This year’s unusual new diets (and why they help your skin)

You can change your life with the right food, but how many diets are out there now?

2019 is shaping up to be an interesting time for diets. And here’s the kicker: They work.

They affect your skin in many different ways, for many reasons. This year is going to see more people using new science to hack their bodies for weight loss and good looks.

Here are four new crazes and what they can do for your skin.

Flexitarian

Unfortunately, flexitarianism isn’t a diet based on showing off your money.

It’s a vegetarian diet with cheat days, also called semi-vegetarianism. Yes, you’re going to be that ‘veggo’ friend. And you’re going to find out why they’re so good looking.

Flexitarians get their macros from plants, the more whole the better. That gives you:

Carbs from legumes and whole grains
Protein from plants and nuts
Fat from oils, nuts and a little meat from time to time

To get the flexitarian benefits, you have to avoid sugar and refined foods. This diet works because you’re eating plants while they still have all their vitamins. And you’ll have a shallower carbon footprint.

Flexitarianism lines up nicely with the skinB5 lifestyle. You’re getting superfoods and nutrients, but try covering up for lost meat using some Extra Strength Acne Control Vitamins and Clear Skin Superfood Booster with 63 ingredients.

Keto

Remember the Atkins diet? People decided they could eat whatever they liked as long as they stayed low carb. And it worked.

Well now we know exactly why:

If your diet is 70% fat and 5% carbs, your body learns to use fat as fuel instead of carbs. Your body goes into ketosis or ‘starvation mode’, where it eats body fat to survive.
Keto has been around since the ‘20s, when it was used to decrease seizures in epilepsy patients.
The keto diet works better for fat loss than a low-fat diet.
Keto lowers insulin, the chemical that tells your body to gain fat — and acne.

There are amazing apps and online guides to help you follow the keto diet. Any health professional can help too.

If you do keto right, the increased hydration will blast away breakouts. This diet requires more water than usual. Meanwhile, try using a Superfood Booster to make up for the fruits you’re avoiding.

Intermittent Fasting

This one is crazy interesting. After dinner you stop eating. You consume zero calories for around 12 to 22 hours. Every couple hours’ fasting adds new benefits.

After 12 hours your body increases something called autophagy. Your healthy cells eat your weak ones, meaning your good skin is shedding the bad.

After 16, you’re filled with growth hormone. This can improve your fitness and organ function.

Every hour you’re losing fat and inflammation. And those other processes are getting faster.

There’s a controversial version called prolonged fasting which lasts 24 hours or more. Talk to your doctor about this one. The Internet is dark and full of bad advice.

Anyway, I tried it so here’s my advice. In 24 hours of fasting I went into ketosis. After another 48 hours I’d lost two kilos.

I was exhausted but full of adrenaline. Something deep in me knew I was literally starving. It was scary and it felt good. With a little medical supervision and a lot of research, I can recommend it.

Autophagy might be a powerful way to remove the damage that obesity and acne can do, one cell at a time. But go slow and avoid extreme changes if you’re doing it to improve yourself. It takes new habits to get in shape, and eating nothing for just a week won’t build habits.

But the best diet for your skin might be …

The Mediterranean Diet

There are a lot of Mediterranean people with beautiful skin, and here’s their secret:

Family recipes.

One side of my family is Italian, and I see how lucky we are. We make food that should be fatty, but the body finds a use for everything in our family recipes. Cuts of lean meat are crumbed in sourdough and cooked in olive oil. The rest of the meat goes in a tomato sauce. It’s a recipe for great skin.

The Mediterranean is ripe with food rich in good fats. Half of it grew there naturally, the other half was imported from the Americas. Consuming healthy fats (best sources are fatty fish, nuts and seeds) are necessary to keep your skin thick, supple and moisturised. This is why avocado totally counts.

You’ll find these foods are packed with fibre and protein too, which means they fill you up without getting you fat. Sometimes nature really gets us.

It goes to show that taking care of your skin is just taking care of yourself. First you get the nutrients. Then you get the good habits, maybe even working some Acne Control Cleansing Mousse , Acne Control Moisturiser and a 5 Minute Skin Purifying Mask into your routine. Then you beef it up with something like a Superfood Booster.

Then you get the compliments.

Peter Matthews is a freelance writer living in Melbourne. He plans to be a flexitarian if by flexitarian you mean someone who shows off their money.