You really are what you eat!
A corollary to the well-known statement ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ is ‘Let food be thy beauty treatment’, because what helps make you healthy helps make you beautiful.
What you put into your body will determine what you get out of it, and this includes slowing the signs of aging. In fact, it’s been said that 80 to 90 percent of skin aging is caused by diet and lifestyle, which means we have an 80 to 90 percent chance to positively affect this process.
So, are there really foods that we can eat to enhance our skin health and slow the aging process?
Yes, and one of my favorites (and maybe yours too) is Cacao or chocolate, as it is commonly consumed.
Cacao is deeply embedded in Mexican history, dating back to both the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, where it was mostly consumed as a beverage. Historically, it was dubbed ‘dark gold’ as it was revered as a gift from the gods and, besides being consumed, was also used as both currency and a unit of measurement. The Mayan and Aztec people also enjoyed its invigorating properties and how energetic it made them feel. Now we know that cacao tastes great, makes you feel great, and can help you look great too!
Raw cacao has a host of antiaging benefits due to its high content of antioxidants and polyphenols. In fact, it is one of the highest plant sources of polyphenols, which have been proven to enhance the health of our skin and its ability to fight free radicals and thereby protect our skin from premature aging.
The particular polyphenols found in cacao are called catechins and epicatechins, which are part of a class of natural phytochemical compounds called flavanols. These are their top beautifying benefits:
- Provide sun damage protection: These flavanols protect the skin from UV radiation, lessening the effect of sunburn and related oxidative damage. By slowing the progression of photoaging, they reduce facial wrinkles and pigmentation.
- Provide collagen and elastin protection: Catechins and epicatechins possess anti-collagenase activity, so they aid in preventing the loss of collagen and elastin in the skin. This results in improved skin density and thickness, hydration, suppleness, and surface roughness, contributing to smoother, plumper skin.
High concentrations of catechins are found in red wine, black grapes, broad beans, apricots, and strawberries. High concentrations of epicatechins are found in apples, blackberries, broad beans, cherries, black grapes, pears, raspberries, cacao, and cocoa. The richest source of both of these flavanols can be found in cacao and cocoa beans. (Cacao beans are raw, and cocoa beans are roasted.)
The highest food source of both epicatechins and catechins is raw cacao beans. Cacao doesn’t mean the regular chocolate bar you buy at the store. The benefit comes more from the raw cacao beans or powder due to their high content of antioxidants and polyphenols. Cacao beans fresh from the cacao pod picked from the tree are exceptionally rich in flavanol epicatechin and catechin, as well as raw cacao powder and nibs, which can be found in your local grocery store in Bahia de Banderas.
All this talk about chocolate is making me salivate! Check out this recipe as a way to eat your beauty.
