For many of us, the morning alarm rings far too early and often the last thing on a struggling-to-wake-up mind is a nourishing breakfast, especially a nourishing breakfast that meets diet-for-good-skin criteria. If your AM attitude needs a stumble to the coffeepot before becoming presentable and a nutrition for healthy skin tune-up, maybe it's time to try a new routine.
The first thing to realize is that breakfast, a word first coined in the mid-15th century, comes from the term "break the fast". It is meant to be the meal that breaks the fast from supper the night before. When people explain their reasoning behind not eating breakfast, it is often that they are not hungry. Once their dietary habits are examined, however, it seems the lack of hunger in the morning is often because they eat their evening meal too late or snack after supper.
In order for the body to have ample time to digest the last meal of the day and then be able to spend energy on other tasks such as elimination-a process you want working well if you want clear, healthy skin-it is best to finish eating by 7:00 or 8:00pm. If late night snacking is curtailed, the body usually feels much more like digging into hearty morning fare that supplies the essential nutrients needed for body and skin health and less like settling for a quick cup of Java.
Even for those who wake up hungry, morning time constraints often mean breakfast is skipped or minimized. Unfortunately that means insufficient calories or nutrients are taken in before beginning the day's many tasks or what is grabbed is deficient in the protein, A and B vitamins and zinc that growing healthy skin requires. If, contrary to the children's song, daybreak does not find you in your place with a bright, shiny and clear skinned face, how about giving the following diet-for-good-skin suggestions a try:
1. Plan ahead and stick with a routine-if you pick up a supply of fresh fruit, have several whole grain cereals (Sunny Boy, Red River Cereal or homemade granola are great) in the cupboard and set the bread machine to finish up a hearty loaf of whole wheat cinnamon-raisin bread the same time as your alarm clock rings, you are well on your way to a good breakfast. The first meal of the day doesn't need to be fancy or even have tremendous variety from day to day as long as it provides the nutrients you need to easily get through to lunchtime. Lighter eaters or vegetarian-type body types often do well starting their day with fruit, whole grains (with skin issues, often non-gluten grains are a better choice) and perhaps some almond butter alone.
2. Minimize the morning caffeine intake-though studies vary as to the detrimental effects of caffeine and other compounds in coffee, it is generally recognized that caffeine can be an acne trigger and that caffeine's negative impact on liver detoxification can contribute to skin challenges. Start the day, therefore, with a glass or two of pure water-our bodies are often slightly dehydrated after a night's sleep and our skin loves water to help detoxify and plump cells. Next grab some freshly squeezed juice (concentrate on veggie juices with perhaps a small green apple as opposed to straight fruit juices that give a quick Glycemic rise) or a green smoothie while you are preparing the rest of your breakfast. Rather than starting off the day depleting your body's fluid-coffee acts as a diuretic-you'll be doing your cells a favor with the healthful hydrating effects of water and juice.
3. Eat a helping of hearty grains-on busy weekdays your complex carbohydrate component of your food for healthy skin regimen can be as simple as toasted whole grain bread or a bowl of hot oatmeal or quinoa cereal. Use apple butter or fruit-only jams and nut butters on the toast and if, as is recommended for most skin conditions, you avoid or are minimizing dairy intake, top the cereal with rice milk, juice or applesauce.
4. Adjust your food intake for body type-if your body feels better when you eat additional protein in the morning (i.e. you have more energy, more stamina and you can last until lunch without hunger pangs) add an egg and even some meat to your breakfast menu. Though many people do fine on the amount of protein in complex carbohydrates-a slice of bread or ½ c hot cereal contains about 3 grams of protein-some feel better with additional vegetable or animal protein.
Have fun on the weekend-when the morning starts off a little more relaxed, take the time to bake up the natural goodness of grains in muffins or try a new spelt or kamut waffle recipe. Whip up a Spanish vegetable omelet or scrambled tofu on a multi-grain bagel. Invite friends over or enjoy a quiet morning with your family. Then relax and breathe easy. You are taking great nutrition-for-healthy-skin steps AND you've got two more sleeps until that darn alarm goes off again.
Brenda Wollenberg is a holistic nutritionist and writer, passionate about exploring the way diet and lifestyle impact overall health. Hundreds of her clients and workshop participants have achieved wellness by following her simple steps to a healthier life, including those looking for internal and external means of enhancing skin health. Visit http://www.begin-within-natural-skincare.com to see if her skin healthy vitamin and nutrition tips or recommended sunscreens, organic makeup and organic body care products can help you achieve optimal health as well.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Wollenberg
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