Fresh Fall Foods to Nourish Your Skin

Autumn is upon us!

Weather changes can be a tricky transition for our skin. The shift from hot, sunny and humid to cool, dry and windy can have us feeling too oily or too dry or using more products than usual to try and balance everything out. Fall harvest provides a great opportunity to eat the freshest, most delicious local fruits and veggies that are so nourishing for our skin. If we take advantage and get a little inspired during this time, we can slip past the seasonal skin problems virtually unscathed.

This list is local to my area, which is Ontario, Canada. To find out what fruits and veggies are locally grown in your area, check out The Spruce Eats.

Apples

Available locally from July through October, this sweet staple is high in antioxidants, which help reduce free-radical damage caused by sun exposure and pollution. The high vitamin C content helps to produce collagen, which is an essential protein for increasing our skin’s strength and elasticity, and also for replacing dead skin cells. Most of the nutrients are in the apple skin, so opt for organic whenever possible to avoid harmful pesticides and benefit from the increased health merits.

Favourite way to enjoy: Chopped apples in wild rice stuffing or baked with cinnamon.

Other Amazing Benefits: The high fibre content of apples aids in proper digestion, which ensures adequate detoxification and nutrient absorption.

Pumpkins

A pumpkin is more than just a jack-o-lantern. You can eat the flesh and the seeds! Like the sweet potato, pumpkin is also high in beta-carotene and gives you all of the same benefits.

Favourite ways to enjoy: Spiced pumpkin and apple soup, or added to smoothies. But wait, there’s more!

Pumpkin Seeds

Eat the seeds too! Pumpkin seeds are full of zinc, which is great for healing acne and can even be used to reduce psoriasis and dermatitis. The essential fatty acids in pumpkin seeds reduce the inflammation of skin disorders and help the skin to maintain healthy moisture levels. Pumpkins are harvested locally in the autumn until the end of October.

Favourite ways to enjoy: Baked and dusted with Himalayan pink salt or raw, thrown on top of a hearty morning oatmeal.

Other Amazing Benefits: Pumpkin seeds are high in the anti-stress mineral, magnesium, which can alleviate muscle tension, prevent migraines and reduce anxiety and depression.

Sweet Potatoes

Eat them for dinner or dessert, but definitely eat them to encourage smooth, glowing healthy skin. Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A (aka retinol) in the body. Vitamin A is one of the skin’s favourite nutrients, as it helps to treat acne, protects against infection and UV damage, prevents premature aging and can even help to heal scars. It also increases the growth of new skin cells, reducing wrinkles and giving you a dewy, glowing complexion. Grab some fresh local sweet potatoes all year round.

Favourite way to enjoy: Chopped and baked with coconut oil and Grade A maple syrup, or simply steamed and used to top salads and rice bowls.

Other Amazing Benefits: Sweet potatoes are high in potassium, which is important for nerve and muscle communication and for balancing fluid levels, both which prevent muscle cramps.

Brussel Sprouts

I looooove brussel sprouts. Is that weird? These yummy miniature cabbages are in season until late November. Their high vitamin C content leads to an increase in collagen, an important structural protein that gives skin elasticity and youthful radiance. High levels of antioxidants help to reduce UV damage on the cells that could lead to fine lines and sagging skin. Brussel sprouts are also great for cleansing the liver, and generally when the liver is clear and happy, so is the skin. Find brussel sprouts locally until the end of November.

Favourite way to enjoy: Roasted with a bit of coconut oil and pink salt.

Other Amazing Benefits: Brussels contain 270% of your daily value of vitamin K in one cup! Vitamin K helps keep our bones healthy and prevents fractures and conditions related to low bone density, such as osteoporosis.

Beets

Beets are high in skin loving vitamin A, just like their other autumn veggie cousins, mentioned above. These roots can reduce inflammatory skin conditions like acne, eczema and psoriasis due to their content of betaine, a nutrient that helps to fight inflammation. They also contain folate, helping to prevent dry skin and acne and encouraging cell growth. Beets are grown locally throughout fall and winter!

Favourite way to enjoy: Grated raw onto a salad, roasted with a zest of lemon or juiced with a sweet potato and apple for a super skin nourishing tonic.

Other Amazing Benefits: Beets can help increase energy and enhance athletic performance, as they contain dietary nitrates that boost the efficiency of the mitochondria, which are the powerhouses that are in charge of producing energy for our cells.

Cauliflower

The high levels of antioxidants, including Vitamin C and manganese, combat free radicals and act as agents of anti-aging for the skin, keeping it youthful and glowing. Cauliflower also helps increase oxygen levels in the blood, helping to increase the removal of toxins from the body and lessening skin conditions such as acne. You can get fresh local cauliflower until the end of November.

Favourite way to enjoy: Roasted with a bit of coconut oil and drizzled with tahini and lemon. You can also change up your rice and potato situation by having mashed cauliflower or ‘riced’ cauliflower.

Other Amazing Benefits: Cauliflower can help with estrogen dominance conditions such as PMS, endometriosis and uterine fibroids. The sulphur compounds and indole-3-carbinole that cauliflower contains, bind to estrogen and usher it out of the body, leading to more balanced hormones. Aaaaah.

Cranberries

Available from September through November, these little sweet tarts are famous in the autumn. Their phytochemical content gives them mighty anti-inflammatory attributes, reducing the risk of oxidative stress, lessening premature aging and helping to keep skin conditions away.

Favourite way to enjoy: Snack on some trail mix, throw dried cranberries on salad, use fresh ones in smoothies and add real cranberry sauce to everything.

Other Amazing Benefits: Eating cranberries has been shown to promote heart health and reduce the risk of stroke. Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, they help to dilate the blood vessels, increasing blood flow.