You probably already know that eating a variety of foods keeps your skin and hair healthy, but spices also have fantastic aesthetic benefits. Learn how garlic stimulates hair growth, peppers fight wrinkles, and green tea protects you from sun damage.
1. After steeping a chamomile tea bag in boiling water for two to three minutes to release the anti-inflammatory enzymes, put the tea bag in a small container and place it in your refrigerator. Beard burn can be treated with this. Once it has cooled, use the tea bag to provide quick comfort to the red, itchy regions of your face.
2. Cinnamon adds flavor to baked goods and hot drinks and is a rich source of antioxidants that shield the skin from oxidative stress.
The O2 Diet author and dietician Keri Glassman claims that cinnamon has more antioxidants per serving than half a cup of blueberries. Before brewing, add half a teaspoon of cinnamon to your coffee grinds for an immediate antioxidant boost.
3. Despite the fact that it can make your breath bad, garlic is a lifesaver for thin hair. Your hair follicle needs nutrients in order to create strong, healthy hair. Without the right items in your diet, your hair will suffer. Dr. Wu claims that meals high in cysteine, an amino acid included in garlic, can help to revive your follicles. She continues by saying that the strong network of disulfide bonds that bind the cysteine molecules together is what gives your hair its strength.
4. Here is yet another argument in favor of going green: Catechins, often referred to as polyphenols, are widely present in green tea and possess strong anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging activities. Wu claims that applying green tea topically can also thicken the epidermis, speed up the healing of wounds, and inhibit an enzyme that causes uneven skin pigmentation, reducing the appearance of sun spots.
5. Hot peppers like chili, paprika, cayenne, and jalapeo not only stimulate your taste buds, but they also shield your skin. “Vitamins A and C in peppers help fight free radicals, preventing the degradation of collagen to maintain the integrity of our skin,” says Marti Wolfson, the culinary director at the Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, New York.
The colorful peppers have capsaicin as well, which acts as a sunscreen to shield skin from UV radiation damage.
