Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.
Close Banner
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

Can You Eat Your Way To Younger Skin? Science Says You Sure Can

Jamie Schneider
Author:
January 11, 2024
Jamie Schneider
Former Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
By Jamie Schneider
Former Senior Beauty & Lifestyle Editor
Jamie Schneider is the former Senior Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.A. in Organizational Studies and English from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in Coveteur, The Chill Times, and Wyld Skincare.
woman eating and smiling in kitchen
Image by PeopleImages / iStock
January 11, 2024
We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

For true skin longevity, an inside-out approach is vital. All the expensive collagen-promoting treatments and topicals in the world won't have much staying power if you don't supply your body with the amino acids it needs to create collagen in the first place! A balanced diet is not the only thing you can do for healthier skin (don't get me wrong, I will not forgo my beloved serums or regular facials), but it is a foundational step you shouldn't ignore.

As a general rule, any food that's good for other organ systems (heart, brain, etc.) is a solid choice for your skin (your largest organ). Think whole, natural, antioxidant-rich staples. But research points to one specific eating plan that's helpful for skin aging—find the details below.

Eat your way to younger skin? 

It's true that plenty of whole, nutrient-dense foods have complexion-changing properties. However, it's the absence of food that may have some targeted benefits for skin aging. Intermittent fasting, in particular, has been linked to skin longevity, but for those who don't want to stick to a specific feeding window, a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) shows promise too.

The diet, developed by Valter Longo, Ph.D., at the USC Longevity Institute, essentially mimics the effects of fasting without entirely eliminating food. On the plan, you decrease calories to around 1,100 on the first day, then to around 800 the next four days (while eating specific, lower-carb, nutrient-dense whole foods). The point of this program is to mimic the physiological and metabolic effects of fasting1, including the cellular "housekeeping" process of autophagy. 

Quick refresher on autophagy: "Inside our cells, there can be a buildup of cellular waste products, like proteins, used organelles, and even discarded, old mitochondria that aren't functioning so well," says holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, M.D., on the mindbodygreen podcast. "They can actually build up and cause our cells to function less efficiently—essentially, as if you were older." 

By stimulating this cellular recycling process, your body can use these waste products as fuel in the absence of other forms of fuel (like food). "By removing this from the cell, it causes the cell to function more efficiently, and essentially, more youthfully," notes Youn. "A lot of people look at [fasting] as a way to improve their metabolic flexibility, but a lot of people don't realize that that is actually a great way to help rejuvenate the skin and turn the clock back on skin aging as well." 

Research backs up the claim too. Take this randomized controlled trial2, which aimed to measure the effects of a five-day FMD protocol, administered once a month for three months, in a group of 45 healthy women between the ages of 35 and 60. After three consecutive monthly cycles of FMD, the women had a significant increase in skin hydration and a smoother skin texture.

Not to mention, these women reported improvements to their mental well-being and self-esteem, namely happiness and confidence (and the link between skin and mental health3 is well documented, thanks to the brain-skin connection). 

How to get started with FMD 

Curious about the fasting-mimicking protocol? Here are the basics you need to know: 

  • You'll still eat three meals a day, with about 1,100 calories for the first day and around 800 calories from days two to five. 
  • After completing those five days in a row, you can repeat that cycle two more times a month apart if you want to match the research. (So it's essentially a three-month program.) 
  • Just know that exercise and alcohol are prohibited during the five days of restricted calories, and even coffee is limited to zero or one cup a day. (Coffee lovers, be warned!) 

You can order the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet kit, which contains everything you'll eat in that five-day period, including soups, nut bars, herbal teas, and whole olives; it comes with five labeled boxes so you know exactly what to eat each day. 

You can read our full guide to FMD here for more research-backed benefits and what to expect (for example: If you're allergic to nuts, this probably isn't the best diet for you!). Still, we recommend seeing a health care professional before embarking on any restricted eating plan, as it's not for everyone. 

If fasting doesn't work for your lifestyle—even periodic fasting, like FMD—you can always load your grocery cart with foods known for encouraging healthy, youthful-looking skin. Some specific foods themselves have even been shown to stimulate autophagy—think phytochemical-rich plants like dark leafy greens, berries, garlic, and more

The takeaway  

Giving your cells time to rest and recharge is great for overall health, skin health very much included. By promoting your cells' cleanup process with autophagy, research has found you can promote younger-looking skin. A fasting-mimicking diet is just one way to stimulate autophagy, though, so see here for other lifestyle methods to try—beyond your diet.

Watch Next

Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes

Watch Next

Enjoy some of our favorite clips from classes

What Is Meditation?

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Light Watkins

Box Breathing

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar

What Breathwork Can Address

Mindfulness/Spirituality | Gwen Dittmar

The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?

Yoga | Caley Alyssa

Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips

Yoga | Caley Alyssa

How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance

Nutrition | Rich Roll

What to Eat Before a Workout

Nutrition | Rich Roll

How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life

Nutrition | Sahara Rose

Messages About Love & Relationships

Love & Relationships | Esther Perel

Love Languages

Love & Relationships | Esther Perel

Related Videos (10)

What Is Meditation?

Box Breathing

What Breathwork Can Address

The 8 Limbs of Yoga - What is Asana?

Two Standing Postures to Open Up Tight Hips

How Plants Can Optimize Athletic Performance

What to Eat Before a Workout

How Ayurveda Helps Us Navigate Modern Life

Messages About Love & Relationships

Love Languages

Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.

More On This Topic

more Lifestyle
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.
Advertisement
This ad is displayed using third party content and we do not control its accessibility features.