Give your skin a healthy boost with Broccoli!

Spring is upon us! This means, fresh vegetables from farm to table! I will discuss many vegetables and their benefits this season but today I want to start with a small green vegetable that is loaded with vitamins, Broccoli!

Broccoli is a great way to keep your skin looking healthy, especially for the upcoming summer season.

Vitamin C is the head-honcho in this nutrition fiesta, providing 149% of the daily value. (Daily values are based on recommendations for key nutrients consumed on a 2,000-calorie diet. Calorie count consumed differs in each individual per day, so use this as a reference whether you consume more or less than 2,000 calories) By eating about a half a cup of raw broccoli, you will have an army of vitamin C to fight of free-radicals that cause skin damage and other negative consequences.

Here's how it works, First lets understand what "free radicals" are. Free radicals are any atom or molecule that is unpaired with an electron in an outer shell. These radical molecules come from the byproduct of turning food into energy, from the food that you eat and the air that you breath. The sunlight’s rays on the skin and eyes generate some as well. There are many sources of free radicals on this planet, which our body fights, everyday. We can find healthy and tasty ways to get antioxidants to help our body fight these nasty molecules.

Since free radicals are down an electron, they are on the hunt to steal one from any substance that will allow it. When the molecule that is left with a missing electron, its structure and function is altered. (I.e. free radicals damage can alter the sequence on a strand of DNA. It can increase the chance of “bad cholesterol” getting trapped in an artery wall, or change what enters and leaves a cell membrane.)

Vitamin C Limits the damage induced by ultraviolet (UV) light exposure.

All UV light is not bad. Our body needs sunlight to form vitamin D, which is created to strengthen bone structure, but limiting exposure is necessary to reduce the amount of free radicals from UV light.

The anti-oxidant property of vitamin C protects the skin cells from UV damage by donating electrons when free radicals steal them. Like Superman flying in and returning your prized possessions that were stolen. Vitamin C returns the function and structure of the cells back to their rightful owner.

Vitamins are best when eaten naturally if possible. On average, the adult body absorbs approximately 70%-90% or 30 to 180mg of vitamin C. When taking supplements, be aware of how the vitamins are bound when the pill or capsule was made. When dietary supplements are made with synthetic materials, the body cannot recognize the foreign matter easily. Your system will flush these foreign materials out of the body along with most of the vitamins.

This doesn't do you much good. On the other hand, choosing supplements that have natural binders (usually plant-based) that the body can recognize gives more of the vitamin the chance to be absorbed and you most of the benefit.

Using over the counter vitamins like “one a day” and “Centrum” only have a documented 5-10% absorption rate, so its not just a preference, when you get those vitamins your causing harm AND wasting your money! You can get whole food vitamins at your local Whole Foods or at Rebecca’s natural foods. These supplements are made from real plants and vegetables, not synthetic copies of molecules in a lab. Check out a bottle yourself and compare the difference. The more information we know about what we consume, the more we can make healthy choices for a healthy lifestyle. Now go “Enrich Your Health” with this small piece of knowledge I give you today and be well!