5 Beauty Foods for Radiant Hair + Skin

Just like you need your magical hours of beauty sleep, filling your plate with nourishing beauty foods will make you look and feel like you can take on the world.

While you probably already know that drive-through milkshakes and deep-fried Oreos aren’t your best friends when it comes to your body, there are also foods that should be viewed as equals to the products on your vanity. By incorporating beneficial beauty foods that are chock-full of nutrients into your diet, you’ll make your locks luscious, your skin radiant, and your energy magnetic with an extra je ne sais quoi.

Next time you’re at the grocery store, fill your cart up with these five foods so you can eat pretty!

1) Tart Cherry Juice

Here’s a beauty food to help you get in enough beauty sleep, an essential for spritely energy and no under-eye circles. Whether you broke the no-iPhone before bed rule or have a nerve-wrecking presentation in the morning, help your body ease into sleep by pouring yourself a glass of tart cherry juice. After you’ve hit the sack, the melatonin from the cherries, will help you drift off to dreamland. As an added perk, this tart fruit is also a champ at fighting inflammation.

2) Cacao

If you’ve had pimples or inflamed skin, you may have been told to stay from all things chocolate. However, it’s absolutely possible to get your chocolate fix without worrying about skin flare-ups. The no-chocolate rule stems from the fact that most chocolate bars are packed with dairy and sugar, two ingredients that have been shown to affect hormones and blood sugar levels, which can be linked to acne and problem skin. Cacao itself is actually loaded with vitamins A, C, and E (nutrients essential for healthy skin), good fats (that balance oil production), zinc (which repairs skin cells), and chromium (which keeps blood glucose levels in check). Fall in love with it by trying our Cacao Magic Superfood + Protein Blend!

3) Goji Berries

If you’re on a weekend hike, playing a round of afternoon fetch with your puppy at the park, or dancing away at an outdoor music festival, chances are you’ll be soaking up some mega sun rays. We all know it’s important to topically apply sunscreen (always do!), but did you know that you can also eat and drink additional skin protection by flooding your body with antioxidants? Goji berries have off-the-chart levels of antioxidants, which have been shown to boost skin protection and reduce sunburn redness by as much as 40 per cent! If you snack on these berries, use them as a fun topping for your smoothie bowls, or use our Berry Bliss Superfood + Protein Blend, your skin will also take on a radiant, princess-like glow.

4) Papaya

We’ve all been there–it’s hard to feel beautiful when you’re suffering from bloat. Enter papaya. Also known as pawpaw, this tropical fruit contains a digestive enzyme called papain that breaks down fiber, which will create gas if it’s not properly digested. With two days’ worth of Vitamin C, papaya also brightens and tightens skin and contains vitamin A compounds, which support cell turnover. As another beauty bonus, papain removes redness in the skin by reducing inflammation. Try it in this yummy Anti-Bloat Summer Smoothie Recipe!

5) Coconut Butter

While shampoos, conditioners, and treatments can certainly perk up your hair, you can also eat your way to gorgeous locks. Make coconut butter, which is created from pureed, raw coconut, your secret weapon for maintaining healthy, happy and radiant-looking hair. Our Coconut Bliss Coconut Butter will help to hydrate those strands and packs a punch of Vitamin C, which helps build collagen and promote overall hair strength.