Have you been under the radar lately? Well, I just had the flu; It was tough, but it made me check my diet to make sure that I was eating the right food. I also revisited my cheat sheet on vitamins that support both my health and skin.   Vitamins are essential for a great healthy and radiant skin; it all begins with our diet!
 
So, I wanted to share with you my top 8 vitamins and how to get these vitamins naturally. The two best sources of vitamins are organic vegetables and fruits. These sources of vitamins will also help you with natural skin care as well.
 
Here are the top 8 vitamins your skin needs to be healthy:

#1 - Vitamin A for Skin Strengthening
Vitamin A has a high content in antioxidant that can be great to treat wrinkles and to soothe skin irritations. It is a very important vitamin for healthy vision, neurological function, and healthy skin. A diet that is high in vitamin A can help slow down aging naturally. This is a great vitamin to have in your diet for natural skin care from inside.
You can find this vitamin in mangoes, spinach, carrots, potatoes, eggs, milk, liver, carrots, yellow or orange vegetables such as squash.
 
Watch out your vitamin A intake. If you are plan to take Vitamin A supplements, please take lower doses and consult your doctor. High doses of Vitamin A can be toxic; check with your doctor if you plan to take Vitamin A supplements.
 
#2 – Probiotics for Skin Clearing
We hear a lot about probiotics and their benefits for our guts’ health. Probiotics are bacteria that are in your digestive system and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. Yes, probiotics are essential for your digestive health, but did know that there is a direct link between the health of your GI track and your skin. Inflamed skin can be due to the malfunction of your gut. L. casei  is a specific strain of probiotic that has been shown to help reduce antigen-specific skin inflammation.
 
You can find probiotic in Kefir, sake, kimchi, kombucha, miso, yogurt, Sauerkraut
Don’t have access to these sources of probiotics? My favorite probiotic supplement is the Hyperbiotics PRO-15 Probiotics. I also use the Hyperbiotics Organic Prebiotic Powder for my smoothies.
 
#3 - Vitamin C To Support Collagen Production
 One of the most important benefits of vitamin C is that it helps create collagen organically, which helps you with your skin firmness. In addition, vitamin C also protects your skin from free radical damage since it is a powerful antioxidant.
You can find this vitamin in brussels sprouts, tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, bell peppers, citrus fruit, among others.

#4 - Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) aka Folate for Glowing Skin
Another type of vitamin B, Folic Acid heavily support youthful, glowing, healthy skin because of its high content of antioxidants. Folic Acid is the synthetic form of folate that is usually found in supplement. Folate is the form you find in food sources like fruits and vegetables.
 You can find folate in spinach, black-eyed peas, asparagus, beef liver, brussels sprouts, avocado
 
 #5 - Vitamin E to Protect Your Skin
 This is one of the most powerful vitamins you can have. Besides protecting your skin from free radical damage, it is antioxidant, and it's perfect to get rid of acne. In addition, and according to Harvard Health Publications, when you take a lot of vitamin E, it will help store vitamin A at the same time.
 You can find this vitamin in vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, among others.
 
#6: Vitamin D To Fight Infections
 Known as the "sunshine vitamin", vitamin D is crucial in fighting infections. So, if you don't leave in an area where you get enough sun, you need to ensure that you look for fortified products.
 You can find vitamin D in eggs, fish, mushrooms, breakfast cereals, milk, among others.
 
#7: Vitamin K to Help with Skin Imperfections
Vitamin K is extremely important since its deficiency can lead to severe health problems. After all, your blood just can't coagulate without this vitamin. When you notice that you are getting some spider veins or dark circles on your skin, this may mean that you have circulatory problems and these may be related to the lack of this vitamin. Vitamin K is extremely powerful reducing scars skin imperfections as well as healing bruises and wounds.
You can find vitamin K in milk, kale, liver, cabbage, among others.
 
#8 Omega 3 for Hydrating Skin
Omega 3 fatty acids are so important to the skin health; they are essential for a healthy cell membrane. Healthy cell membrane actually directly impacts the ability of the skin to retain water and stay soft and wrinkle-free. Omega 3 Fatty Acids also help fight skin inflammation.
Find omega 3 in Alaskan salmon, walnuts, flaxseed, and olive oil
 
Vitamins are essential for our health and our skin and there are many ways we can use our diet to support a beautiful skin and great health!!

Do you think that eating organic food is too expensive? Many people who are looking to improve diet by eating more organic foods still believe that it will cost  them a fortune. However, and fortunately, this is no longer true.  The reality is that even if you have a small budget, say $100 to $150 a week, you are still able to eat organic foods. So, how do you manage to do that?

Here are 5 tips and tricks that will help you with the process:

Tip #2: Buy your Organic Meat or Fish Separately and Only on Sales and in Bulk
 Meat and fish can quickly become one of the most expensive items on your shopping list. To save, buy meat or fish on sale and create your meal plan around the type of meat or fish you already have. There is always some type of organic meats and/or fish on sale at Whole Foods. Buy that type of meats or fish in bulk and store it in the freezer until you need to cook it. You can prepackage the it for each meal before freezing it. For instance, in my family, we buy organic chicken in bulk and put 6 pieces of chicken in a storage container for each meal. Shopping that way saves us a lot of money! Also, not eating meat every day has been great for us. We notice that we feel better overall. You could skip meat for few dinners. Of course, if you are vegan, you already saving a lot.

Tip #3: Make Your Meals Simple:
When you are just starting eating organic foods, you may have the tendency to use specialty or an excess of ingredients. However, the truth is that most of these ingredients can be easily replaced by more common ones that you usually have at home. I mean buying specialty ingredients once a month won’t break the bank. Ingredients that are commonly found are just less expensive.

Here are few recipes you might want to try. If you are vegan, here are few plant-based easy recipes . If you eat meat, there are several easy organic healthy recipes. With our busy lifestyles, making simple meals is essential if we want to eat  an healthy diet. Why? We are busy and don’t have time to cook these complicated recipes, so it becomes so easy to eat junk food if there is nothing already cooked. Make it simple and stay healthy!

Tip #4: Manage your grocery bill at Specialty Stores or Non-Specialty Stores
One of the reasons why so many people still believe it is not possible to eat organic with a low budget is because they only know specialty stores. However, and as we already mentioned, this is no longer the case. Many big stores, including Costco and Sam’s Club, now have a wide selection of organic foods. In addition, you should also check local grocery stores near you that sell organic foods. Make sure that you take note of the prices and then choose the more affordable options. However, if you like shopping at Whole Foods, it is possible to eat on a budget too. Check this article “How 4 People Would Spend $30 a Week at Whole Foods” from Bon Appetit. I also recommend Trader Joes; I love this store because they have a large selection product. I found that the produce at Trader Joe’s can be cheaper than other places. You might find the article from Self very interesting – “My $40 Trader Joe's Shopping List for a Week of Healthy Meals”

Tip #5: Snacks - Make Your Own Snacks or Buy them on deals
 If you take a closer look at your grocery store bill, you will notice that you tend to pay a lot of money just for snacks. And when you are turning to organic foods and you have a limited budget, it is far wiser to save this amount and use it on organic foods instead. So, it's time to start making your snacks at home.

Country Living has these amazing homemade healthy snack recipes that you can do over the weekend and eat them during the week. This can be a fun to do with the little ones as well. One of the things you can do to save time is to double or triple the recipe of what you're doing and just freeze the rest.
Here are my tips for shopping on eating organic on a budget!!

Women have so much up their sleeves that self-care tends to drop to  the bottom of their to-do list. Not taking adequate care of yourself can deteriorate the quality of your life. You feel stressed all the time and this can create burnout or depression. 

Do you remember times when you were looking at your to-do list and you became so overwhelmed and stressed out? Your energy level was so low that you thought you couldn't do it! You got your 4th cup of coffee and forced yourself into doing the 10th task on your list; the results turned out not so great and you felt terrible about yourself and so inadequate.  Well, we all felt that way at some point, but there is a another way to do this!

We have compiled a list of 10 self-care practices that would be useful. You could try to incorporate one or several of these practices in your daily lives; they will help make your busy days and weeks less stressful and easier to handle.

1. Energize your Body
Performing routine office task with diligence and managing your house can consume all of your energy; It is essential to find the time in your busy schedule to energize your body. Energizing your body will help you crush your to-do lists so much faster.
Here are a few ways you could energize your body:

• Stand up at your desk for five minutes while quickly checking your emails.
• Take a 6-minute break - step out of your office for a minute or two and take five deep breathes slowly before going back to your desk; it sounds like a small thing but imagine doing this two or three times per day; it will add up.
• Go to the nearest park for a walk. You can also take your kids along and spend some quality time with them. It will refresh your body and mind to do better on your next tasks.

2. Mini Meditations
Mini-meditations are very useful and can be done in less than two minutes; they help us hit the pause button and reset. Doing mini-meditations can quickly become an healthy habit that can be make any crazy busy lifestlye stress-free. You could practice mini-meditations at your desk or at home. They help get rid of all the stress that our body has accumulated throughout the day. There are several meditation apps out there and my favorite one is Headspace. Click here to see this 2-minute mini-meditation from Headspace.

3. Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking plenty of water will not only help you feel better, it will also bring a glow to your skin and strengthen your immune system. Drinking water is as essential as breathing; it helps get rid of toxins that accumulate in our body. If you experience headaches throughout the day, try drinking some water; you might be dehydrated.  Drinking two full glasses of water as soon as you wake up can help you with your daily water intake.

4. Read One of your Favorite Book 
Take 5 minutes or more to read one of your favorite book or a magazine you enjoy.
It will help refresh your mind. We are all going digital but there is something to say about flipping the page of our favorite books or magazines.  It engages all our senses and forces us to fully present in the moment to do something we really enjoy. If we make reading a daily habit, we will be less stressed and happier overall.

5. Write, Write, Write in Your Journal
All you need is a simple notebook. You can find one at your local drugstore or Amazon. Writing in your journal is essential; there are so many mental benefits of journaling. Writing the strong emotions we experienced throughout the day or the week helps us in two ways: It helps us release the tensions that strong emotions can create in us and it helps us remember the great moments we experienced.

If you are worried that someone might find out what you wrote, still write it down and throw it away to just release your emotions; it can be so relaxing for our mind. Try the happiness planners if you are looking for more elaborate and sophisticated journals. They are designed to help you remember to smell the roses every day and are so inspirational.​