Believe it or not, your skin is the biggest organ of the human body. The principle purpose of your skin is to protect your body from foreign agents. The skin is the first line of defense against disease and infection. It is also the skin that gives us protection against the sun, and this is why skin care is so important!

However, it is also the skin that first betrays the effects of aging. Skin ailments such as psoriasis or dermatitis can be irritating and make our lives miserable. While we never needed things like wrinkle creams or moisturizers when we were younger and our skin more resilient, the fact is that some degree of skin care is inevitable as we age.

But skin care treatment is also necessary because of factors unrelated to our aging skin. Dry skin is caused by a number of conditions and therefore its treatment options will depend on the actual cause. Here are some causes of dry skin:

Medication Side Effects

As a society, we have increasingly become dependent on medication for things like high blood pressure, tension headaches, and even depression. Skin care treatment for dryness may very well be necessary due to some side effect of your medication for a completely unrelated condition. For this reason, you always want to monitor any potential skin irritation immediately after starting any new medication. If you already have dry skin and can’t remember whether or not it was a problem before starting your medication, you may need to consult with your physician and discuss an alternative medication in order to rule out side effects as the cause of your dry skin.

Poor Nutrition

Skin care problems are often the result of poor nutrition. Our bodies require a delicate balance of nutrients in order to keep everything functioning properly, especially the skin. Vegetarians and vegans often run into dry skin issues as a result of not consuming enough animal fats in their diet. A vitamin B12 deficiency will cause your oil glands (sebaceous glands) to function improperly, generally leading to acne.

Basically, any attempt to address a skin care issue (be it oily, dry, or even itchy skin) should begin with a close look at diet. Dermatologists can best assess potential diet-related skin care problems and recommend corrective measures to naturally restore skin vitality. However, here are some foods to avoid where possible in order to keep your skin as healthy as possible:

• fried foods (chicken, French fries) • processed sugars • caffeine, coffee, tea, soft drinks • high fat dairy products like milk or cheese (consuming low fat varieties of milk and cheese may not be great, but they are better for your skin!)

Now the best thing that you can ingest for improved skin care is water. That’s right, water. Water naturally removes toxins from your body—so the more you drink of it, the purer your body will be. Drinking lots of water is especially good for people with acne problems and it will also help reduce the onset of wrinkles.

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