How to Get Glowing Skin from the Inside-Out

True beauty really does come from the inside out. No matter how many expensive skincare products you lather on—no matter how many steps you perform on your face before falling asleep—what you put in your body matters more for skin health than what you put on. If you’re wondering how to get glowing skin naturally, this article is for you. We’re diving into the best vitamins for skin and the must-eat foods for beauty. You’ll walk away with your grocery list for ultimate confidence, feeling empowered to nourish your body and skin. 

How to Get Healthy Skin Naturally 

How to get healthy skin, that is the question. And fortunately, we have the answer. Before we dive into the solutions, it’s essential to understand that your skin is a mirror of your inner world. Organ and hormone function play a massive role in your skin’s complexion. Here’s how we can support your inner world for an outer glow. 

1 – Nourish Detox Pathways 

For starters, you need to support your body’s natural detox pathways. If you aren’t going regularly and properly, your skin will show it: breakouts, redness, dryness, eczema, dark spots, fine lines, and wrinkles. There will be a complete dullness and most likely a couple of pimples. Nourishing your gut, liver, and lymph are crucial for the glowing skin you crave. 

Liver

Your liver is responsible for over 600 jobs in your body. A few of them are detoxing heavy metals, excess estrogen, and other nasty chemicals that can cause skin issues and other health problems. 

The liver has 2 phases of detoxification:

Phase 1: enzymatic reactions – turns toxins into less toxic metabolites, creating lots of free radicals 

Phase 2: conjugation – turns phase 1 metabolites into more water-soluble forms to be excreted via urine or stool. 

A lot of acne and skin issues can result from sluggish phase 2 liver detoxification. The dangerous metabolites produced in phase 1 could actually create too much oxidative damage and inflammation. This can lead to early aging, sagging skin, breakouts, dullness, and more. 

Nourishing your liver with supportive herbs and foods can help. Here are some of the best:

• burdock root tea
• leafy greens
• broccoli, and other cruciferous vegetables, 
• hydrating, low glycemic fruits (especially wild blueberries)
• cilantro
• apples 
• spirulina 

Bowel Movements 

Are acne and poor bowel movements related? You bet. The large intestine is one of the body’s main routes of elimination. You’re not eliminating toxins and waste if you don’t go regularly, so your skin takes the hit. 

A poor poop schedule can result in the estrogens in your gut to be reabsorbed into circulation. This can contribute to excess estrogen and throw hormone levels off balance. Enter acne. According to Dr. Shannon Curtis, a holistic acne doctor, acne related to poor elimination will typically show up along the sides of the chin and mouth. You should have 1-3 bowel movements per day, one being first thing in the morning. Your poop should be well-formed and easy to pass, with no undigested food or mucus. 

Consume cooked veggies to help aid digestion until your gut is healed. Cruciferous veggies, root veggies, and fermented foods are fabulous options. 

Lymph 

Poor lymphatic drainage is one of the biggest causes of acne and poor skin. Your lymphatic system runs through the body next to your circulatory system. It needs proper hydration, sun exposure, and movement to work optimally. 

If you are not sweating every day, your route of elimination is not functioning adequately. 

The fix here is to try one or a couple of these things below:

• Jump up and down 100 times before drinking water in the morning 
• Drinking a big glass of warm lemon water right after you wake up (potentially right after you jump!) 
• Try dry brushing to move lymph 
• Get in movement every day that increases heart rate 
• Try a sauna 
• Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day, try an electrolyte powder 
• Get sunlight 1st thing in the morning 

2- Nourish Your Nervous System 

Now, you may be surprised that this next tip isn’t about hormones. But here’s the thing, imbalances in hormones are just a deeper result of imbalances. And what is that deeper root, you ask? Well, it’s a dysregulated nervous system. 

Your nervous system plays a starring role in hormone balance. Today, chronic stress and even something so small as an Instagram post that triggered you can stress you out and throw your nervous system off. 

Enter the adrenals. 

The adrenal glands are responsible for regulating stress. When your mind perceives a threat, the adrenal glands release stress hormones like cortisol, which is also in charge of your circadian rhythm. (Yup, beauty sleep is a real thing). 

They also drive the production of other hormones like androgens (ie testosterone), and when those are out of balance, you can experience sagging skin, acne, and even facial hair. 

But that’s not all! When the adrenals are in overdrive and androgens are dysregulated, so is blood sugar. Blood sugar imbalance is one of the root causes of hormonal imbalances. It makes sense that many things that create blood sugar imbalances (coffee, processed sugars, and foods) also cause hormonal issues and acne. 

How to Nourish Your Nervous System 

These days, almost everyone is in constant fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system response. When you’re in this stressed state, your body can’t function properly!

You can expect:

• Constipation, irregular bowel movements
• Dysbiosis (your microbiome responds to your nervous and immune systems)
• Poor bile flow (this means poor absorption of fats and nutrients as well as the elimination of excess hormones)
• Heartburn, bloating, gas 

As you can see, the nervous system is at the root of skin issues.  Healing your nervous system is essential for a glowing complexion. 

Here are a couple of fixes I’d like you to try:

• Ratio breathing 2x daily for 3 minutes 
• Left nostril breathing 
• Free journaling for 3 pages as soon as you wake up 
• Include healthy fats, protein, and fiber at every meal to regulate blood sugar 
• Dancing or singing 
• Walk 1 mile a day – in nature, preferably 
• Prioritize regular sleep and wake routine 

3 – Consume these vitamins for skin 

These vitamins for complexion are a must-have to love the skin you’re in:

• Selenium- fights free radicals minimizes inflammation and inflammatory cytokines. 
• Zinc- low zinc levels contribute to acne and a poor immune system. Taking a daily zinc supplement can also help with under-eye circles 
• Vitamin C- an important antioxidant for collagen synthesis (that’s why we added it to our Beauty Collagen Complex!) 
• Vitamin K- found in dark leafy greens and great for dark undereye circles and blood circulation 
• Beta-carotene- fabulous for quelling oxygen damage triggered by UV rays. Found in carrots and leafy green vegetables 
• Omega3/fish oil
• Magnesium– for reducing stress and promoting sleep 
• B6 or B complex– to produce healthy new skin cells 
• Vitamin D3- for skin synthesis, metabolism, and hormone function. 

4 – Consume these Foods for Beauty (list and tips)

These are some of my favorite foods for beauty and skin health. Try incorporating as many as possible to help crowd out processed foods that trigger skin issues.

• Spearmint tea for androgens 
• Burdock root tea for liver support 
• Holy Basil for nervous system support 
• Ashwagandha for stress (found in our Beauty Collagen Complex) 
• Schisandra for hormone balance (found in our Beauty Collagen Complex) 
• Collagen to support skin glow and tightness 
• Ginger for digestion and circulation 
• Other herbs and spices: garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, basil, oregano, thyme, motherwort, cilantro, parsley 
• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, sprout) 
• Dark leafy greens like collards found in our Organic Immunity Greens 
• Low-glycemic fruits like wild blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries for antioxidants and beautifying vitamins 
• Hydrating fruits like melons for skin plumpness and detox 
• Sea greens: spirulina, phytoplankton 
• Avocados for healthy fat and blood sugar balance 
• Coconut for healthy fat and blood sugar balance 
• Wild-caught fish for omega threes, protein, and blood sugar 
• Nut butter for blood sugar balance 
• Sweet Potatoes for blood sugar balance and a vitamin-rich source of complex carbs 
• Bone broths for collagen production and support 
• Flax seeds, walnuts, chia seeds for Omega 3s 
• Slow carbs like buckwheat, oats, quinoa, black rice for hormone balance 
• Legumes like chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, and black beans for protein and fiber 

Tips:

• Try seed cycling 
• Drink warm lemon water first thing in the morning
• Do not skip breakfast 
• Eat 3-4 consistent, balanced meals per day
• Drink half your weight in ounces of water per day 

Ditch these foods

Try limiting or eliminating these foods for a week and see how your skin looks.  

• Eggs: egg sensitivities sometimes develop after flu shots, as many of them contain chicken egg proteins. 
• Sugar 
• Alcohol
• Caffeine 
• Trans fats and inflammatory oils 
• Non-organic meat
• Dairy 
• Non-organic wheat and gluten 

I hope this article has given you natural ways to create the glow and skin you want. Check out our Superfood Supplements we mentioned in this article to get you started on your skin healing and hormone health journey.