The concept of beauty has gone through a paradigm change. With every technological advancement, complex products have been formulated to help slow down the aging process. While these developed formulas have been proven to work, the side effects of chemically enhanced products have been detrimental to the long-term health of users. Against this backdrop, there has recently been a rising wave where people are reverting to the basics of beauty. There have been calls to embrace lifestyle-based initiatives that go a long way in keeping our skins young and healthy. Evidence-based practices show that we can keep our skin youthful and glowing by adopting a few naturally available options. However, before diving deeper into these practices, you must understand what constitutes our skin and what exactly happens when the skin starts to age.
What constitutes the human skin?
Our skin comprises many biological components, including collagen tissue which accounts for up to 30% of the protein components (1). Coupled with elastin, hyaluronic acid (HA), and proteoglycans, collagen forms an extracellular matrix (ECM), which is a skin component that endows cells with mechanical features and molecular cues for cell stabilization and functionalization (2).
Why Skin age?
Our skin is directly exposed to the environment. Therefore, its appearance represents the entire aging process of the human body. The aging of the human skin is characterized by wrinkles, laxity, brown spots, thickening, and coarseness, a degradation process associated with the breakdown of ECM proteins and the piling up of high glycation end products.
Collagen proteins account for 95% of the skin and are responsible for resilience, strength, durability, and elasticity. With the passage of time, 1% of the collagen protein content is degraded every year.
Drinks that will keep your skin young and glowing
When it comes to keeping your skin ‘alive,’ it all boils down to one simple fact, keeping your ECM as healthy as possible. While there are many ways to do this, we highlight some critical drinks that can help you keep your skin whole and elastic. Here are 9 anti-aging drinks for women to conquer over growing age.
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Anti Ageing Drinks For Women
1. Water
Water not only plays a vital role in digestion and circulation, but it’s also vital for the health and beauty of your skin (3). Water is essential in delivering nutrients to the skin cells and maintaining optimal skin moisture. Water helps in hydrating the body and making the skin moist. It helps in the regeneration of skin tissues and increases their elasticity hence delaying signs of aging like wrinkles and soft lines. This ensures that the skin remains supple. Hydrated skin retains its elasticity.
It is recommended that a person drinks at least 8 glasses of water in a day. If your skin doesn’t get enough water, it not only becomes dry but will also be more prone to aging.
2. Pink Grapefruit Juice
This juice contains vitamin C, which helps combat a series of skin diseases and illnesses (4). In addition, the pink pigment in grapefruit shows lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that fights free radicals in our bodies. Lycopene protects the skin from UV sun rays that damage the skin cells. Drinking grape juice leaves your skin moisturized and well-nourished.
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3. Lemon Juice
Lemon juice contains vitamin C, which is an antioxidant and brightening agent. Drinking lemon juice every day increases the amount of collagen in the body, thus reducing the appearance of wrinkles (5). Applying a mask with lemon juice as one of its ingredients helps eliminate excess oil from the skin and reduces acne and breakouts. Lemon juice also stimulates the liver to fight against toxins.
4. Soy Milk
Soy milk is one of the richest drinks because it constitutes vitamin E which helps renew dead cells and moisturizes the skin. It prevents the occurrence of wrinkles by maintaining elastin and collagen levels in the skin. The flavones in soy hold power to retain collagen levels needed for firming and preserving the skin’s youthful texture. (6)
5. Green Tea
Green tea may appear simple, but it is made up of polyphenols, an antioxidant that destroys free radicals, thus slowing down the aging process. The skin is also protected from UV rays of the sun which can damage the cells. In addition, green tea has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties (7).
6. Cocoa
The cocoa drink can either be applied directly to the skin or used as a beverage. It is rich in flavanols which may boost the function of blood vessels and reduce the risks of high blood pressure, diabetes, or kidney disease. Cocoa improves blood flow and prevents the buildup of cholesterol. When applied to the skin, it increases skin elasticity. Cocoa softens, cleans, and detoxifies the skin (8).
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7. Beet Juice
Beet fruit purifies the blood by eliminating toxins from the system. It is high in vitamin C, which helps in collagen synthesis and prevents dry skin. In addition, beet juice has carotenoids that ward off macular degeneration, i.e., an eye disease that causes vision loss. (9).
8. Carrot Juice
Carrot juice is endowed with Vitamin C, which has antioxidants properties. It increases the cell turnover to fight against the appearance of wrinkles. Beta carotene, an antioxidant present in carrots, protects the skin from free radicals (10). Carotenoids found in carrots protect the skin against sunburns. Carrots are also rich in luteolin and flavonoid that decrease the inflammation that can cause dementia.
9. Orange Juice
It contains high levels of nutrients like citric acid, which reduces the appearance of wrinkles. The citric acid in orange juice helps in skin exfoliation, thus improving the skin’s overall look. It is also rich in vitamin C, which aids in collagen synthesis. In addition, orange juice can help in weight loss. The juice should be taken on an empty stomach in the morning to absorb the nutrients better. (11)
Summary
The human skin is the largest organ of the body. Since it is directly exposed to the environment, it is a perfect reflection of what is going on inside the body. The aging process is one of the factors that is highlighted by the human skin. Experts recommend anti-aging drinks for women to conquer over growing age. These include water, pink grape juice, lemon juice, soy milk, green tea, cocoa, beet juice, carrot juice, and orange juice. Always remember that habitual use with consistency and resilience will help you achieve the goals.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What can I drink to make my skin look younger?
The list of drinks that you can intake to reduce the aging process is old is endless. While this post only provides a handful of home remedies, many drinks have been known to offer the much-needed reprieve to keep the skin looking younger and healthy. Apart from the ones listed above, some of these drinks include tomato juice, pomegranate juice, watermelon juice, and kiwi juice.
What drink helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles?
Lemon juice, whether taken internally or applied topically, is by far the best remedy for wrinkled skin. The acidity of the lemon plays a critical role in keeping your skin brighter while significantly reducing the appearance of wrinkles. You can make a home-based DIY lemon juice fruit acid facial. The citric acid in lemon juice can play the role of a gentle exfoliator that makes your skin look and feel smoother and softer.
Which alcohol is best for anti-aging?
Red wine is enriched with amazing anti-aging properties and is a primary component in the wine facial. Loaded with antioxidants, they work in such a manner that they destroy free radicals that play a central role in aging and age-related diseases.
Does drinking water stop aging?
Yes! Water may be a tasteless, colorless liquid, but this does not mean it is not endowed with the right means to help you look young. Since water accounts for over 70 percent of the human body components, it is essential to keep your body hydrated. The thumb rule is that people who drink lots of water are less likely to suffer from scars, wrinkles, and soft lines, translating to reduced signs of aging.
Does coffee age your skin?
Yes, coffee is not good for your skin. Just like junk foods, coffee can make your skin dry and washed out. Caffeine constitutes the main component in coffee. It acts as a diuretic and hence prevents your skin and the body at large from holding on to water. We need six to eight glasses of water in a single day; however, if your daily habit involves drinking a lot of caffeine-filled drinks, then the eight-glass quota may not be enough for you. You need more water in your system to help you fight the diuretic tendencies of caffeine.
