8 Essential Foods for Beautiful Skin

Avocados are not just for eating! A good source of biotin, avocados help to prevent dry skin and brittle hair

Avocados are not just for eating! A good source of biotin, avocados help to prevent dry skin and brittle hair and nails. When applied topically, they can hydrate parched skin.

A tip from 1,801 Home Remedies:
Create a moisturizing mask. Pit the fruit, puree the pulp, and pat it on your face. The oil acts as an emollient. It also contains beneficial vitamin E.

3 Recipes to Try:
Chilled Leek and Avocado Soup
Avocado-Turkey Wraps
Avocado ‘Sushi’ Salad

Sip your way to healthy skin. Green tea's high on the list of skin-friendly beverages thanks to its impressive storehouse of polyphenols. Aim for four cups throughout your day.

See 3 more green tea benefits.

Reach for tomatoes. A German study found that lycopene-rich tomato paste helped participants prevent sunburn when they combined it with olive oil, daily for ten weeks. Besides being a great source of the antioxidant lycopene, tomatoes are considered a high-carotenoid fruit. These nutrients may help slow down cellular damage from free radicals.

See the 10 best antioxidant fruit sources and the 10 best antioxidant veggie sources.

Slow down aging with salmon. Salmon contains astaxanthin, a carotenoid that improves skin elasticity, so you'll have fewer fine lines.

3 Recipes to Try
Salmon with Tarragon Mayo
Salmon Cakes with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Roasted Salmon with Lemon-Parsley Dressing

Crack open some eggs. Protein helps repair cells that have suffered free radical damage. Eggs, a complete source of protein, also contain biotin, an essential vitamin that protects against dry skin.

Learn more about what makes eggs the gold standard when it comes to protein.

Put pomegranate on your list. When applied topically, this antioxidant-rich fruit may help skin create more collagen, while speeding healing.

See 5 more ingredients that combat collagen break down.

Try walnuts. Looking to add Omega-3 fatty acids to your diet but not a fan of fish? Walnuts are a rich source of Omega-3s, which help put shine in your hair and aid in making skin smoother and younger looking.

See 4 more nonfish sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

Build better skin with beans. Another protein source, legumes help repair cells that have suffered free radical damage. During digestion, protein breaks down into amino acids, the building blocks of cells. Amino acids help to speed the repair and regeneration of skin cells and collagen.

Food Cures offers detailed nutrition prescriptions for more than 57 common health problems.

Reader's Digest
Originally Published in Reader's Digest