Nurture the skin back to health with nutrition

This month, skin health expert Louise Thomas-Minns focuses on the the second element of Louise Thomas Skin Care’s 3D approach: nutrition

Our ‘Trinity symbol represents our 3D approach to nurturing the skin back to health. It shows our three pillars to skin health that were born by me some 20 years ago: Science, Nutrition, Holistic. This month I am going to break down the second element of this symbol: Nutrition. I quickly realised that part of my own acne issue was impacted by the quality of my diet and the nutrients I was absorbing – or not as the case may be.

At the peak of my acne in my twenties, my lifestyle was, let us say, rather lacking in any healthy elements. Whilst I had the (at the time) job of my dreams working as a development manager and trainer for an international s kin care brand, it meant hours every day on the road driving with poor food choices and very little exercise.

I didn’t realise at the time the impact this was having on my health let alone my skin health until a change was forced with my wedding date set. It was time to, literally, get off my butt and get into the gym and turn my health around.

This move towards getting fit, healthy and wedding dress ready naturally led to me also making much better food choices. Slowly but surely, I started to notice that whilst this didn’t ‘cure’ my acne, my skin was healing quicker, it was less inflamed and much brighter!

Becoming increasingly fascinated by nutrition and its role in skin health, I plunged myself into post graduate courses, reading, and researching – and aligned myself with the best, qualified experts to enable me to refer clients to, encompassing a truly bespoke and evidence-based approach. This has been an integral finding when treating clients with this three-pillar, signature approach over the years.

We are all unique, so it is important to get bespoke advice around your nutritional needs but here are my three favourite skin loving foods:

70% cocoa dark chocolate – rich in protective flavanols which have antioxidant potential, which helps protect skin from damage caused by the sun and free radicals.

Essential fatty acids – oily fish (such as mackerel, salmon, trout, sardines, and anchovies) are excellent sources of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and helps to reduce inflammation within the skin, giving an element of protection against UV (that is not an excuse not to use SPF!), accelerate healing, help build the delicate lipid barrier…the list goes on! Nuts and seeds (like walnuts, flaxseeds, and rapeseed oil) contain ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) but lack significant amounts of EPA and DHA. While nuts contribute to overall omega-3 intake, they don’t provide as much DHA as oily fish.

Eggs – protein is the fabric of collagen, and eggs are a top source of high-quality protein. But don’t just eat egg whites, as the yolks contain other skin-boosting nutrients—including biotin. Biotin has been shown to help promote healthy skin, hair and nails.

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