What are the causes for dry skin and what are the right foods?

There are many causes for dry skin. Millions of people suffer dry skin in the world. The causes include:

• Dry skin might be due to a genetic condition
• Due to dry cold weather in winter
• There can be no natural lubrication of the skin and this causes dehydration of the skin
• Environmental factors like exposure to sun, weather, chemicals including cosmetics or excessive use of soaps
• Skin disease like eczema, psoriasis etc. can cause dry skin
• Poor diet with vitamins deficiency can support to form dry skin
• Drugs can have dry skin as side effect
• Diabetes or under active thyroid can cause dry skin

Food and healthy lifestyle can help to have a better skin. A good diet includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and legumes. Protein from vegetables is good to skin and increase the intake of raw food. Sulphur containing foods like onion, garlic and asparagus can help to keep the skin smooth. Yellow and orange colour vegetables have many antioxidants. The beta-carotene from carrots is very valuable for skin.

Flax seed oil can be added to salads and other food which need not be cooked. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are necessary to produce Prostaglandins which supports skin health. Vegetables and fruits contain valuable vitamin A and C. Quark, natural plain yoghurt, yeast and wheat germ are rich in pantothenic acid – vitamin B5 which is important for skin health.

Drink 2 to 3 litres of fluids everyday and if you sweat more then drink more. Water keeps the skin well hydrated.

Fried foods, processed foods, animal fats and hydrogenated oils must be avoided. Avoid heating oil and use only cold pressed oils. Junk foods, chips, products with sugar, chocolates and soft drinks must be consumed rarely and it is better to avoid them.

Caffeine and alcohol can dehydrate the body and this is bad for skin health. Avoid all soft drinks which contain caffeine.

Do not take bath in hot water and the shower or bath must be short. Moisturize your skin immediately after your bath or shower.

Which is healthy, margarine or butter?

Margarine is product from vegetable oils. It contains the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These fats are good to reduce the LDL- or bad-cholesterol.

As a plant product margarine contains no cholesterol.

Butter is made from animal fat. So it contains high levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.

But the story is not ending here. Margarine from the supermarket is not always margarine. Margarines are produced by hydrogenation of fats and this makes possible the formation of trans-fats which are unhealthy. If the margarine is very hard it contains more trans-fats. Trans-fats can also increase the bad LDL-cholesterol. Moreover, trans-fats can lower the good HDL-cholesterol.

Adulteration with margarines is another problem. In some countries animal fat is mixed with margarine and these are bad for vegetarians.

If you do not like margarine you can use butter always. Eat the minimum amount and it is also then good. The dose makes the poison.