The Keto diet is a widely popular healthy lifestyle. High fat and low carb vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken, seafood, nuts, and seeds come under the keto category.
These foods are highly nutrient. Highly nutrient keto foods provide multiple benefits for the skin. So let’s check keto benefits for skin.
Benefits of ketogenic diet skin
Nutrient-rich keto foods contain protein, fiber, fat, potassium, magnesium, iron & phosphorus. These foods also contain vitamins like A, B, C, D, E & K.
These nutrients in keto foods provide a lot of skin benefits.
Burn marks cure
Tomato is a low carb keto fruit. It’s rich in carotenoids pigments. The benefits of tomato over the skin are scientifically proven.
Research has shown that carotenoids can recover the skin after radiotherapy and reduce burn marks (1).
Improves skin hydration
Ketogenic fruits like coconut, lemon, and tomatoes contain a large amount of water component.
These water components of keto fruit are beneficial for maintaining skin hydration.
Pruritus and dry skin cure
Almond contains the most helpful components which are beneficial for skin. Also you will get the same skin benefits from almond milk.
The vitamin E component of almonds improves skin moisture and prevents dry skin. Both the vitamin E and B2 of almonds help to reduce pruritus.
Vitamin E improves skin hydration during the dry season. Also, almonds are useful to reduce vitamin B2 deficiency.
Vitamin B2 deficiency is a well-known cause of skin irritation.
Skin benefits of calcium
Keto vegetables, fruits, nuts, seafood, poultry are rich in calcium. Calcium has multiple skin benefits like
- Skin barrier formation: calcium gradients across the epidermis play a crucial role in the processes of formation of the epidermal permeability barrier.
- Skin wound healing: intracellular calcium dynamics are very helpful for wound healing (2). Calcium successfully heals skin wounds, especially during the proliferation phase.
Skin benefits received from iron
Iron is found in the majority of keto foods. Our body loses 1 mg of iron daily during sloughing of the skin (3).
The iron loss is greater for females. Females lose 2 mg of iron during the menstruation period.
Dietary intake of iron-rich keto foods helps our body to recover the iron and improving new skin cell growth.
Benefits of magnesium for skin
Keto fruits, nuts, and vegetables are high in magnesium. Magnesium is also good for healthy skin.
Like calcium and iron, it provides multiple skin benefits. Magnesium is helpful to reduce the impact of several skin diseases like eczema and psoriasis.
Magnesium also helps to boost skin hydration and repairs skin barriers (4). It also improves skin or dermal permeability.
Studies have shown that magnesium and ceramides cream is more effective to treat atopic dermatitis than hydrocortisone creams (5).
Importance of zinc over skin
Zinc is an essential nutrient to maintain healthy skin. Zinc promotes the growth of human tissues.
Zinc deficiency can cause skin disorders like acrodermatitis enteropathica (6). Also, zinc may be helpful for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and diaper dermatitis (7).
All of these skin-related issues can be overcome by avoiding zinc deficiency. Keto nuts, vegetables, seafood, and ketogenic meat contain a sufficient amount of zinc.
So, the consumption of zinc-rich keto foods are helpful for the skin.
Copper benefits for skin
Copper is another mineral found in keto foods that provide benefits for the skin.
110mg of copper is found in a 70 kg healthy individual. And human skin contains 15% of total copper of 110mg.
Copper is very essential to reduce wrinkles in the skin (8). It is also able to heal sores and skin diseases.
According to studies athlete’s foot infections can be reduced by copper within 8-12 days (9). It is also very beneficial for skin tissue generation.
Skin benefits from vitamin C
Keto foods contain vitamin C which has numerous benefits for the skin (10).
These are
- Reducing wrinkles
- Dark spot reduction
- Skin healing
- Skin hydration
- Protection against UV damage
- Skin thickening
- Toxin removal from the skin
- Strengthens skin barrier
- Slows down skin aging
Riboflavin benefits for skin
Keto fruits and nuts are riboflavin rich. Riboflavin provides some benefits for the skin.
This vitamin reduces the deficiency of collagen( a protein found in the skin). Riboflavin deficiency causes the skin to crack and itch. It also causes dermatitis around the mouth (11).
By consuming keto foods rich in riboflavin we can prevent these skin disorders.
Importance of niacin for skin health
Niacin is a B vitamin mainly found in keto seafood and meat. It is also very helpful for our skin.
Niacin may be used to treat skin cancer. Like vitamin C it also acts as a skin protector from sun damage.
Niacin helps to reduce wrinkles in aging skin. It is also useful for improving pigmentary disorders (12).
Creams made from niacin are perfect to use for acne-prone skin.
Final Thoughts
Low carb keto food provides a lot of skin benefits. Every keto fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, nuts, and seed is packed with healthy nutrients.
These vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are useful for improving skin functions and the prevention of multiple skin disorders.
By regular consumption of keto foods, you can prevent skin disorders. Keto foods are not only beneficial for regular skin problems but also effective for chronic skin problems.