Obesity is generally bad for your health as it increases the risks of developing dangerous diseases, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc. However, it also causes many skin problems that include acne, stretches, acanthosis nigricans, and premature aging. Therefore, shedding excess weight is important for your health and beauty on many levels. The good news is that you can enhance your skin health and boost your weight loss program at the same time by adding certain foods and supplements to your diet.
Common Skin Problems Caused by Obesity
- Acanthosis nigricans.
This hyperpigmentation that occurs in skin folds is a sign of increased insulin resistance. It’s visually unattractive and heralds a serious metabolic disorder. - Different kinds of rashes and irritation caused by bacteria, yeast, or infections can occur within skin folds caused by obesity. Excess weight affects sweat glands on skin and makes you perspire more, which contributes to the problem.
- Acne is usually worse and more prevalent in obese people because this metabolic disorder elevates ‘male’ hormones and distorts the healthy work of sebaceous glands.
Obesity also causes your skin to stretch and changes the structure of collagen, which is the element that makes your skin smooth and wrinkle-free. While obese faces rarely show wrinkles because of the skin literally being stretched over fat, premature aging signs will show as soon as you start losing weight. That’s why it’s important to wonder what you can do to help your skin when you ask ‘what can I eat to lose weight?’ The correlation between diet and skin health as well as aging was proven by many studies. Developing a diet that will enhance your natural beauty while helping you shed excess pounds is essential to reduce the damage dealt by obesity.
Foods to Eat for Treating Skin Problems Caused by Obesity
- Rich in nutrients and fiber, oats are the perfect breakfast for a weight loss diet. This meal will provide you with energy and help fight off hunger pangs until lunch. It will also benefit your digestive system thus making it work more efficiently due to prebiotics contained in oats. Skin-wise this food helps reduce inflammation and makes your skin firmer. You can use oats for homemade scrubs and masks as well. To make your morning oatmeal truly best for skin, serve it with blueberries, the number one antioxidant berries.
- Despite being high in calories, nuts are so rich in nutrients they should be included in a weight loss diet. They will provide you with essential elements like vitamin E and selenium (Brazil nuts). The heart-friendly fats and fiber in them make nuts great and heart-friendly snacks. The elements they provide help protect your skin from free radicals and UV radiation as well as keep it hydrated.
- All berries are rich in antioxidants and fiber, which makes them great for weight loss and boosting skin health. Antioxidants, and vitamin C in particular, help restore collagen, which is essential for reducing stretches and sagging associated with weight loss after obesity.
- Eggs are a great source of protein and high-protein breakfasts are associated with weight loss. They are also rich in vitamins, particularly biotin. This element boosts skin health as well as helps make your hair and nails stronger. It’s main beauty benefits are protection from acne and skin irritations, which are common skin problems caused by obesity.
