Dermatology may only be skin deep, but it can certainly have some inner health connections.  In particular, our skin can reflect a lot about our diet.  In an earlier blog I reviewed the horrible effects of sugar (http://facemaster.com/Blog/post/Beauty-Skin-Care-Secret-Sugar-turns-up-the-heat!.aspx) .  But while fruit Pop Tarts may be bad for your skin, fruit itself can be very helpful.

Dr. Nicholas Perricone has long advocated "superfoods" such as the acai berry from the Amazon.  These can help prevent inflammation, which is the basis of virtually all diseases.  (However, be careful of Acai Berry scams, and check the review listed on http://www.theacaiberriesreview.com/).  For those of us who can't find acai berries easily, he also hails blueberries and raspberries as being a great source of antioxidants and vitamins, and these are available most of the year. 

On the skin of the face, inflammation shows up in a number of ways, from zits and other blemishes to a generalized "puffiness".  Anything that counters this in the diet is your face's best friend. 

But be wary of the sugar content of many commercial fruit preparations.  Check out http://www.caloriecount.about.com/ to search for hidden dangers.  For example, Jamba juices sound completely healthy, but they start with a sugar solution before berries get added.  So their Berry Fulfilling Original has 45.0 grams of sugar, much more than the raw berries alone would have.  In general, as is the case with most food preparation, it is much better to make your own.  Here are a few secrets to a good smoothie:

1. Start with Very Ripe Berries: Bartenders who make fresh daquiries will all seek out fruit on the last possible date before they are thrown out.  In other words, just at the stale date, the berries are at their most succulent and tender, and will have the most powerful flavor.  By happy circumstance, they are also sold at a discount, often half price, as they will be worth nothing the next day.  While these may look less than perfect when whole, they are unbelievable in the blender.  Add other ingredients like ice, soy milk, yoghurt, or juice for liquid content.  Also add extra ingredients like flax seeds or flax oils, or egg white for protein.  The mixes  are infinite.  Check sites like www.azdrinkrecipes.com/nonalcoholic, and invent your own!

2.  If you can't find Fresh fruit, try Frozen fruit. Thaw in a bowl overnight in the fridge.  Mix in with fresh, like bananas which are usually available year-round.

Here are a couple of tricks for introducing more solid fruit into your diet:

1. For desserts, try fruit without the added sugar, syrup, or cake.   Instead, try having it with lemon juice.  Sure it might make you pucker on first bite, but the juxtaposition of the natural sweetness and the tart lemon juice is quite a treat for the palate.  Another alternative is to serve under melted chocolate or hot fudge, the very dark variety.  When chocolate is over 75% fat, it has much less sugar.  The regular milk chocholate or syrups are usually very high in sugar.  When in doubt, check labels (for example on frozen fruit packages), or check the internet at sites like www.cspinet.org/reports/sugar.com

2. For main courses, try fresh fruit on your cereals, or in organic applesauce, cottage cheese, or plain yogurt.  Garnish with fruit and even an omelette will look better.

3. For snacks, consider fresh fruit instead of junk foods like potato chips.  And remember avoid canned fruit, as it has loads of sugar in the syrup, or has loads of chemicals if labelled "lite" syrup.

Every athlete knows that diet is one part of the fitness program, while exercise is another.  In terms of the body, good nutrition plus good exercise will go a long way to preserving a youthful appearance.  In the face, the same applies.  The only problem is the exercise part; the gym holds no machines for any of the 22 muscles on each side of the face.  Scrunching your face into contortions only makes surface wrinkles worse.  So the best option to tone your face into a more youthful appearance is a little help from electricity, namely microcurrent.  This tiny flutter of stimulation tones the facial muscles through the skin, and offers greater circulation benefits as can be seen by the rosy complexion that results in just a few minutes.  Tired pale faces look rejuvenated in just a single treatment.  Although temporary, the treaments improve with consistent useage.  The same could be said for diet: the positive antioxidant effects are only temporary, but the body gets more benefits with regular ingestion.

Visit http://www.perriconemd.com/ for more information about Dr. Perricone's diet for younger looking skin. 

Visit www.facemaster.com for more information about facial toning: Suzanne Somer's best beauty secret. 

Dr. Hanson welcomes your comments.  He can also be reached through http://www.peterhansonmd.com/.