Having healthy, dewy skin is our birthright. The miracle of Life is that we all have the innate ability to look, feel and be at our best, since Existence.

Our human body is nothing short of an incredible piece of art; an amazing symphony of millions of continuous bio-chemical processes to protect, rejuvenate and heal us.

Do you know that the skin is the largest organ in the human body? Its appearance reflects how clean and well the body is functioning internally.

When our body is unable to get rid of toxins the normal way (eg excretion and perspiration), it will use the skin for elimination!

This is like shoving rubbish out through the window instead of taking the garbage out the door! But the good news is - you can start having beautiful skin right away now, just by making sensible diet and lifestyle changes.

1) Aim for a minimum of 80% raw fruits, greens and vegetables in your diet

You are what you eat! Building your body is no different from building your house, you want to use the best materials so that it is strong, resistant and beautiful.

Increasing your consumption of fresh, clean foods works wonders for the skin. Aim for a minimum of 80% and more if possible. Live enzymes occur naturally in all living and unprocessed foods; these enzymes are destroyed when foods are cooked at a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius and more.

What are enzymes? Put simply, they are the catalysts for all bio-chemical processes in the body. Consuming foods with live enzymes are vital for digestion, assimilation of nutrients and play an indispensable role in reversing and fighting aging.

No pill or supplement can replace the magical, life-giving enzymes and nutrients in raw living foods. Although pills can help alleviate some deficiency symptoms, but why settle for second best when you can have the real thing!

2) Consume at least 500g of fresh and uncooked dark leafy greens and 1 Tbs of ground flaxseeds everyday

If 500 g is too much to consume at one time, there are various ways to eat them. You can invest in a juicer and consume these greens in the form of juices (mixed with a little bit of fruit juices), or blend them into green smoothies. Green smoothies are fantastic meals on their own! For more information on Green Smoothies and recipes, visit:

http://rawfoodlifestyles.com/low-fat-recipes/green-smoothies/raw-food-diet-why-is-drinking-green-smoothies-essential-for-health

Green Smoothies are the best skin food ever because they are packed with skin boosting anti-oxidants, easily digestible and taste delicious! Throw in some ground flaxseeds and you have a natural powerhouse of vitamins, minerals and the essential Omega-3 fats to give you that smooth radiant glow.

Or, if you prefer your greens in the form of a salad, simply toss a salad together with your leaves, fruit veggies like tomatoes or corn, hempseeds, sliced avocados, miso or a little balsamic vinegar.

3) Exercise a minimum of 3 times a week

If it’s not possible to work out everyday, aim for at least 3 times a week. Why is exercise important?

First of all, exercise keeps our metabolism, hormonal cycles and cardiovascular health in check - which are all important for the body’s overall well-being. And secondly, besides elimination and urination, perspiration is another form of elimination of toxins from the body.

When the body is balanced, all bio-chemical processes are regulated and lymph glands are functioning properly. Skin condition, which is a reflection of the body’s well-being, will also improve.

4) Stay away from alcohol, caffeine and nicotine

After you ingest these substances, the body treats them as intoxicants and struggles to get rid of them. They place a strain on internal organs and create havoc to the whole body system over time.

Many TCM physicians advised that skin diseases are actually a sign of an overburdened liver. The liver is the strongest and most amazing organ of the body, yet it is the most neglected. It is responsible for almost all bio-chemical processes in the body - including detoxification and cleansing.

When the liver is burdened with detoxifying external intoxicants like alcohol, its effectiveness in carrying out normal metabolic functions can be greatly compromised. If you can eliminate all these completely, there will be a noticeable improvement in skin texture.

5) Sleep

Ever noticed how fresh you look after a well-rested night of sleep? During those hours of snooze, your skin repairs and rejuvenates itself.

Adequate sleep is extremely underrated in today’s society. No matter what superfoods, lifestyle or how much raw foods you eat, nothing can undo the harms of chronic sleep deprivation.

Sleep requirements may vary among individuals. As a general guideline, aim for a minimum of 8 hours per night. Or, a better indicator may be to sleep until you feel well rested. If you feel the need to, simply rest more. Increase snooze time by getting into bed early and arranging your appointments out of the way.

6) Limit use of cosmetics, skin care and shampoo products which contains harmful chemicals

Many conventional cosmetics, skin care and shower products are heavily laden with manufactured ingredients, some of which can bring more harm than good.

Before you purchase the next bottle of skin care of the shelf, read the ingredients carefully first. Anything that goes onto our skin goes into our body eventually too. And so, we want to be as selective about what we put on our body as what we put in our body.

7) Hydrate

Drinking enough clean water is a must for anybody who wishes to have crystal clear complexion. There are a good number of reliable water filters for home installation today in Singapore. Just check out your nearest superstores or do an online google search for water purifiers. If you don’t drink clean water, your kidney has to do the extra filtering! So help your body out by doing the first layer of filtering externally.

If you stay in tropical weather, aim for at least 8 big glasses a day, and more if you perspire through additional physical activity.

Water is needed for all chemical functions carried out by your magnificent body, and most importantly, to flush out the toxins from the system.

Minimize exposure to air-con

Air-conditioning is one of the most drying culprits of our skin. When we stay in air-conditioned environments for the whole day, our skin (the largest organ) loses moisture and dries up faster. Dry skin equals mature and aging skin!

Stay out of air-con as much as possible, especially when sleeping at night. If you do not have a choice in the day-time while at work, aim to drink enough water to hydrate your body and skin, as well as use adequate moisturizer at appropriate times. When you sleep at night, it is a time for your skin to heal and rejuvenate itself, so try to sleep in natural air. If the weather is really unbearably hot for you, switch on the air-con for 30 minutes before you go to bed, then when the room’s cool, turn it off and circulate the cool air with a fan before sleeping.

9) Dry Skin Brushing

Invest in a dry vegetable-bristled brush, and make it your daily beauty regime to do a dry body brushing just before you jump into the shower. Our skin is a living organ which needs to breathe, be fed supreme nutrition, and cleaned! The best way to keep it soft and supple is by gently brushing it with a dry body brush to remove dead skin, and jumpstart skin metabolism. You will feel refreshed and rejuvenated after the dry brushing; most importantly, you will notice that your skin is smoother after each brush and shower!

For those of you serious about reinventing your skin, or wish to find out where to get quality beauty brushes, visit http://www.rawfoodlifestyles or email Linda@rawfoodlifestyles.com for more info.

10) Pamper yourself with a monthly massage

Massages are proven ways of detoxifying, healing and energizing the body. Humans have what are known as meridian points on our bodies. Over time, these points can get blocked or stuffed from work stress, improper sleep or unbalanced diets/lifestyles. When they are blocked, our body is not functioning at optimum and cannot manage to get rid of toxins properly. In this case, the skin starts to be “dumping ground” for our body toxins.

Once a month (or even more often if you like!), treat yourself to a quality massage by certified practioners. You will find that after a massage, your skin glows and you feel wonderful!

Remember that for all positive diet and lifestyle changes, the hardest part is the beginning.

Once you adopt this new way of life, there is no turning back because you will love how good you look.

And you will also start to love every minute of life!

Join me today and claim your right to beautiful skin; its really as easy as taking an extra minute before you eat your next meal.

Are you excited to wake up with young and radiant skin everyday? If yes, I have 3 natural skin care recipes for you!

Natural Enzymatic Cleanser

Ingredients:
1 Slice of Papaya

Instructions:
1) Rinse your face and make sure it is clean and dry.
2) Scoop out the flesh of the Papaya using a spoon.
3) Using the skin with the inside of it on your face, rub the Papaya skin all over your face and neck in a gentle circular motion for 2 minutes.
4) Rinse with cool water and pat dry.

Papaya skin naturally exfoliates the skin and removes dead skin cells, giving you instantly brighter and smoother skin.

To know more about natural skin care and how to make skin boosting food recipes, join us in a 1 day Raw-k! Radiance Skin Workshop in October to learn life-long secrets to naturally beautiful skin.

Natural Cucumber Toning Mask

Ingredients:
4 Tsp Green Clay
5 cm Piece of Cucumber
2 Tsp Brewer’s Yeast

1) Make sure that your face is clean and dry.
2) Mash up all the ingredients in a small bowl and make into a smooth paste.
3) Apply the mixture all over your face, and leave it for 15-20 mins.
4) Rinse off with warm water and gently pat dry.

Cucumbers are perfect for calming and soothing agitated skin; they are also excellent for reducing bloating and tightening of skin.

Nourishing Avocado Face Pack

Ingredients:
1 Ripe Avocado
1 Egg Yolk (only for combination skin)
1 Tsp Honey (only for mature skin)

1) After the cleansing and toning masks, gently pat dry your face.
2) Slice up the avocado and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Mash it up with a fork.
3) If you have normal skin, simply apply the mashed avocado flesh on your face and leave for 20 mins. Then rinse off with warm water and gently pat dry.
4) If you have combination skin, add an egg yolk to the avocado and do the same.
5) If you have mature and aging skin, add a tsp of honey to the avocado and do the same.

Avocados are Mother Nature’s Power House - to date, Scientists have yet to fully discover all the phyto-nutrients present in Avocados!

Cheers to Healthy and Beautiful Skin, all Yours to have!
(C) Copyright 2009, Linda Loo

Tags: low fat recipes, raw food health, raw food recipes, low fat recipies