Scary fact: last year we spent £2.3billion on cosmetic treatments such as
Botox and boob jobs. Scarier still, we took out almost £5million in loans
to give ourselves this, ahem, lift. But what if we said you could find a
facelift in your fridge, liposuction in your larder and the answer to
wrinkle-free skin in your fruit bowl?
“You absolutely can change your body through what you eat,” says nutritionist
Ian Marber, also known as The Food Doctor. “And simple, everyday foods can
sock a powerful punch to problem body areas.”
The proof? J. Lo is said to get her glow on and keep wrinkles at bay by eating
salmon up to three times a day, while Kim Kardashian apparently targets her
tum by munching on wholegrains like quinoa.
So before you fake it, try and make it with these beauty treatment feasts.
The facelift brekkie
You’re never too young to start putting in some ‘face time’. To keep your skin
tight and toned, fill up on foods high in vitamin C – research in the
American Journal of Medical Nutrition reported that women who guzzled it had
more vibrant skin and fewer wrinkles than those who didn’t. Why?
Because this nifty vit is what binds collagen fibres together, keeping skin
plump and pert.
Nip/tuck in: Start your day with a bowl of porridge topped with
vitamin-C-packed kiwi and mango, plus prunes, which get top marks when it comes
to skin plumping, with the highest antioxidant composition of all fruit and
veg. Add a spoonful of wheatgerm, which is packed with vitamin E to give
those wrinkles a kicking.
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TIP “To stop bloating, apply the 15-20 rule. Devote 15-20 minutes
to eating each meal and chew big mouthfuls about 15-20 times before
swallowing,” advises nutritional therapist Elizabeth Harfleet.
Lipo lunch
Over one-third of British women would rather have liposuction than change
their diet to lose weight.* Tut, tut! Especially as fat removed from any
part of the body via lipo can come back around the abdomen, shoulders and
triceps.** Yikes!
Nip/tuck in: Instead of having surgery, eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty
acids, like oily fish and nuts, which metabolise fat. Elizabeth Harfleet
also suggests adding soya lecithin, a substance found in plants that helps
break down fat. “Good sources include beans and rice, but you can buy it as
a powder – mix a few teaspoons into mashed potatoes,” she says. You can also
make like supermodel Heidi Klum and prepare an omega-3-packed mackerel and
avocado salad with pumpkin seeds. These foods stop the blood sugar spikes
that tell your body to store fat around your middle.
Tummy-tuck tea
Talk about tummy trouble – did you know almost 60 per cent of us hate our
stomachs?*** Lucky, then, that research shows certain foods can target
problem paunches.
Nip/tuck in: Looking for the great deflate? Track down foods that are
chock-full of potassium, like bananas. Swollen stomachs can be down to
dehydration – your body bloats as it tries to cling on to fluid – so make
sure you have eight glasses of water a day, plus eat as many water-holding
foods like rice and spinach as you can. Try brown rice risotto with
courgettes, spinach and broccoli (all made up of about 90 per cent water).
Or whizz up a veggie soup made with carrots, onions, courgettes, tomatoes
and digestion-boosting yoghurt.
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TIP Hemp is loaded with omega 3, which helps skin pack in plenty of moisture
for dewy, youthful-looking skin. Toss a tablespoon of hemp powder in the
blender the next time you make a smoothie.
Surgery snacks
Who needs Botox or a trip to the beautician when you’ve got these
beauty-enhancing alternatives in your kitchen cupboard?
Botox: Porridge Oats are full of silicic acid, which pumps up skin
cells, slowing down the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Lymphatic drainage: Bell peppers Thighs as quilted as a Chanel 2.55
bag? Hit cellulite with peppers, carrots and cherries – they’re packed with
minerals and phytochemicals that combat the toxins that cause the
orange-peel effect.
Laser treatment: Watermelon Face like a road map? Pigmentation is one
of our biggest skin stresses. Thankfully, beta-carotene and lycopene, found
in reddish-orange fruit and veg like watermelon and tomatoes, can repair
cells damaged by sunlight with their antioxidant action.
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES, ALAMY *SOURCE: GOODSURGEONGUIDE.CO.UK **SOURCE:
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ***SOURCE: THE HOSPITAL GROUP ELIZABETH HARFLEET
(WELLBEING-NUTRITION.COM) IAN MARBER (THEFOODDOCTOR.COM)
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