Foods You Can Eat to Eliminate Stretch Marks
All the creams, remedies and massages will be for nothing if you don’t help make them work by taking care of your diet. A healthy diet is crucial for healthy skin, just in case you have forgotten. Here are some of the essential nutrients that need to be a regular part of your diet.
Zinc
You need zinc in order to produce collagen. Collagen is the tissue, which keeps your skin together. Zinc is also crucial for some body enzymes, which help repair skin injuries.
Copper
As for copper, it helps produce elastin, a mineral which boosts the skin’s ability to recover from stretching. Meats such as beef, and salmon are very good sources of zinc and copper.
Other sources include:
- Nuts and seeds (sunflower, cashew, and almonds)
- Shellfish such as oysters and crab
- Fortified cereals such as whole grain and bran
Protein
Again, meat is a good source of this. Other sources include eggs and soybeans (especially in concentrated powder form). Protein helps in the prevention of stretch marks, and it can also improve the overall quality of your skin.
Vitamins
Many kinds of vitamins help in your recovery against stretch marks because they help keep your skin healthy in general. A vitamin deficiency can be very detrimental to your treatment efforts, so make sure that you have the daily recommended dosages of the following:
- Vitamin A is crucial if you want your skin to remain healthy and to help increase its ability to heal itself from injuries. You can get sufficient levels of vitamin A from most fruits and vegetables.
- Vitamin B (biotin) is crucial to encourage the production, recovery, and growth of your skin cells. You can get biotin from rice, bananas, and eggs. Vitamin B (niacin) helps your skin keep its moisture, and together with biotin it can lessen the severity of stretch marks. You can get your daily niacin requirements from most meats and fish, as well as nuts and seeds.
- Vitamin C or ascorbic acid helps keep your skin healthy and strong because it boosts collagen production. Citrus fruits such as oranges are great sources of ascorbic acid, as are sweet potatoes and broccoli.
- Vitamin E can be absorbed deep into the skin tissues, and it helps in keeping the skin elastic and healthy. You can get your vitamin E from most leafy vegetables as well as from many kinds of fruits such as papaya, avocado, and mango.
If for some reason you can’t get enough of one or more of these nutrients, you may be able to get what you need from supplement products. Just make sure you take only what you need.
Water
You won’t be able to maintain your required production of collagen, and your skin may not remain elastic for long, if you are constantly dehydrated. Make sure that you get enough water during the day, and about eight to ten 8-ounce glasses should be enough.
Watch Your Diet
You need a diet that contains the necessary nutrients to help keep your skin healthy, elastic, and strong. The food items mentioned above are not only good for stretch mark removal, but they can also help prevent you from getting stretch marks in the first place.
We also recommend that you just ignore all those folksy advice that tells you to eat for two. Getting that advice can be very gratifying if you have cravings for food, and “eating for two” can help assuage your conscience. But doubling your calorie intake during your pregnancy can be very unhealthy, and getting that unnecessary extra weight can increase your chances of getting stretch marks.
If you’re pregnant, you’ll only need about 500 extra calories a day, which should come from nutritious food items and not from fatty products and junk foods. You can help take care of your skin by trying to gain weight as slowly as possible, so that you don’t harm your skin’s elastic capabilities.
Here’s a rough guide as to your proper weight gain during pregnancy:
- For the first 12 weeks, your weight gain should be about 5 pounds.
- From the 12th to the 28th week, your weight gain should not exceed more than a pound per week.
- During the last three months of your pregnancy, your weight gain for each month should be no less than 2 pounds, and not more than 6 pounds.
Check with your personal physician for more precise guides, and make sure you consult often especially if you are overly concerned about your weight gain or lack of it.
What NOT to Drink
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Some drinks are inherently unhealthy for your skin, and by drinking large amounts of these substances, you may be adding to the problem. It is somewhat ironic that a drink can dehydrate your body, but it is entirely possible. These drinks include caffeine drinks such as soda and coffee. Anything you drink which can keep you awake may have caffeine, so make sure that you check the labels of each drink before you chug away.
Another type of drink that can make you dehydrated is alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are notoriously bad for the skin, and this is fairly evident in the dry leathery skin of long-term alcoholics. It may be best to stop imbibing for the meantime if you are determined to make your stretch marks less visible. When in doubt, stick to water.
What NOT to Eat
We’ve already given you a list of food items that you should eat in order to have healthier skin. And if you haven’t noticed it yet, We didn’t include junk food as part of your necessary diet. And if we haven’t made ourselves clear enough, junk food is something you MUST definitely avoid.