have to make it from dietary ‘substrate’ omega 6 fatty acids. It is particularly helpful for eczema, psoriasis and for any inflammatory condition. • The ‘carotene’ group of antioxidant compounds are showing particular promise for skin protection. As well as beta-carotene, this family include lycopene and lutein.