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Feed Your Skin...and Water It Too!
Vasu Nargundkar
Natural creams and lotions are great for your skin, but if you want
your skin to look good day after day and year after year, you have to
work on it from the inside out. Ayurveda - the 5,000-year-old system
of holistic healing from India - contends that a balanced diet,
proper digestion and regular elimination are vital for clear glowing
skin. "Ama" - the residue of improper digestion that can accumulate
in the body - is the Number 1 enemy of healthy skin, leading to
lifelessness and breakouts, according to ayurvedic dermatologist Rama
Kant Mishra.
So what should you feed your skin to keep it looking good?
To follow ayurvedic principles for diet, you first need to figure out
which of the following three categories your skin falls into:
If your skin is dry, thin and sensitive, susceptible to dullness and
wrinkles, you have Vata type skin.
Pitta skin tends to be reddish, warm and extremely sensitive, prone
to breakouts and easily affected by the foods you eat, heat and sun.
Kapha skin tends to be lustrous, oily, and thick in texture. It is
prone to clogged pores, breakouts and toxic buildup.
Once you've determined the predominant ayurvedic category your skin
falls into, you can try some of these suggestions for feeding your
skin right -
* Individuals with Vata skin may need to include judicious amounts of
healthy fats in their diets to restore natural luster to the skin.
Ayurveda suggests Ghee (clarified butter), or you can use olive oil
or sesame oil.
* Green leafy vegetables should be eaten daily by all skin types.
Rather than eat them raw, try steaming them lightly. Carrots are
also nourishing for all skin types.
* People with Pitta skin should stay away from hot, spicy foods to
avoid skin irritation.
* Kapha skin types can enhance the digestive fire by taking a bit of
fresh ginger mixed with a little limejuice before meals.
* Juicy fresh fruits are excellent for all skin types; they act as
cleansers and re-hydrate the skin from within.
* Roses are considered cooling. People with Pitta skin can eat rose
petal jam on its own or mixed into warm milk.
* Spices recommended for each skin type should be incorporated into
the daily diet. In addition to having therapeutic properties of
their own, some spices act as "carriers" of the benefits of other
foods, especially when saut¨|ed in a small amount of Ghee. Cumin
and coriander are considered good for all skin types; they enhance
digestion and cumin is also effective as a toxin hunter. Generally,
people with Vata skin can add moderate amounts of black pepper,
ginger and turmeric. Pitta skin benefits from cooling spices such as
fennel and licorice, and Kapha skin from pungent spices such as
pepper, ginger, cloves and turmeric. Spices should be cooked, not
eaten raw. Herbal teas that incorporate spices are a quick, simple
way of including them in your diet.
* In general, weight your diet with fresh, light, nutritious foods -
vegetables, grains, lentils and legumes - and go easy on heavy, deep-
fried foods. For more detailed information on eating for personal
balance, visit http://www.mapi.com and click on the links for Vata,
Pitta and Kapha.
Water is considered a life-giving force in ayurveda, very important
in maintaining skin health as well as overall health. Says
Mishra, "It's not always enough to just drink eight glasses of water
everyday. For the body, and the skin, to realize fully the life-
giving properties of water, people with different types of skin need
to consume it differently."
Ayurveda is very firm on one aspect of drinking water, and, indeed,
all beverages. Ice-cold drinks are not recommended because they
inhibit the digestive fire and lead to imperfect digestion of food,
which can show up on the skin.
One internal water therapy recommended by Mishra is drinking 6-8
glasses of boiled water everyday. Use pure drinking water, and boil
it for five minutes. People with Vata type skin should drink the
water warm, Kapha skin types can sip it hot, and Pitta skin types
should cool it to room temperature before drinking. The water should
be boiled fresh each day, and should not be ingested on a completely
empty stomach. This therapy helps the water flush toxins from the
body and moisturize the skin from within, keeping it hydrated and
lustrous.
Combining boiled water with herbs suitable for the skin type enhances
the benefits. Mishra suggests the following procedure -
Boil one liter of water for five minutes, then pour it into a thermos
or other type of heat-retentive container. Add the recommended herbs
and spices and steep. Keep the container closed. Strain and use the
spice-infused water as needed. Drink at the temperature recommended
above for each skin type.
Basic combination of recommended herbs and spices:
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 pinches of ground licorice root
Vata skin types can add 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds, Pitta skin types
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds and Kapha skin types a one-inch slice of
peeled fresh ginger root.
Note - Information presented in this article is solely for the
purpose of imparting education on Ayurveda and is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure or mitigate any disease. If you have a medical
condition, please consult a qualified health professional.
(C)Vasu Nargundkar, 2001
Vasu Nargundkar is the editor of several ayurvedic newsletters
published by Maharishi Ayurveda at http://www.mapi.com. For more
information on ayurvedic skin care, or to subscribe to a
free monthly newsletter on the ayurvedic approach to skin care and
beauty, please visit http://www.mspa.com. |
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