The Best Foods for Glowing Skin: A Functional Medicine Doctor Explains

The Best Foods for Glowing Skin: A Functional Medicine Doctor Explains

When it comes to glowing, healthy skin, many people spend hundreds of dollars on creams and serums. But what you put on your plate may be just as important as what you put on your skin.

The good news is that research suggests your diet can influence skin hydration, wrinkles, inflammation, skin barrier function, and even how well your skin repairs itself. While no single food can give you perfect skin overnight, certain dietary patterns consistently support healthier, more resilient skin (Ng et al., 2025; Liang et al., 2026; Ahmed & Mikail, 2024).

Let’s take a look at what science says.

1. Eat Plenty of Colourful Plant Foods

If there is one dietary habit that consistently benefits your skin, it’s eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Colourful plant foods are rich in vitamin C, carotenoids, and polyphenols. These natural compounds help protect your skin from damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays, pollution, and normal aging. They also help reduce inflammation and support your body’s natural collagen production (Fam et al., 2021; Tranchida et al., 2025).

Some excellent choices include:

• Berries
• Citrus fruits
• Kiwi
• Leafy greens
• Bell peppers
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Tomatoes

The more colours you eat throughout the day, the wider variety of protective plant compounds you’ll consume.

2. Healthy Fats Help Keep Skin Soft and Strong

Your skin is surrounded by a protective barrier that helps lock moisture in and keeps irritants out. Healthy fats are important building blocks for this barrier.

Research consistently links diets rich in olive oil, nuts, seeds, legumes, and omega-3-rich fish with healthier skin and lower levels of inflammation (Fam et al., 2021; Annunziata et al., 2025; Boelsma et al., 2001).

Try including foods such as:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Chia seeds
• Flaxseeds
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Mackerel

These foods provide healthy fats that may improve skin hydration and help reduce inflammatory skin conditions.

3. Protein Is Essential for Skin Repair

Your skin is constantly renewing itself. Every day your body replaces damaged skin cells and repairs tiny injuries caused by sunlight, pollution, and normal wear and tear.

To do this, your body needs enough protein.

Protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks used to make collagen, elastin, enzymes, and new skin cells. Without enough protein, wound healing may slow and skin repair can become less efficient (Cao et al., 2020; Ryczaj et al., 2025).

Good protein choices include:

• Fish
• Seafood
• Poultry
• Eggs
• Greek yogurt (with no additives or sugar)
• Beans
• Lentils
• Tofu
• Tempeh
• Edamame

Researchers believe that getting enough total protein is likely more important than choosing one specific protein source, although studies directly comparing different protein foods for skin health are still limited (Min et al., 2024). However, I recommend being cautious with ultra-processed high-protein foods. Many contain additives such as emulsifiers, flavourings and preservatives, and diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked with increased inflammation and a higher risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Whenever possible, choose minimally processed, whole-food sources of protein instead.

4. Collagen Supplements Have the Strongest Research

Collagen is the main structural protein found in your skin. As we age, natural collagen production gradually declines, contributing to wrinkles and loss of skin firmness.

Among all dietary supplements studied for skin aging, collagen peptides currently have the strongest scientific evidence.

A large review of 61 clinical studies found that collagen supplementation significantly improved skin hydration while reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Other studies also report improvements in skin elasticity and overall skin smoothness (Ng et al., 2025; Assaf & Kelly, 2024).

Scientists believe collagen peptides are broken down into small pieces that are easily absorbed and may stimulate the skin’s collagen-producing cells while reducing inflammation and oxidative stress (Cao et al., 2020).

If you’d like to learn more about whether bone broth can replace collagen supplements, be sure to check out my video comparing collagen peptides and bone broth. I dive into the science behind both options, explain which has the stronger evidence for supporting skin health, and help you decide which may be the better choice for your goals.

5. There Is No Single “Superfood”

Many products claim that one special food can transform your skin.

Unfortunately, that’s not how skin biology works.

Your skin depends on many nutrients working together, including:

• Protein
• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Healthy fats
• Antioxidants
• Iron
• Copper
• Selenium

Instead of chasing one miracle food, research consistently supports eating an overall dietary pattern rich in whole, minimally processed foods (Ahmed & Mikail, 2024; Liang et al., 2026).

What About Plant-Based Diets?

The research doesn’t suggest that everyone needs to follow a plant-based diet for healthy skin. Instead, the strongest evidence supports eating a diet rich in plant foods, especially colourful vegetables, fruits, herbs, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and extra virgin olive oil. These foods provide a wide variety of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that help protect the skin from inflammation, oxidative stress, and premature aging (Fam et al., 2021; Min et al., 2024).

At the same time, your skin also needs adequate protein to continually repair itself and produce collagen. This can be more challenging on a strictly plant-based diet because collagen is found only in animal foods, and some people may find it harder to consume enough high-quality protein. As a result, individuals following vegetarian or vegan diets may benefit from paying closer attention to their protein intake and, in some cases, may wish to consider protein or collagen-supporting supplements.

In addition to collagen and protein, anyone following a carnivore, omnivore, vegetarian or vegan diet should also ensure they are getting enough:

• Choline
• Silica
• Vitamin B12
• Iron
• Zinc

These nutrients play important roles in skin repair, wound healing, and collagen production (Min et al., 2024).

The Bottom Line

Healthy skin isn’t built by one magic food. It develops from consistently nourishing your body with a wide variety of whole, minimally processed foods.

The strongest research supports eating a diet rich in colourful plant foods, including vegetables, fruits, herbs, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil. At the same time, getting enough high-quality protein is essential to provide the building blocks your body needs to repair skin and produce collagen. For some people, collagen peptides may offer additional benefits, particularly for improving skin hydration and reducing wrinkles, as they currently have the strongest direct clinical evidence among dietary supplements for skin health (Ng et al., 2025; Assaf & Kelly, 2024).

Rather than focusing on a single “superfood” or a specific dietary label, aim for a balanced eating pattern that is rich in colourful plant foods while providing adequate protein and other key nutrients to support healthy, resilient skin from the inside out.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you’re ready to explore both the inside-out and outside-in approach to skin health, I’m creating a full video series for you:

👉 Skin Health: Inside-Out & Outside-In Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-Jz-7U8Hy6rhQ_mTTk1Hur_pfEmw4jYn

This series walks you through practical, evidence-informed strategies to support your skin at the root level.