7 Nutrients You Need for Glowing Skin

Wouldn’t it be nice, waking up to beautiful, glowing skin every day? You can go out barefaced — an epitome of the real no-makeup look. Yes, you can and may still wear makeup, but your skin is so healthy that you can easily go without.

There is no single secret to beautiful, glowing skin. Instead, it is a process that involves enforcing practices that benefit skin health.

Sunblock, regular exercise, at least seven hours of sleep per day, and a healthy and balanced diet, perhaps with a side of the best hair, skin, and nails gummies rich in skin-nourishing vitamins and minerals, can definitely help.

Read on if you’re wondering what nutrients can help you attain healthy, glowing skin.

1. Carotenoids (Vitamin A)

Carotenoids, including beta-carotene, lycopene, astaxanthin, and retinol, are vitamin A derivatives. These are fat-soluble, richly pigmented compounds whose primary benefits are their antioxidant and photoprotective properties (Schagen, Zampeli, Makrantonaki, & Zouboulis, 2012).

In other words, they can protect your cells from potential sun and oxidant damage.

Perhaps due to their antioxidant and photoprotective properties, carotenoids seem to play a role in anti-aging. According to the paper, The Role of Carotenoids in Human Skin (Darvin, Sterry, Lademann,& Vergou, 2011), individuals whose skin had high carotenoid concentrations looked younger than their age. In contrast, those who had low carotenoid concentrations looked older.

Beta-carotene

One of the most important members of the carotenoid family. Its photoprotective characteristics are effective in preventing ultraviolet-induced erythema or skin redness. However, beta-carotene is primarily significant because of its provitamin A activity. A liver enzyme transforms beta-carotene into vitamin A. Specifically, one molecule of beta-carotene turns into two molecules of vitamin A.

2. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is another antioxidant. In The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health (Pullar, Carr, & Vissers, 2017), the following are a few of the potential functions of vitamin C in the skin:

• Promotes Collagen Formation

Vitamin C is vital to enzymes responsible for the stability of collagen structures. Studies have shown that the strength of synthesized collagen depends on vitamin C availability. Furthermore, vitamin C helps facilitate collagen production.

• Neutralizes Free Radicals

Free radicals can cause oxidative stress, and vitamin E is a potent free radical scavenger. However, it is particularly effective when used in conjunction with vitamin C. Vitamin C can regenerate oxidized vitamin E, thus increasing this antioxidant’s impact.

• Inhibits Melanin Production

Vitamin C derivatives interfere in the action of the enzyme essential to melanin production. Thus, you can use it to inhibit hyperpigmentation and the formation of age spots.

In short, vitamin C can help:

• Promote skin strength and elasticity by facilitating collagen production
• Prevent skin damage through its antioxidant properties
• Protect from hyperpigmentation and the formation of age spots by inhibiting melanin production

3. Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a known free radical scavenger, inhibiting the damaging activities of loose electrons that can damage cells. It is particularly effective when used with vitamin C.

Vitamin E also has anti-inflammatory benefits. It can reduce swelling caused by ultraviolet radiation, erythema, and edema. Research by Liu et al. (2021) supports this, showing a negative correlation between vitamin E levels on the skin and chronic inflammatory diseases. Specifically, patients with vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and acne had significantly lower serum vitamin E levels.

4. Biotin

Also called vitamin B7, biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body break food down into energy. It is essential in extracting energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Biotin is often included in multivitamins formulated to promote hair, skin, and nail health because biotin deficiency is associated with red, scaly skin rashes, hair loss, and brittle nails. In other words, you need to have adequate biotin intake for healthy skin.

According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an intake of 30 micrograms per day for healthy men and women 19 years and older is adequate. Thirty-five micrograms are the minimum intake level for breastfeeding mothers.

5. Zinc

This mineral is necessary for the function of almost 100 enzymes, says the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. You need only a tiny amount of this mineral, but it’s something your body doesn’t produce, so it must be externally sourced, either from your food or through supplements.

Unfortunately, zinc deficiency is relatively common, afflicting approximately one-third of the global population. (Gupta, Mahajan, Mehta & Chauhan, 2014).

Gupta et al. (2014) reviewed the many therapeutic uses of zinc in dermatology. It is an established anti-inflammatory and is thus used in therapeutic regimens for inflammatory conditions like acne vulgaris eczema, rosacea, and skin ulcers.

Zinc also has photoprotective properties; it can be part of your sun damage prevention routine. Additionally, it promotes the regeneration of elastin, which can help minimize apparent signs of aging.

6. Coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10 is a water-soluble antioxidant that the human body naturally produces and is also available in food, including vegetable oils and cold-water fish.

Žmitek, Žmitek, Butina & Pogačnik (2020) conducted a clinical study (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled) on the effects of CoQ10 and collagen on the skin. After 12 weeks of oral supplementation, test subjects showed significantly smoother and denser skin, reduced crow’s feet, and lower total wrinkle scores.

7. L-Cystine

Cystine is an amino acid, the oxidized form of the non-essential amino acid cysteine, and it serves an important function — it is the rate-limiting substrate in glutathione synthesis.

Glutathione is crucial to the repair of tissues. As an antioxidant, glutathione can fight damaging oxidative stress (Kwon et al., 2019). It also has anti-melanogenic properties, promoting the production of lighter melanin instead of the darker variety, thus producing a skin-lightening effect. (Duperray, Sergheraert, Chalothorn, Tachalerdmanee & Perin, 2021).

In a double-blind, benchmark-controlled, and placebo-controlled study involving Asian women randomly allocated to four parallel groups, Duperray et al. (2021) found that the group that received 12 weeks of supplementation with L-Cystine in combination with L-Glutathione experienced a significant skin lightening and reduction in the size of dark spots on the face.

A similar study by Kim, Park, Hwang, Baek, and Jeong (2018) involved administering a capsule containing citrus peel extract, vitamin C, and L-cystine to test group members for two months. Their test L-cystine capsule effectively lowered melanin index and improved skin lightness and color, according to the results.

Get Healthy, Glowing Skin

If you want beautifully glowing skin, you need to ensure you are getting the nutrients your skin needs to be healthy, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, biotin, zinc, CoQ10, and L-Cystine. Eat a healthy and balanced diet and supplement to address any deficiencies to guarantee sufficient amounts of these skin-nourishing nutrients.