Ayurveda
Ayurvedic Skin Care:
Eating Your Way to Clear Beautiful Skin by Shreelata Suresh
Ayurvedic healers contend that clear beautiful skin on the outside
happens only when your insides are clean and toxin-free and you follow a
strict daily and weekly external cleansing regimen. With these timeless
beauty secrets from Ayurveda, you can keep your skin looking and feeling
clear, healthy and radiant.
Your skin is like a mirror: it reflects what’s going on inside.
Blemishes, eruptions, patches and sallow skin are often related to
inappropriate diet or lifestyle choices that lead to accumulation of
dietary toxins, called ama in Ayurveda. Following a skin-friendly diet,
making sure your digestion-absorption-elimination cycle is efficient and
supplementing with skin-friendly herbs help your skin look clear,
radiant, healthy and youthful.
In general, choose foods that are appropriate for your constitution and
the season. Eat lighter meals, space out your meals so that one meal is
digested before you introduce another into your system, and choose whole
fresh foods.
Here are seven simple dietary recommendations that will help keep your
insides cleansed, and lead to a clear glowing complexion that will turn
heads:
Start your day with a
mug of hot water into which the juice of half of one lemon has been
freshly squeezed. Lemon is anti-bacterial, promotes regular
elimination and helps flush toxins from your system. If your skin
tends to be oily, a second drink of lemon water in the afternoon can
be helpful. Vata and Pitta skinned individuals can start the day
with a handful of raisins that have been soaked in water the
previous night. Raisins help promote regularity.
Have two or three
herb/spice tea breaks during the day. Choose from fennel, mint,
cumin, fresh ginger root, aniseed, cardamom, rosehips and cinnamon.
Ayurvedic herbs that are known for their cleansing properties
include Neem, Indian Sarsaparilla, Turmeric, Indian Madder (Manjistha)
and Marshmallow Root. These herbs cleanse the blood and help support
the liver in its efforts to keep your system free of toxins.
Basic Cleansing Spice Tea
1/8 tsp cumin seed
(whole)
1/2 tsp fennel seed (whole)
2 fresh mint leaves (spearmint or peppermint)
Bring a large cup of pure water to a rolling boil. Add the whole
spices, turn off heat, cover and steep for 5 minutes. Strain and
enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Optional additions for persons with Vata skin: 1/8 tsp minced
fresh ginger root or 1 tiny stick Chinese cinnamon or one green
cardamom (whole) crushed lightly to break open the skin. Add a pinch
of Indian Sarsaparilla or Marshmallow Root (tea-cut leaf is best,
but powdered is acceptable).
Optional additions for persons with Pitta skin: 1 organic
food-grade rosehip or 1/4 tsp aniseed or one green cardamom (whole)
crushed lightly to break open the skin. Add one pinch of Neem or
Marshmallow Root.
Optional additions for persons with Kapha skin: 1/8 tsp
minced fresh ginger root or 1 tiny stick Chinese cinnamon or 1
peppercorn. Add one pinch of Neem or Indian Madder or Turmeric.
The teas are fragrant and flavorful, but if you find you need a
sweetener, stir in a dash of honey for Kapha or a pinch of raw sugar
for Vata or Pitta.
At lunch, include a
portion of raw vegetable salad to your meal. If your digestive fire
is very dim, you may want to wait until it is stronger, since raw
foods are harder to digest and the benefit of eating the salad is
only derived when your system is able to digest the assimilate the
nutrients. Chop the veggies fine or grate them. Stick to high-water
content vegetables that are easier to digest, such as lettuce,
carrot, cucumber, daikon radish (which is revered by Ayurvedic
healers for its purifying properties), fennel bulb and tops and very
tender asparagus tips. These vegetables are tridoshic: they are good
for all types of skin. Combine at least 3 and enjoy with a simple
olive oil-lemon juice dressing.
Cruciferous vegetables, although very purifying and skin-friendly,
are harder to digest and should be steamed before they are eaten. If
you are an individual with Vata skin, minimize consumption of
cruciferous vegetables. For Pitta and Kapha skin, broccoli, cabbage,
cauliflower and Brussels sprouts can be steamed and dressed with an
olive-oil/lemon juice dressing for a cooked lunchtime salad.
Dry-roasted seeds are
rich in nutrients and good essential oils. They offer natural
lubrication and are recommended for all types of skin (in small
quantities for persons with Kapha skin). Sesame seeds, melon seeds
or sunflower seeds can be dry-roasted and sprinkled on top of salads
and soups for a nice crunch.
Persons with a less
fiery digestion can enjoy the benefits of skin-friendly vegetables
by combining them in detoxifying soups. Steam-cooked cauliflower or
broccoli can also pureed with a little organic rice milk to make a
hearty dinnertime soup for Pitta or Kapha-skinned persons.
Steam-cooked whole or cooked pureed asparagus is extremely
beneficial for all types of skin.
Include at least one
helping of a leafy green vegetable a day. Pick only the freshest
greens, wash thoroughly and shred large leaved varieties into fine
slivers before cooking. Persons with Kapha skin can benefit from the
addition of peppery greens such as mustard, and persons with Pitta
skin from the addition of a bitter green such as fenugreek or tender
dandelion. Steam-cook your greens until just done and drizzle with a
little olive oil or sauté them in olive oil and your choice of
spices. Leafy greens help nourish, protect and detoxify the skin.
Stick to
skin-friendly oils and avoid foods that contain trans-fats. While
bad fats lead to clogged skin pores, breakouts and a sallow
appearance, healthy oils can actually enhance skin health, clarity
and luminescence. This is especially so if you have Vata skin, which
tends to be naturally dry and rough and prone to flaking easily.
Ayurvedic healers recommend ghee, which is clarified butter – butter
with all the milk solids removed. Extra-virgin olive, sesame or
walnut oil are other good choices. Ghee has the advantage of being
able to be heated; other oils should be drizzled over cooked foods.
February 10,
2008
Images under license with
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Disclaimer
The above article is educational in nature, and is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical
condition, please consult your physician. Shreelata Suresh is a
yoga instructor who lives in the Bay Area and writes on yoga and
Ayurveda. For more information on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic recipes to
balance the doshas, please visit
http://www.onestopayurveda.com.
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Ayurvedic healers contend that clear beautiful skin on the outside
happens only when your insides are clean and toxin-free and you follow a
strict daily and weekly external cleansing regimen. With these timeless
beauty secrets from Ayurveda, you can keep your skin looking and feeling
clear, healthy and radiant. 