- Ayurvedic Skin Care: Eating
Your Way to Clear Beautiful Skin
- By Shreelata Suresh
Ayurvedic healers contend that
clear beautiful skin on the outside happens only when your insides
are clean and toxin-free and you follow a strict daily and weekly
external cleansing regimen. With these timeless beauty secrets
from ayurveda, you can keep your skin looking and feeling clear,
healthy and radiant.
Your skin is like a mirror: it
reflects what's going on inside. Blemishes, eruptions, patches
and sallow skin are often related to inappropriate diet or lifestyle
choices that lead to accumulation of dietary toxins, called ama
in ayurveda. Following a skin-friendly diet, making sure your
digestion-absorption-elimination cycle is efficient and supplementing
with skin-friendly herbs help your skin look clear, radiant,
healthy and youthful.
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In general, choose foods that
are appropriate for your constitution and the season. Eat lighter
meals, space out your meals so that one meal is digested before
you introduce another into your system, and choose whole fresh
foods.
Here are seven simple dietary
recommendations that will help keep your insides cleansed, and
lead to a clear glowing complexion that will turn heads:
1. Start your day with a mug of hot water into which
the juice of half of one lemon has been freshly squeezed. Lemon
is anti-bacterial, promotes regular elimination and helps flush
toxins from your system. If your skin tends to be oily, a second
drink of lemon water in the afternoon can be helpful. Vata and
Pitta skinned individuals can start the day with a handful of
raisins that have been soaked in water the previous night. Raisins
help promote regularity. |
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2. Have two or three herb/spice tea breaks during
the day. Choose from fennel, mint, cumin, fresh ginger root,
aniseed, cardamom, rosehips and cinnamon. Ayurvedic herbs that
are known for their cleansing properties include Neem, Indian
Sarsaparilla, Turmeric, Indian Madder (Manjistha) and Marshmallow
Root. These herbs cleanse the blood and help support the liver
in its efforts to keep your system free of toxins.
Basic Cleansing Spice Tea:
- 1/8 tsp cumin seed (whole)
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed (whole)
- 2 fresh mint leaves (spearmint
or peppermint)
Bring a large cup of pure water
to a rolling boil. Add the whole spices, turn off heat, cover
and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Optional additions for persons
with Vata skin: 1/8 tsp minced fresh ginger root or 1 tiny stick
Chinese cinnamon or one green cardamom (whole) crushed lightly
to break open the skin. Add a pinch of Indian Sarsaparilla or
Marshmallow Root (tea-cut leaf is best, but powdered is acceptable).
Optional additions for persons
with Pitta skin: 1 organic food-grade rosehip or 1/4 tsp aniseed
or one green cardamom (whole) crushed lightly to break open the
skin. Add one pinch of Neem or Marshmallow Root.
Optional additions for persons
with Kapha skin: 1/8 tsp minced fresh ginger root or 1 tiny stick
Chinese cinnamon or 1 peppercorn. Add one pinch of Neem or Indian
Madder or Turmeric.
The teas are fragrant and flavorful,
but if you find you need a sweetener, stir in a dash of honey
for Kapha or a pinch of raw sugar for Vata or Pitta.
3. At lunch, include a portion of raw vegetable
salad to your meal. If your digestive fire is very dim, you may
want to wait until it is stronger, since raw foods are harder
to digest and the benefit of eating the salad is only derived
when your system is able to digest the assimilate the nutrients.
Chop the veggies fine or grate them. Stick to high-water content
vegetables that are easier to digest, such as lettuce, carrot,
cucumber, daikon radish (which is revered by ayurvedic healers
for its purifying properties), fennel bulb and tops and very
tender asparagus tips. These vegetables are tridoshic: they are
good for all types of skin. Combine at least 3 and enjoy with
a simple olive oil-lemon juice dressing.
Cruciferous vegetables, although
very purifying and skin-friendly, are harder to digest and should
be steamed before they are eaten. If you are an individual with
Vata skin, minimize consumption of cruciferous vegetables. For
Pitta and Kapha skin, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels
sprouts can be steamed and dressed with an olive-oil/lemon juice
dressing for a cooked lunchtime salad.
4. Dry-roasted seeds are rich in nutrients and good
essential oils. They offer natural lubrication and are recommended
for all types of skin (in small quantities for persons with Kapha
skin). Sesame seeds, melon seeds or sunflower seeds can be dry-roasted
and sprinkled on top of salads and soups for a nice crunch.
5. Persons with a less fiery digestion can enjoy
the benefits of skin-friendly vegetables by combining them in
detoxifying soups. Steam-cooked cauliflower or broccoli can also
pureed with a little organic rice milk to make a hearty dinnertime
soup for Pitta or Kapha-skinned persons. Steam-cooked whole or
cooked pureed asparagus is extremely beneficial for all types
of skin.
6. Include at least one helping of a leafy green
vegetable a day. Pick only the freshest greens, wash thoroughly
and shred large leaved varieties into fine slivers before cooking.
Persons with Kapha skin can benefit from the addition of peppery
greens such as mustard, and persons with Pitta skin from the
addition of a bitter green such as fenugreek or tender dandelion.
Steam-cook your greens until just done and drizzle with a little
olive oil or sauté them in olive oil and your choice of
spices. Leafy greens help nourish, protect and detoxify the skin.
7. Stick to skin-friendly oils and avoid foods that
contain trans-fats. While bad fats lead to clogged skin pores,
breakouts and a sallow appearance, healthy oils can actually
enhance skin health, clarity and luminescence. This is especially
so if you have Vata skin, which tends to be naturally dry and
rough and prone to flaking easily. Ayurvedic healers recommend
ghee, which is clarified butter - butter with all the milk solids
removed. Extra-virgin olive, sesame or walnut oil are other good
choices. Ghee has the advantage of being able to be heated; other
oils should be drizzled over cooked foods. |
Beauty Secrets of the World
