The Best Nutrition for Healthy Connective Tissue
Nutrition plays a vital role in our health as well as maintaining healthy connective tissue. There is no better feeling than someone thinking you are 10 years younger than you are, am I right? Talk about a confidence booster! So, how do you keep your skin looking young amidst the normal aging process that we all have to go through?
Well, it all starts with how you care for your skin and furthermore, the foods that you consume. Yes, that is right…the food you eat will help your skin stay young looking and keep getting you those confidence boosting comments we all strive to receive.
Here at Dynamic Fitness & Rehabilitation, we strive to get to the root cause of any health issues by using a holistic approach.
How Does Connective Tissue Play a Role in Our Skin?
So, what is connective tissue? These tissues are actually fibers in your body that surround organs and come from the combination of proteins and sugars called collagen and elastin. You can find connective tissue fibers in your joints, fascia, ligaments, bones and cartilage.
When your body has a lot of inflammation, that can affect the collagen and elastin and therefore, your skin will suffer as well. Let’s dive in and see how we can keep those frown lines and wrinkles from forming and keep looking as young as we possibly can!
Eating an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
As mentioned above, diet is a big step toward healthy skin, specifically an anti-inflammatory diet. You may be wondering what this type of diet consists of and how you can maximize your results…let’s elaborate!
Collagen
Bone broth is liquid gold when you are trying to consume more collagen. You have so many options when implementing bone broth to your diet such as making different soups or stocks, drinking it as you would tea or adding it to an assortment of food dishes. Bone broth also contains nutrients such as glucosamine and glycosaminoglycans that help to repair connective tissue.
Amino acids
Another important addition to your diet when trying to improve your connective tissue, is your intake of amino acids. These can be found in meat, eggs and fish, which gives you a ton of different meal options that you can play around with.
Vitamins and Minerals
I know, I know, you always hear that you need to consume vitamins and minerals…it is probably drilled into your head by now! They are an essential part of what keeps your connective tissue healthy and of course, keep your skin looking young. So maybe our parents have always been onto something when they kept telling us to consume more fruits and veggies.
Great sources of vitamin C that help with the production of collagen are fruits and veggies such as:
Citrus
Kiwi
Strawberries
Kale
Brussel sprouts
Peppers
Pineapple
Not only do they help produce collagen, but they also reduce inflammation which will ultimately lead to healthier connective tissue. Another crucial vitamin in repairing connective tissue is Vitamin E which can be found in foods such as avocados, eggs, almonds and asparagus.
Other vitamins and minerals to add to your diet for healthy connective tissue are Vitamins B, D, K, zinc, iron, calcium, copper, potassium, etc. It sounds like a lot but before your head spins, a lot of what you are already eating will give you these supplements!
Eating an Animal-Based Diet
Eating animal based and consuming high quality, organic grass-fed meats, fish, fruits and veggies can help you decrease the inflammation in your body. You also will want to pay attention to the number of sugars, alcohol, and caffeine that you consume daily.
Try eating more of these foods:
Liver
Extra virgin olive oil
Oily fish
Prebiotics
Grass-fed meats
Coconut oil
Eggs
Turmeric
Ginger
Organic dark green vegetables
Berries
Limit your intake of these foods:
Red meat
Toxic metals (tuna)
Dairy products
Wheat
Rye
Barley
Processed foods
Restoring Your Connective Tissue
So, there you have it, the secret to healthier and younger looking skin. Eating fresh, organic and grass-fed food as much as possible and avoiding things like smoking, and any processed foods is a huge part to repairing and maintaining healthy connective tissue.
You should also be trying to consume as many foods as you can that are high in collagen, vitamins, minerals and amino acids to really start seeing a difference in the elasticity and health of your skin.
Maurice and our team here at Dynamic Fitness & Rehabilitation are here to assist you in being your best self! Give us a call and let’s work together to get your connective tissue restored and working properly.