August 16, 2012 / Happy Dietitian

Topical Food Remedies for Beautiful Skin

aloe vera, Beauty, food cures, honey, natural beauty, natural food remedies, oatmeal, rice flour, rice starch, rice water

I started washing my face in the morning with quick cooking oatmeal and can not believe how effective it is at softening and cleaning my oily face. I won’t lie, it can get pretty messy (and might clog your drain). The whole oatmeal shock got me thinking about the science behind other natural remedies that have been passed down from generation to generation. If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ll know that I’m not a hater on unproven natural remedies. As a RD, it’s required of me to provide information from evidence based research but if a natural remedy has been working for generations (even if only as placebo) why ignore it just because it hasn’t been proven yet. Right? Okay, so let me share with you some topical food remedies that may make your skin even more beautiful.

natural rememdies

Let’s start off with Oatmeal. There’s a lot of research behind oatmeal. It’s a natural cleanser, moisturizer, exfoliator, and soothing agent for itchy skin. It’s so good for you, topically as well as internally (fiber, lowers cholesterol, antioxidants). Skip the instant oatmeal as it tends to be loaded with sugar and salt.

oatmeal health

Most of the studies that I’ve read on pubmed show that Honey is an effective anti-bacterial agent good for wound healing. That’s enough for me to use it as a face mask to heal acne. Now what about orally you ask? My recommendation is to limit all sugars whether it be natural or artificial.

honey wound care

Aloe! Rest assured there are many studies that show aloe is great for healing dry skin, burns, and wounds.

Now onto rice. There’s so much on the internet about the benefits of rice water, rice starch, and rice flour. Most claiming that it will lighten, smooth, and hydrate the skin. I’ve been trying to find research on the healing powers of rice water but I just couldn’t find anything. Maybe I’m using the wrong search terms but please reference me if you’ve found any. Now with rice starch, there was one study that showed a positive association between rice starch as a bathing agent for skin repair. Other studies were about the positive effects of rice bran bioactive compounds (when entrapped in niosomes in cream formulations) on skin hydration and antioxidant activities. So yeah, I couldn’t find much on rice but so many people swear by it, so why not give it a try.