With people all over the globe spending billions of dollars on skin-care products every year, you'd think cosmetics companies had replicated the fountain of youth in the laboratory. In fact, skin creams have gotten more and more expensive and less and less based on real science. According to most experts who aren't hawking half-ounce jars of $200 youth serum, the science behind skin care is simpler than most of us think.

As with most health benefits, it comes down to lifestyle, rather than how much you can afford to spend on products. The things you can do to beautify your skin are remarkably similar to what you can do to strengthen your heart, control your weight, lift your mood and live longer and better: Get regular exercise, sleep enough and eat well. Of course, what you can eat to improve your skin tone, texture, evenness and clarity might be different from what you eat to avoid, say, heart disease.

So what are we looking at when it comes to a beautiful-skin diet? In this article, we'll find out what you want to throw in your shopping cart to improve your skin, why those foods work on traits like smoothness and tone, and whether skin-healthy foods are, in fact, different from the foods you'd eat to promote overall health.

5. Seafood

Active components: Omega-3 fatty acids, zinc

Benefits: Smooth, clear and glowing skin

Most of us have heard that fish can be really good for your overall health -- it's a primary component in what's known as the "Mediterranean diet." Many types of fish and shellfish can also work wonders for the skin, especially oysters and fatty fish like salmon.

The primary nutrients that make fish so good for your complexion are zinc and, especially, omega-3 fatty acids. Increasing omega-3 intake can reduce dryness and inflammation. Inflammation can cause skin to age faster, and research shows that getting too little omega-3 may contribute to inflammatory disorders like eczema and psoriasis . Omega-3 fatty acids can also help keep the heart's arteries clear and so improve circulation. Good circulation is crucial to skin health.

Zinc can help fight acne because it's involved in metabolizing testosterone, which affects the production of an oily substance caused sebum, a primary cause of acne. Zinc also assists in new-cell production and the sloughing off of dead skin, which gives the skin a nice glow.

You'll also find these benefits in flaxseed oil and walnuts.

4. Citrus Fruits

Even astronauts in space like to keep their skin taut with citrus fruits.

Active component: Vitamin C

Benefits: Smooth and taut skin

Vitamin C is a prime skin-care ingredient in tons of beauty creams. This vitamin aids in the body's production of collagen, a protein that forms the basic structure of your skin . Collagen breakdown, which starts speeding up significantly around the age of 35, can leave your skin saggy . Consuming extra vitamin C in foods like oranges, grapefruits, Acerola cherries (a single Acerola has 100 percent of your vitamin C for the day) and tomatoes can help tighten the skin and prevent wrinkles.

Vitamin C also may fight inflammation, and its antioxidant properties can neutralize the free radicals (highly reactive oxygen molecules) that damage cells and can prematurely age your face.

In case you get tired of eating all that fruit, hot peppers, bell peppers and sprouts also have good amounts of vitamin C.

3. Red and Green Vegetables

Spinach does more than make you strong. It also helps heal dry skin.

Active components: Vitamin A, beta-carotene

Benefits: Bright and smooth skin

Skin is the body's largest organ. It makes sense, then, that what's good for your whole body is also good for your skin -- and as far as food goes, it doesn't get much better than vegetables. You'll especially want to look for red-orange and green vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach.

Orange-red vegetables are full of beta-carotene. Our bodies convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which acts as an antioxidant, preventing cell damage and premature aging. In the case of vitamin A, you also get anti-acne benefits -- vitamin A has been used in acne medications (think Retin-A) for many years.

Spinach and other green, leafy foods provide tons of vitamin A, too, which helps your skin produce more fresh new cells and get rid of the old ones, reducing dryness and keeping your face looking bright and young.

Mangoes are also a great source of vitamin A. It's best to get this vitamin from food and not from supplements, though, since too much vitamin A can cause health problems.

2. Nuts

To keep your skin looking its best, avoid foods with lots of saturated fat and/or refined sugar.

Active component: Vitamin E

Benefits: Young and soft skin

As with many of the skin-healthy foods on our list, the good stuff in nuts -- especially almonds -- has to do with antioxidant activity. Vitamin E combats skin-aging free radicals, especially protecting skin from sun damage due to UV-sunlight-generated free radicals [source: Self]. Vitamin E also tends to help skin hold in moisture, relieving dryness and making skin look younger.

Pairing vitamin E with selenium can enhance its antioxidant abilities, so go ahead and throw some almonds into your cottage cheese (great source of selenium) for a skin-revitalizing snack.

Almonds, pistachios and walnuts also provide a nice supply of omega-3 fatty acids, another great skin nutrient.

Our last beauty food: Keep it whole to get fantastic overall results…

1. Whole Grains

Pancakes made from buckwheat can help keep your skin clear.

Active components: Rutin and B-vitamins

Benefits: Clear and moisturized skin

The "whole food" movement has whole-body advantages, not the least of which is great-looking skin.

Whole foods are basically unprocessed -- whole wheat bread instead of white bread, for instance. The whole grain buckwheat is a good source for the antioxidant rutin, which helps combat inflammation-related skin damage. Wheat germ provides the B-vitamin biotin, which assists cells in processing fats. If you don't have enough biotin in your body, your skin can become dry and scaly.

In general, whole grains instead of processed carbohydrates can improve your complexion. Processed (or refined) flours can cause an insulin spike, which in turn can encourage acne. Replacing your refined-flour pancakes with buckwheat pancakes is a good acne-reducing move. Incidentally, this would also help reduce your risk of developing Diabetes.

Not into buckwheat? Avocadoes and mushrooms can provide similar benefits.

Now, while oranges, buckwheat, oysters, spinach and almonds are great foods for your skin, achieving great-looking skin through dietary changes doesn't have to be so specific. A healthy body means healthy skin. Just feed your body good, healthy foods, get some exercise and keep your stress low, and your skin will reap the benefits.

每年世界各地的人们要花费数十亿美元在美容护肤产品上，你可能会认为是化妆品公司在实验室里复制了青春。事实上，现在润肤乳变得越来越昂贵，而且越来越少是基于真正的科学上的。使用过护肤品的专家发现，护肤的科学其实比我们想象的要简单的多。

健康取决于生活方式，而不是你够花多少钱在美容商品上。如何使皮肤更加美丽，你需要做的事情就是跟你平时如何增强你的心脏、控制体重、提高情绪和活得更长更快乐一样,比如：经常锻炼；足够睡眠；健康饮食。食物可以改善皮肤的颜色、纹理、均匀度和清晰度，当然与那些用来调理心脏疾病的食物是不一样的。

所以，当谈到美肤食物这个话题时，我们会介绍些什么东西给大家呢？在接下来这篇文章中，我们会帮你找到你将会购买的食物，这些食物能够使你拥有更加美丽的肌肤。而且文章还将为你解答为什么这些食物能够使你的皮肤滋润，以及这些护肤食物跟我们平时吃来增强整体健康的食物是否不同。

第5名：海鲜

活性成分:ω-3脂肪酸，锌

功能:使皮肤光滑、清晰、有光泽

众所周知，鱼对我们的身体健康很有好处——它是我们所熟知的“地中海饮食”的主要组成。许多鱼类和贝类也能很好地改善我们的肤质，特别是牡蛎和脂质鱼，如鲑鱼。

鱼类食物中对你的肤色有益的主要成分是锌，特别是ω-3脂肪酸。增加ω-3脂肪酸的摄取可以减少皮肤干燥和防止发炎。发炎会使皮肤老化加速，有研究表明，缺少ω-3脂肪酸可能导致炎性分泌失调和牛皮癣。ω-3脂肪酸还可以帮助保持心脏动脉顺畅，因此促进血液循环。顺畅的血液循环对皮肤健康是至关重要的。

锌有助于对抗粉刺，因为锌参与代谢睾酮的反应，而睾酮会抑制产生粉刺的油性物质的生成。锌也协助新细胞生产和除去坏死的细胞，赋予肌肤美丽的光泽。

亚麻子油和核桃也有这些功效。

第4名：柑橘类水果

在太空中的宇航员也经常用柑橘类水果来保持皮肤紧实。

活性成分：维生素C

功能：使皮肤光滑、紧实

维生素C是美容护肤品的主要成分之一。这种维生素帮助身体产生胶原蛋白——皮肤的基本结构。35岁以后，胶原蛋白的分解大大加速，导致皮肤松懈。从柳橙、柚子、针叶樱桃 (一个樱桃能够百分之百提供你一整天维生素C的需要量)和西红柿中摄取额外的维他命C可以帮助肌肤紧实，防止皱纹的产生。

维生素C也可以防止发炎,它的抗氧化性可以中和自由基(高活性氧分子)，防止自由基破坏细胞并能老化了你的脸。

如果你厌倦了吃水果，你还可以吃辣椒、甜椒、芽菜，这些蔬菜也含有大量的维他命C。

第3名：红色和绿色蔬菜

菠菜不仅能让你变得更强壮，还有助于治疗皮肤干燥。

活性成分：维生素A，β-胡萝卜素

功能：使皮肤光滑、有光泽

皮肤是身体最大的器官。我们可以这样理解，对整体健康有好处的东西，也是很适合皮肤的。而在食品当中，没有什么比蔬菜更好的了。特别是橘红色和绿色的蔬菜，如胡萝卜、甘薯和菠菜。

橘红色和绿色的蔬菜含有丰富的β-胡萝卜素。我们的身体能将β-胡萝卜素转化为维生素A——一种抗氧化剂，防止细胞损伤和过早老化。拥有了维生素A，也有利于防止粉刺——维生素A已经在防粉刺的药物（全反维生素A酸）中使用很多年。

菠菜和其他绿色的、多叶的食物能提供大量维生素A，也有助于你的皮肤产生更多的新鲜细胞和除去旧的细胞，缓解皮肤干燥，使你看起来年轻又有光泽。

芒果中也含有丰富的维生素A。我们最好是从食物中摄取维生素，最好不要吃补充剂，因为过量的维生素A同样会导致健康问题。

第2名：坚果

保持皮肤的健康，最好不要吃含有较多饱和脂肪酸及精制糖的食物。

活性成分：维生素E

功能：使皮肤年轻、柔软

在众多护肤食品中，坚果（特别是杏仁）的优点是具有抗氧化性。维生素E能中和使皮肤老化的自由基，特别是能够防止晒太阳的时候产生自由基。维生素E帮助皮肤保持水、缓解干裂，令肌肤看起来更年轻。

维生素E和硒搭配可以提高抗氧化能力，所以我们平时可以用杏仁和奶酪(伟大的硒源)混合，制作成护肤点心。

杏仁、核桃和开心果也能提供丰富的ω-3脂肪酸——一种很好的皮肤养分。

接下来是我们的最后一种食物：健康源于天然...

第1名：谷物

荞麦煎饼美丽你的肌肤。

活性成分：芸香苷（芦丁），B族维生素

功能：滋润、美白肌肤

天然的食物有益于我们的整体健康，而不仅仅是使皮肤好看。

天然食品未经过加工，比如全麦面包要好于白面包。天然的荞麦含有丰富的抗氧化剂芦丁，有助于防止皮肤炎症性损伤。小麦胚芽含有B族维生素，帮助细胞处理脂肪。

一般来说,吃全谷类食物代替加工过的碳水化合物可以改善你的肤色。加工过的(或精制的）面粉会引起胰岛素飙升,而这也就会反过来能促使粉刺产生。荞麦煎饼代替普通煎饼是你防止粉刺的一个好的转变。顺便说一句,这也有助于降低你患糖尿病的风险。

没有荞麦怎么办？鳄梨和蘑菇也有类似的效果。

虽然说柳橙、荞麦、牡蛎、菠菜、杏仁等食物能达到美观皮肤的作用，但其实也并不需要怎样去改变你的饮食习惯。一个健康的身体意味着健康的肤色。你身体好，饮食健康，经常做些运动，学会缓解压力，你的皮肤就会从中受益。