What to eat to get clearer skin

The food you consume can be as important as the serums and creams you apply to your skin

(Rex Features)

Winter is a great excuse to ramp up your skincare as blustery winds and central heating play havoc with your complexion but it turns out that watching what you eat can actually work better than any lotion or potion.

Known for her wealth of knowledge on all things health and beauty Liz Earle has revealed how you can eat your way to clearer, healthy skin this festive period.

“A radiantly healthy-looking face depends on feeding it the right fuel,” the beauty expert told Vogue. So what exactly should we be eating? Here, Earle tackles five major skin concerns with foods long-heralded for their skin clearing properties.

Plant oils can help to reduce the appearnace of fine lines (Rex Features)

Fine lines

Central heating can really dry out your skin which can exaggerate the feeblest of wrinkles. “Plump up lines with plenty of skin-friendly fats found in plant oils such as olive, rapeseed and flax,” Earle suggests. “Try adding a spoonful to juices or smoothies, or drizzle neat over soups.”

Oily T-zone

As well as reducing your sugar intake, Earle recommends a diet high in alkaline-forming foods. “Foods such as asparagus, celery and endive together with hedgerow berries, fresh grapefruit, lemons and limes can help keep the area across the forehead, down the nose and over the chin calm and clear.”

Leafy greens are great for tacking under-eye bags (Rex Features)

Under-eye circles

While drinking plenty of water – at least one and a half litres per day - is known to tackle this bugbear, Earle also suggests a vegetable prescription that promises to really banish those bags. “Try potassium and magnesium-rich foods - notably leafy greens such as Swiss chard, dark cabbage and kale - together with autumnal squashes, sweet potato (skin on), citrus fruits and papaya.”

Puffiness

Skin can often feel swollen and puffy as a result of fluid retention, so diuretic foods like fennel, celery, cucumber and chicory are a great edible solution. Earle says, “My favourite lunchtime dish is smoked mackerel with a poppy seed fennel and white radish salad.”

Get a boost of Omega-3 from oily fish like Herring, Mackerel or Tuna (Rex Features)

Rough, flaky skin

Flaky skin is a great signifier that your diet needs more Omega-3 which can be boosted by upping your intake of oily fish like Herring, Mackerel, Pilchard, Sardine, Salmon and Tuna. If you don’t eat fish though, Earle says that “Flaxseed and rapeseed oils are a useful substitute as they contain a similar essential fatty acid profile.”