Eating right for your skin

Like a lot of people, I have somewhat over indulged over the Christmas period. Bizarrely, this hasn't affected my weight in any great amount, but instead, has given me crappy looking skin, weak nails and a general feeling of tiredness.

I've decided that now is the time to take action and try to nourish my body back to health through food, rather than punish it.

For me, this means eating lots more vegetables, upping my protein levels and cutting out sugar as much as I can. Now, as a girl who like cake (a lot), this won't be easy, but I'm determined to do it and take a positive step for my body.

Sugar = Evil

At the start of every year, a lot of people begin new diets. I suddenly see lots of pictures of 'healthy' food that is essentially a bowl of sugar. You would think that granola, fruit and yoghurt makes a sensible breakfast, right? But when you actually look at the ingredients, cereals and granolas contain scary amounts of sugar - more than you would ever expect. Add to that the fruit (natural sugar I know, but it makes little difference to your body) and it's basically giving your body the equivalent sugar spike of a Mars bar.

Our bodies aren't really designed to process large amounts of sugary foods, but as a modern society, we eat ever more of it without even realising it. I can lay testament to the fact that when I cut it out, my skin looks so much better, I have more energy and no longer feel like I want to sleep just after I've woken up.

For me, along with making sure I get the right vitamins in my diet, I will be trying to reduce the sugar content of my food. I can't say I'm going to be an angel (anyone who follows me on Twitter will see my frequent cake rants), but I no longer see the point in repairing my body with expensive makeup on the outside if I'm not looking after what goes on on the inside.

* Please note, I'm not a nutritionist, these views are my own and put together after many, many hours of reading nutritional literature.