Five Food Fundamentals for our Healthy Skin

Protein is very important for the skin because it helps maintain skin elasticity. By incorporating fish, beans, dairy, eggs and lean meats into your diet you can help your skin stay strong, heal wounds faster and look good all the time.

Some people consider carbohydrates their worst enemy because they automatically think of pasta, bread or other fattening foods with the dreaded C word. However, certain carbs are essential to skin’s health because they are skin’s first resource for energy. If the body doesn’t have carbs it uses stored proteins. As it does this, there is none left for skin elasticity, and we’re back to the former problem. Intake good carbs such as whole grains and those in antioxidant fruits and veggies like tomatoes, spinach, salmon, carrots, apricots and nuts.

Omega-3 is usually thought of as the fish-oil fad. However, this fatty acid can do wonders for your skin and help you stay young forever, because come on, that’s really all we want. Incorporate more fish, walnuts or flaxseed into your diet for healthy results. If you’d rather skip out on these, a simple Omega-3 capsule a day will do give similar results.

We all know water is essential for the health of skin, but why do some of us still drink one cup of water a day? In order to keep skin looking fresh and help it retain moisture, eight cups to nine cups of water have to be incorporated into your daily routine. The only downside to this healthy habit is that pesky peeing problem.

Remember those Flintstones chewy vitamins you used to take as a kid? Remember how as a kid you had awesome skin? Although the two are not directly connected, skin does need vitamins A and C. Vitamin A, which helps prevent dryness and flakes, can be found in dark green veggies, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and mangos.Vitamin C produces collagen that helps with wound healing and scar tissue, keeps skin structured and tight, and prevents the possibilities of sagging in old age. It can be found in oranges, grapefruits and fruit juices.

Stay Fit Eating at Healthy Food Asian Cuisine

Do you love Chinese food but want to stick to a healthy diet?

Well, look no further than Healthy Food Asian Cuisine at 575 Bloomfield Ave., a restaurant that aims to cook Asian fusion food with wholesome ingredients without losing that rich taste.

“I only cook with fresh vegetables,” owner and cook Jimmy Chen explained about his family restaurant. “We use absolutely no canned food.”

And the best part — the price doesn’t reflect the cost of the fresher food than its over-oiled competition. Chen works the kitchen with his wife and kids to keep costs low and the food healthy.

“I go to the Chinese market and order everything myself,” Chen said. “And since we cook so many vegetables, we buy in bulk so it doesn’t cost any more.”

Which is why the nine-month-old family restaurant is able to keep up its garden-fresh style — a style that stays away from more oil.

“I’d rather steam something than cook it for a while in a lot of oil,” he explained about the menu that consists of mainly steamed vegetables with the sauces on the side.

He thinks the sauce on the side adds flavor yet gives people the opportunity to put on as much or as little as they like. He said he learned this in cooking for 20 years in hotels in China. He believes less sauce adds a fresher flavor.

Every dish is prepared with trans fat-free and cholesterol-free canola oil, which has half the saturated fat and absolutely no monosodium glutamate (MSG).

The restaurant will deliver to surrounding towns up to 10 miles away with a $10 minimum order.