Foods & Drinks for Healthy Skin in Teens

Healthy skin begins on the inside. Eating foods rich in niacin, riboflavin, copper and zinc can help prevent the onset of a number of skin conditions. Help your teen maintain her rosy glow by providing plenty of healthy fruits and vegetables, as well as smoothies and juices blended from the same ingredients. Juicing fruits and vegetables in their raw form packs a bigger health punch than buying them off the shelf.

  1. Vitamin B for Acne Prevention

    • Vitamin B works in the body to help repair skin tissue and stave off conditions such as acne and rosacea. Vitamin B3, also called niacin, acts as an anti-inflammatory to soothe redness and swelling and help promote a healthy glow. Riboflavin, or B2, works to restore and help regenerate damaged skin. Foods rich in vitamin B include tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, egg yolks, nuts, raisins and avocados. Encourage your teen to eat several servings daily to achieve her recommended daily allowances.

    Fight Free Radicals with Vitamin A

    • Vitamin A is an antioxidant, meaning it works against the oxidation processes that cause disease and premature aging. While your teen probably isn't thinking much about age spots and wrinkles these days, she can still benefit from the effects of vitamin A. Foods rich in vitamin A help reduce the effects of everyday living in a less-than-perfect world by rebuilding damaged skin cells. Serve your teen healthy helpings of leafy greens, pumpkin, peaches, peas, red bell peppers, and if she's brave enough, toss a little liver into the mix.

    Benefits of Zinc, Vitamin C and Protein

    • Zinc, when utilized in conjunction with vitamin C, boosts the elastin levels in skin, helping it appear supple and youthful. Red meats, fish, and poultry are the best food sources of zinc. Other foods, such as pecans, turnips, ginger, peanuts and whole wheat grain, contain zinc, but the body absorbs zinc best when it's paired with a source of protein. The recommended daily allowance of zinc for teens ranges between 8 mg and 11 mg daily, depending upon age. Too much zinc can lead to copper deficiency.

    Copper for Healthy Color

    • Eating a baked potato, skin-on, can provide your teen with a beneficial helping of copper, a mineral that aids in the body's production of melanin -- the pigment that colors skin, hair and eyes. Without proper levels of copper, skin can turn gray or dull. Shellfish, beans, cocoa, prunes, black pepper, dark leafy greens and organ meats such as liver and kidney are all good dietary sources of copper.

    The Importance of Water

    • You've heard the recommendation of 8 glasses of water daily to improve health. The same goes for the appearance of your teen's skin. Skin is an organ that needs water to function properly. Without it, the body dehydrates, causing dry, itchy skin, wrinkles and premature aging. Meeting her daily recommendation of water is one of the best ways your teen can look and feel better.

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