As we always say, beauty comes from within – when it comes to your attitude, and your diet! Topical treatments can only be so effective when paired with an unhealthy lifestyle, so making the right choices when it comes to food and drink is paramount for overall wellness – not to mention luminous skin! We’re huge fans of simple, wholesome breakfasts that provide a healthy source of sustained energy, in addition to the vitamins and nutrients your body needs to maintain clear, ageless skin. Here are some of the Uma team’s top picks for a healthy breakfast for skin:
1
Smoothies
If you’re looking for nutritious breakfast ideas and are pressed for time in the morning – making it all too easy to grab a convenient, yet not-so-nutritious, breakfast like a bagel or croissant. If you have five minutes to spare, you can easily whip up a tasty smoothie that will jumpstart your morning, and revitalize skin! Here are a couple of our favorite fruit combinations:
Strawberry + Kiwi: Both strawberry and kiwi are packed with vitamin C, a super ingredient when it comes to maintaining skin health. Vitamin C is best in its natural form, and promotes collagen formation, to minimize signs of aging and sun damage like wrinkling and hyperpigmentation.
Blueberry + Chia Seed: Blueberries are packed with ellagic acid and antioxidants, which help fight off the free radicals our skin is exposed to each day, via environmental factors and pollutants in the air! Chia seeds contain essential fatty acids that help hydrate and smooth skin from within, for a youthful, supple complexion.
2
Avocado
It may be the California in us, but we go wild for avocado in just about any iteration. Whether you’re spreading it on a piece of whole-wheat, high-fiber toast, or drizzling it with olive oil and a hint of sea salt and ground pepper, avocado packs a healthy dose of healthy fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin C.
Combine avocado with some heirloom tomatoes and egg whites, for a protein-rich omelet that will keep you full all morning, and supercharge your skin!
3
Sweet Potato
These versatile roots make for simple breakfasts that are a sweet and healthy alternative to traditional breakfast pastries like muffins and doughnuts – all packed with unhealthy refined sugars, that tend to wreak havoc on skin! You can boil, roast, bake, or grill sweet potatoes – and even microwave them if you’re short on time. Are you aware of the numerous sweet potato benefits for skin? Sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, which some say is like “edible sunscreen” – eating carotenoids can minimize the likelihood of experience sunburns, and the body converts them to vitamin A, which keeps skin smooth and healthy. Sweet potatoes pair especially well with fresh blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries (which all pack a skin-enhancing punch of their own!)
4
Overnight Oatmeal
Overnight oats for breakfast have been popular in the fitness scene for some time, as they’re ultra simple to prepare, low in sugar, and high in fiber! They’re a wonderful alternative to traditional instant oatmeal, which usually contains substantial amounts of added sugar. As we mentioned before, there are indicators that high amounts of sugar in one’s diet can increase the likelihood of wrinkles and exacerbate adult acne. The Internet is abundant with fun recipes for overnight oats, but we usually defer to our favorite combination of steel cut oats, almond milk, greek yogurt, chia seeds, and raspberries, with a hit of maple syrup to top it off!
Have some other suggestions for skin-boosting breakfast foods? Tweet us @umaoils and share them!