Avocados Improve Dry Skin
Perhaps the most welcome benefit of avocados for women is how it can make their skin more beautiful.
Prof. Inoue of Nihon University recommends keeping the skin of the avocado after eating it. “Rub the avocado skin on your elbows, knees and heels and other areas where your skin tends to be rough and hard. It will make those areas unbelievably smooth.”
Dr. Matsuda of the Matsuda Clinic of Internal Medicine explained other external uses for avocados. “Mash the fruit and mix in a little olive oil to make a facial pack that will help reduce wrinkles. Applying the mixture to your scalp may even act as a hair growth stimulant.”
Linolenic acid and vitamin E in avocados are believed to smooth the skin by stimulating blood flow through blood vessels near the skin’s surface. The skin-smoothing benefits of avocados are further multiplied by vitamin C, vitamins B1 and B2, which prevent pigmentation and tryptophan, a component of protein.
Above all else, however, is the vitamin F in avocados that makes skin smooth. Vitamin F is made up of three essential unsaturated fatty acids: linoleic acid, linolenic acid and arachidonic acid. “Ceramide is essential for beautiful skin. Eating avocados promotes the production of ceramide. By far the greatest benefit is the way it moistens dry skin. All it takes is half an avocado a day,” says Inoue.
Ceramide allows the skin to retain water and has a moisturizing effect. Formed from fatty acids in our bodies, ceramide exists in such minute amounts that it is extremely valuable. It is so expensive, in fact, the one kilogram of ceramide, as used in “ceramide cosmetics,” costs more than $10,000. The great news, however, is that by simply eating avocados, one can increase the body’s quantity of this expensive substance in a quick and easy manner.
Article courtesy of Nihon Journal Shuppan, translated by Roy Mashima.
(The information provided should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Consult your physician before attempting any new program. Readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of developing serious medical conditions.)
