A glance down the personal care aisle at the grocery store or seeing the number of skincare ads online will tell you something about our society: we all want good skin. With everything from pollution to age affecting the appearance of our skin, there is no shortage of skincare regimens, creams, and lifestyle habits to help us maintain that youthful glow.
A common practice that can have skin benefits is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting involves eating all your meals during a certain timeframe (usually about eight hours) and fasting for the rest of the day. It’s been shown to have a variety of benefits, from weight management to gut health support.
Another benefit of intermittent fasting? It supports our skin.
Factors that affect skin health
As the body’s outer layer, our skin takes a lot of hits throughout our lifetimes, which add up as we get older. Pollution, sunlight, stress, diet, dehydration, decreased collagen production—these are just some of the factors that can affect the health and appearance of our skin.
This doesn’t mean our skin is doomed, though. Good skincare practices can help preserve the look of youthful-looking skin for years. And those benefits of intermittent fasting you’ve heard about? They apply to skin health, too.
4 ways intermittent fasting supports skin health
When you fast for an extended period of time (at least 14 hours), your body begins a process called autophagy, or which is the body’s natural cleaning and recycling process. During this time, the body eliminates damaged cell components and stimulates the production of new ones.
This renewal process takes place all throughout the body, but since our skin is so visible, this is where we’re likely to notice its effects first. Taking regular breaks from food allows our bodies to do some of our skincare work for us, getting rid of old and damaged skin cells to unveil healthy-looking, glowing skin.
Intermittent fasting can also help stimulate collagen production. Collagen supports the structure of the skin and helps keep it supple and hydrated. This production slows down as we get older, but intermittent fasting can support the body’s production of collagen and help us maintain the appearance of healthy skin as we get older.
Another way intermittent fasting supports skin health is by supporting insulin sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity plays a crucial role in maintaining normal, healthy blood sugar levels, an important factor in supporting our overall health and keeping metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes at bay.
What does this have to do with skin? High insulin levels can contribute to skin issues like acne and excessive oil production. Intermittent fasting can help regulate insulin levels, giving you one more tool in your arsenal to keep those annoying skin blemishes away.
And finally, intermittent fasting supports the body’s ability to detoxify naturally. Since it’s not devoting all of its efforts to digesting food, the body can focus on other things, like eliminating toxins and waste products that can build up over time. On the surface, this can mean clearer skin, fewer breakouts, and overall improved skin tone.
Fasting for that inner glow
Intermittent fasting isn’t the be-all, end-all for good skin; it’s still important to eat a well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, and stay hydrated. Instead, think of intermittent fasting as a lifestyle approach that supports your body’s holistic health, one that includes healthier and more radiant skin.
After all, anything that supports your body from the inside out is likely to yield noticeable skin benefits. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about starting intermittent fasting, and learn more about how to make intermittent fasting easier by visiting ufeelgreat.com today.