Fragrantly Beautiful

BEAUTY ON A PLATE

By Maria Casey

Change cellulite cream for goji berries

AS well as fighting orange-peel skin, this super fruit is also thought to prevent wrinkles, boost your sex life and even combat cancer. The small red berries, which taste like a cross between cranberries and cherries are a favourite of Madonna and Kate Moss. They're packed with skin-boosting antioxidants, containing an astonishing amount of vitamin C and five times more iron than a steak. Snack on them, sprinkle over cereal or add to smoothies.

They're available from health stores and some Tesco branches from this week.

OR TRY: Drinking plenty of water to flush out toxins. Add torn up dandelion leaves to your salad because this speeds up water release. Or do a "Cindy Crawford" - she rubs used ground coffee beans into her thighs every morning to help banish the bumps.

Swap skin-brightening cream for salmon
NUTRITIONIST Fiona Hunter advises: "Have grilled salmon a few times a week - it's packed full of skin-plumping Omega-3 oils and restores volume to sagging skin."

Others agree - the anti-ageing Perricone Diet, developed at Yale University in the US, advocates eating regular amounts of oily fish to repair damaged skin cells. Sex And The City's Kim Cattrall swears by it.

OR TRY: Apricots - especially if you've overdone the sunbathing. Dried or fresh, they're packed full of lutein, which helps safeguard skin from the ravages of the sun. Other good sources of lutein include black grapes and kiwi fruit.

Trade in your eye drops for spinach
WHETHER it's due to sitting too long in front of your computer, a late night or too much sun, chances are your eyes sometimes sting and lack their sparkle - and few things age you faster than that

Spinach is loaded with vitamin C and helps to reduce inflammation and under-eye puffiness, so use it in salads and sarnies.

OR TRY: Carrots - your granny was right, they are good for your eyes. They won't help you see in the dark, but they do contain lots of beta-carotene, which your body converts to anti-ageing vitamin A.

Switch anti-wrinkle cream for a sprinkling of sunflower seeds
"THEY'RE full of vitamin E, which reduces ageing free radicals," says Brigid McKevith from the British Nutrition Foundation. Sprinkle sunflower seeds over your breakfast cereal, keep them handy to snack on, or add them to stirfries and salads.

OR TRY: Wholegrain cereals - they have been shown to have wrinkle-busting qualities. For a double anti-ageing whammy, add some sunflower seeds.

Exchange firming body lotion for beef
IF you want to shape up a flabby tummy, tuck into a beef sarnie. According to a study published in the Journal of The American College of Nutrition, filling up on zinc-rich foods such as beef increases the amount of leptin in your body. This is the hormone responsible for increasing your energy expenditure - which means you burn more calories - and decreasing your appetite.

OR TRY: A pot of yoghurt. Nutritionists at the University of Tennessee discovered that women who ate a pot of yoghurt a day lost weight faster than those who didn't. Better still, they lost weight around their middle.

"Dairy often gets a bad press, but as part of a balanced diet it can help you lose weight," says dietitian Juliette Kellow. "Go easy on the high-fat stuff - instead opt for lowfat yoghurts, skimmed milk and reduced-fat cheese."

Forget nail oil and get into sardines
AS well as being good for your skin, eating oily fish will strengthen your nails and boost their growth. So ditch your weekly manicure and top up your intake of tuna, salmon, mackerel and sardines instead - they're all great sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

OR TRY: Zinc-rich foods including shellfish, red meat and pumpkin seeds. White marks on your nails could be a sign that you're lacking in this mineral.

Ditch hair serum for avocados
"THEY'RE a great source of healthy monounsaturated fat," says Ian Marber, author of the Food Doctor books. "As well as reducing the bad types of cholesterol in your body, they're full of vitamin E and can help to maintain healthy skin and hair."

Slice up your avocados and add them to salads or sandwiches. They are also delicious mashed as a topping for toast.

OR TRY: Soya. Upping your intake of protein-rich foods such as peas, beans, nuts and soya will give you strong, glossy locks. Try soya in the form of tofu (great in salads and stir-fries) or switch to soya milk.

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posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 5:42 PM