Diet and facial appearance

What we eat has a huge impact on how we function and how we feel, but also on how we look. And the thing is not whether the face is puffy because we are overweight or too slim if we weigh too little. Diet is reflected in the appearance of the complexion and the different areas of the face. Find out what it says about you!

Looking not only at the faces of my clients, but also at those of my colleagues and other women close to me, I observe the correlation between their diet and their facial appearance. Of course, various factors are responsible for appearance, among them genes, the environment we live in, daily habits, lifestyle, including diet. Nutrition has a fundamental impact on our body, including the landing of the face and symptoms such as wrinkles under the eyes, puffiness, pimples, redness, discolouration, bruises under the eyes and many others.

Poor diet or food intolerances determine facial appearance.

Nigma Talib, a skincare and naturotherapy expert has studied thousands of patients over the past 10 years, which has reinforced her belief that what we eat is fundamental to the way our face ages. In her book Reverse The Signs Of Ageing: The Revolutionary Inside - Out Plan To Glowing, Youthful Skin, she described 4 facial types specific to the effects caused by consuming gluten, dairy, sugar and alcohol. Depending on what you consume too much of, or even if not so much but it clearly doesn't serve you (because you are gluten or cow protein intolerant, for example) your face will take on a characteristic appearance.

Facial types according to diet.

DAIRY FACE

Symptoms:
- bags under the eyes
- dark circles under the eyes
- swollen eyelids
- small white spots and lumps on the chin

The above symptoms may prove that there is too much dairy in your diet and/or that you are intolerant to it. Often, food intolerances don't produce their symptoms for years, but dietary mistakes eat their impact slowly like a drop of rock. After years, the body functions less well and, as a result, it gives a number of symptoms in the appearance of the face, among other things. This is because, with age, the human body stops producing the enzyme responsible for digesting lactose and poorly digested cow protein starts to wreak havoc on the body. A separate topic is whether people should consume milk intended for calves at all, and whether it is good for them... Another factor that has an impact on the appearance, and more specifically on the pimples on the chin, is the huge amount of hormones that are in the milk, due to the addition of these to the cows„ feed. The hormones in cow's milk disrupt the hormonal functioning of the human body, hence the ”dairy' pimples on the chin. Ancient Chinese medicine observed the connection between the chin area and the sexual system centuries ago, which can only confirm the validity of this theory.

SUGAR FACE

Symptoms:
- wrinkles under the eyes and on the forehead
- thin skin with a grey tinge
- pustules all over the face
- diminished appearance

Everyone knows about the consumption of excess sugar and its bad effects on the body, but that it speeds up the ageing process in the face is something few people know about, and sugar has a huge impact! Above all, the consumption of carbohydrates such as sugar, sweets and white bread and white rice causes collagen fibres to weaken. As a result of the glycation process, excess glucose attaches to collagen and elastin, coating and caramelising them, causing the inherently elastic fibres to lose their elasticity and harden. This causes the skin to become thin and covered with premature wrinkles especially under the eyes, where the skin is inherently thin and delicate. Due to excess sugar in the diet, the face can lose its naturally full shape (characteristic of a young face) because sugar interferes with the distribution of fat in the body. As a result of this process, the face becomes emaciated and takes on a „runny” expression. Glucose stimulates the production of insulin and excess insulin stimulates the production of cortisol, which can cause pale and earthy skin. Excess sugar in the body feeds fungi, among other things, and when their growth is excessive, intestinal disorders begin, which can give, among other things, numerous pimples on the skin of the face, arms and chest.

ALCOHOLIC FACE

Symptoms:
- wrinkles or redness between the eyes
- drooping eyelids
- enlarged pores
- dehydrated skin
- red cheeks and nose
- deep nasolabial fissures
- swelling

Above all, alcohol interferes with liver function, which has a major impact on the appearance of the skin. In addition, it dehydrates, which makes wrinkles and hollows in the skin more visible, e.g. the furrows running from the corners of the mouth to the nose deepen as a result. As with a diet high in sugars, alcohol containing a lot of it contributes to the caramelisation of the collagen fibres and thus their degradation. A red face is the result of dilated blood vessels caused by alcohol. And according to facial mapping theory, the area between the eyebrows is linked to the liver. Hence, changes in this area caused by alcohol-induced liver malfunction are reflected by deep furrows or redness between the eyebrows.

GLUTEN FACE

Symptoms:
- swollen red cheeks
- dark pigment spots on the chin
- pustules on the chin

When consumed excessively, gluten, a protein found in many cereals such as wheat and rye, interferes with the normal functioning of the intestines and introduces a number of abnormalities in the body, such as severe abdominal pain, flatulence and diarrhoea. On the face, it makes its mark in the form of discolouration and pimples in the chin area, and swollen red cheeks. If you notice some of the characteristic symptoms I have written about above take a close look at your diet. First of all, reduce the intake of products that do not serve you, and if possible, perhaps eliminate them altogether. Instead, introduce healthy cereals, vegetables, especially greens, fresh fruit and vegetable juices and herbs. Remember that many factors are responsible for the appearance of the face and every face ages differently. In general, the facial ageing process is similar for everyone, as I have written about here, but many additional factors such as poor diet can speed up the process or take it in a direction we are not happy with.