Carrots

In an earlier post, I briefly touched on the correlation between what we eat and the health of our skin. The other day, I read an interesting article on Gwyneth Paltrow's blog GOOP . She interviews Dr. Perricone, a professional on this subject, and it’s packed with great information about how foods affect our skin.

The one food I think Dr. Perricone left out is carrots. We have heard that carrots are good for our eyes, but they are also extremely beneficial to our skin. I can speak to this first hand. I was having issues with brown spots on my face for a while. I tried everything to make them go away. Laser removal, topicals, and expensive daily regimens. I was using very abrasive techniques and chemicals I couldn’t pronounce. My entire face was shedding a layer of skin when it hit me, “maybe this isn’t healthy”. Finally, I got so exhausted by my fruitless efforts that I turned to natural remedies. I threw all my expensive lotions and washes out. I turned to carrots, an organic lemon face wash, and coconut oil moisturizer. I started drinking carrot juice and consuming more green tea, both very high in antioxidants. It wasn’t overnight but my brown spots vanished and the whites of my eyes got whiter. It’s been almost a year since I turned to carrots and it is the only technique that has delivered lasting results.

Ways to start sneaking more carrots into your diet:

• Carrot juice
• Shredded carrots on salads
• Add carrots to soups and stews
• Add diced carrots to rice
• Eat more stir fry
• Always use them in steamed veggie medleys
• Baby carrots for dips (especially hummus)

Carrots are also great for improving elasticity in skin and reducing breakouts. I have read that carrot juice can be used as a topical for acne but I have not tried this myself. Read the article on GOOP for some great information on other skin healthy foods. Also, I highly recommend trying the Salmon and asparagus recipe at the bottom of the article. I have never cooked salmon before because it intimidated me. But I followed the recipe this week for friends and family and they were extremely impressed.

Katie