Cady: I used to think there was just fat and skinny. But apparently there’s lots of things that can be wrong on your body.
Gretchen: My hairline is so weird.
Regina: My pores are huge.
Karen: My nail beds suck.
Cady: I have really bad breath in the morning.
Karen: Ew!
We are our own worst critic. Plenty of us have had conversations like the one above between Cady, Gretchen, Regina and Karen from “Mean Girls.” Let’s be honest, it’s not fetch to have pimples.
When Regina George went on the all-cranberry juice diet, her boyfriend, Aaron Samuels, was quick to point out the high sugar content and cautioned her of the side effects of maintaining a diet that is solely based on sugar intake. Why? Because you are what you eat. Rebecca Briggs, registered dietitian of the Zorn Dining Commons, warned that students need to keep in mind how the body operates when they ingest food. “One of the things to keep in mind when you’re thinking of your skin is to remember that your body really works from the inside out. So what you put in is really what you get out of it, which translates into eating healthy, limiting alcohol and not smoking,” Briggs said.
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Focusing on the types of food consumed can allow students to work towards achieving the complexion they desire. Briggs highlighted fruits and vegetables as foods rich in antioxidants and vitamins A,C, and E, which are healthy for your skin.
Briggs stated, “The basic message is if you’re eating lots of colorful foods, you’re getting those. That really is the simple tip to pass along to people that eating lots of color, eating lots of fruits and vegetables is a great way to protect your skin, because then you’re going to get those antioxidants and antioxidant vitamins A,C, and E,” she continued, “Certainly there’s antioxidants in other foods besides fruits and vegetables which is why having a general healthy balanced diet that includes some nuts and seeds, includes protein sources that you’re going to make sure you’re getting everything you need to support your skin.” What many don’t realize is that our skin is an organ and like most organs, our skin needs the fundamentals in order to survive. “To think about the fact that you have to protect it and the less that you expose it to initially obviously the longer it’s going to last for you–the more it can bounce back, the easier it is to recover,” Briggs explained. Remembering what our skin needs in order to stay healthy and balanced will allow us to not only feel healthier, but appear healthy as well. That’s fetch. Virginia Mariolo, a junior, said in order for her to maintain a healthier appearance, she avoids greasy and oily foods.
“I can feel my skin getting oily. I have naturally oily skin and that (eating greasy foods) exacerbates it,” Mariolo said. In order to combat the greasy foods, Mariolo said she washes her face compulsively; however, in order to get the results you desire it is best that you stay away from foods that you think have the tendency to cause irritation or imperfections.
In regard to the idea that greasy foods may be the instigator for some individual’s greasy skin, Briggs said, “My tendency would be to say not specifically, but if you think about it, if a healthy diet supports healthy skin, a greasy diet isn’t healthy, and it’s not going to reflect in your skin the way you want it to.”
It’s not the same for everyone, so what might irritate one person’s skin may not have the same effect on another’s. For freshman Julie Cerbone, eating chocolate is what causes her skin to become inflamed. Cerbone said that when she eats chocolate and other greasy foods she has noticed that she tends to break out around her mouth. Cerbone shared, “If my skin breaks out it’s because I’m eating too much chocolate.”
However, for Sarah Sherr, eating chocolate is not her problem. Sherr makes sure that she sticks to a healthy and balanced diet, consisting of dried fruits and salads, and this particular diet affects her skin in a positive way. “My skin is never that bad,” Sherr said.
Part of the reason Sherr maintains an even complexion is because fruits possess a high water content. In this case, hydration is key in maintaining a flawless complexion. Briggs suggests approximately eight cups of water per day.
She said, “Water helps to keep things flushed out, and your body needs water to fight infection and to stay healthy.”
If your goal is to maintain the look of The Plastics, avoid greasy foods, sugar, and alcohol, because we know “it’s better to be in The Plastics hating life than to not be in at all.” We all know Gretchen’s hair is so big because it’s full of secrets–secrets to keeping your complexion clear. Gretchen probably already knows to avoid excessive alcohol intake. Briggs knows this too, and she said, “If your body is constantly trying to eliminate the toxin of alcohol, and your skin plays the role of trying to eliminate toxins, then it would have an impact.” As always, exercise and relaxation hold the keys to your health, too, and a rested body and mind looks better than a tired ones.
“Mean Girls” summed it up best: “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George’s life definitely didn’t make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.” Let’s start with solving your skin problems, first.
Julie Conlon can be contacted at
jconlon@keene-equinox.com
Sam Norton can be contacted at
kconlon@keene-equinox.com