Is avocado good for your skin and if so what makes it so beneficial?

While using avocado directly on the face is a popular natural beauty treatment, many people have found that just eating avocado regularly can do wonders for their complexion.

Avocados are rich in healthy fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants that can improve your skin from the inside. Here are four of the best avocado benefits for your skin and even more reasons to eat one of nature’s healthiest foods.

1. Antioxidant Carotenoids for Healthy Skin

Avocados are a great source of antioxidant carotenoids like alpha-carotene, beta carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein. These free radical quenching compounds provide significant protection for your skin from the environmental damage that leads to fine lines, wrinkles and other visible signs of aging.

High amounts of carotenoids in your diet have been shown in scientific studies to improve your skin’s density, thickness, tone and general appearance.

Butternut squash is another high antioxidant food that’s also well worth adding to your diet for better skin.

2. Vitamin C 

Many people are surprised to find out that avocado contains good amounts of vitamin C for healthy skin. We should ideally have many sources of vitamin C in our diet every day as it is water soluble and cannot be stored in your body.

As well as having strong antioxidant properties, vitamin C is needed for the creation of elastin and collagen, which bind your skin cells together and maintain their firmness and structure.

Fresh pineapple is also a surprisingly good source of vitamin C and it has many other benefits for your health.

3. Vitamin E

Vitamin E is another skin antioxidant, but since it is fat soluble it is used by the body in a different way. Vitamin E assists in preventing free radical damage from oxidizing fats in your skin cells that lead to aging skin.

Research studies have also demonstrated that vitamin E can reduce the effects of UVA and UVB radiation from excessive sun exposure on your skin.

Vitamin E is much better for you and your skin when it’s obtained from natural sources like avocados. Here are 15 other types of foods that are good sources of this important fat-soluble vitamin.

4. Moisturizing Monounsaturated Fatty Acids

One of the main avocado skin benefits comes from their high oleic acid content. This monounsaturated fatty acid maintains moisture in the epidermal layer of your skin, helping to make it soft and hydrated.

An omega-9 fat, oleic acid is also involved in regenerating damaged skin cells and reducing facial redness and irritation. People who suffer from skin irritation and dryness regularly should try eating more avocado for skin health and moisturization.

Omega-9 fatty acids are one of the building blocks of a healthy complexion and avocados, and even more so avocado oil, are a great source of this skin moisturizing fat.

There’s much more on why the fatty acids and other nutrition in avocado are so good for you here, including all the vitamins and minerals they contain.

Eat Avocado for Better Skin

A diet high in avocado is good for your skin, and particularly your face, in the way its fatty acids moisturize and soften your skin cells.

When you eat avocados you are also giving your body a lot of skin protecting antioxidants, like beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E, to prevent wrinkles and slow down the visible signs of aging.

If you need any more reasons to eat them, there are 9 more health benefits of avocado here, including losing weight, better digestion and lowering your risk of serious health problems like heart disease and cancer.

Next up are two simple ways to do just that with an avocado, kiwi and spinach smoothie, that’s a delicious way to get more of the skin benefits of avocado into your diet, as well as an avocado omelette for breakfast for long lasting energy.

Please share this article with friends who care about their skin but may not eat avocados regularly. Healthy foods like this really are the best way to improve both your appearance and your overall health.

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