Why? Because wrinkles hate lean protein!
Who would have thought that what we eat plays an important role in combating loose, sagging skin? But it does. At our recent media event for beauty and health journalists, Dr. Terence Tan clears the air on facial firming myths. He also reveals the diet strategies, skincare products, and treatments that are part of his facial firming formula. The aim? To help us separate fact from fiction so that we don’t spend money on products that we don’t need or which don’t work.
We are what we eat
Nutrients in our food intake play a big role in our journey to firmer skin. The ones that we must pay more attention to include:
Proteins: Eat your tofu and fish
Collagen is a structural protein found mainly in the skin. Residing within our body’s biggest organ, collagen is the most important element for a firm and healthy skin. As collagen accounts for almost 30% of our body’s protein content, getting enough protein from lean protein sources like tofu and fish is essential for collagen production and preservation.
(Collagen is produced by linking multiple smaller protein molecules called peptides. He also recommends a peptide boosting high protein diet supplemented by skin products containing a variety of different collagen boosting peptide.)
Calcium: Finish your milk!
A little-known fact is that wrinkles, folds, and loose skin that form on our face are partly due to bone resorption. Bone resorption is the process in which bone mass is reduced as one age, much like how older individuals get osteoporosis.
The smaller skull combined with looser collagen depleted skin, which drapes on the skull, leads to sagging skin and wrinkle formation. That is why the journey to firmer skin is to take the appropriate dietary allowance of calcium daily.
Iron: Keep the iron pumping
Iron is a key facilitator in the production of collagen and a constituent of haemoglobin within our red blood cells. The delivery of oxygen is key to skin metabolism and healthy skin. Statistics from the World Health Organisation show that worldwide iron deficiency anaemia is greater than 50% and that the incidence in Singapore is between 10-18%.
So eating the right amount of iron-rich foods in our daily diet is critical for skin metabolism and collagen production
Thank you Cleo Singapore, Elle Singapore, Singapore Women’s Weekly, and Shape Singapore for coming to our event!
(This is Part 1 of Dr. Terence Tan’s Firming Formula. Stay tuned for Part 2, which touches on optimising skincare products for firmer skin.)
The use of these treatments/products is dependent on the clinical assessment and judgement of a medical professional. Please consult a medical doctor for an informed discussion on the use of this treatment/product.
