29 Jan Colorful Root Vegetables: The Star of Winter Beauty Foods
Beauty Foods
Colorful Root Vegetables: The Star of Winter Beauty Foods
With the start of the new year, I have a fresh desire to eat right and feed my family right so so we can feel our best. Since eating right is foundational for clear, bright skin, caring for skin from the inside out is a sure way to enjoy and benefit from natural beauty products even more—knowing that we are approaching organic beauty holistically and not just on the surface level.
So, what are my favorite beauty foods right now that also contribute to overall well-being? For me, the defining winter food is root vegetables—and the vibrant, bright colors of these earthy vegetables make it known that they are powerful beauty foods.
Take your pick out of a variety of root vegetables and start experimenting with what you like. For some inspiration, my ten favorite root vegetables are sweet potatoes or yams, russet or Yukon (white) potatoes, carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, rutabaga, butternut squash, winter squash, and Jerusalem artichokes.
What exactly makes root vegetables so beneficial for skin and overall well-being? Antioxidants like Vitamin C in root vegetables can help build and defend skin cells (bonus: purple sweet potatoes contain anthocyanins, which can stop oxidative damage). Root vegetables fight inflammation in the skin and body, with high levels of carotenoid antioxidants.
Starchy, nutrient packed foods like root vegetables will satisfy a sweet craving, which means less sugar, more beautiful skin and a higher immune system in the winter months. Easily integrate root vegetables into your daily diet in winter stews, juices, and roasted medleys of lots of different mixed roots. One of the easiest ways to get them into your routine is to pop some sweet potatoes in the oven and then store them in the refrigerator to pull out for a quick energy snack—you don’t even have to heat them up because cold sweet potatoes have an extra health benefit called “resistant starch” which improves gut health.
In addition to root vegetables, you may want to use an extra dose of probiotic foods in your daily diet. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir are high in immunity-boosting probiotics. A high proportion of the body’s immune system is located in the gut—and a healthy gut not only equals beating the common cold in winter months, but it also means clear, glowing skin. Yes, please!
– Siobhan
ORGANIC BEAUTY BEGINNING WITHIN