Your skin depends on more than the products you apply to it. It also needs vitamins and minerals to make new cells, maintain its protective barrier, produce collagen, and repair damage.
Food should provide much of that nutrition, but meals do not always cover every need consistently. Digestion, medications, food storage, and the way you normally eat can affect what your body receives and absorbs.
I do not see food and supplements as opposites. Food provides protein, fats, fiber, carbohydrates, and plant compounds along with vitamins and minerals. A supplement can cover nutrients your meals are not providing in reliable amounts.
These are seven vitamins and minerals worth paying attention to.
1. Vitamin A
Vitamin A is needed for the growth and maintenance of skin tissue. It helps your body make new cells and also plays a role in immune function.
Adult women need 700 micrograms RAE each day.
You can get preformed vitamin A from eggs, salmon, dairy products, and liver. Sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale, broccoli, winter squash, mangoes, and other orange or dark green produce contain carotenoids that the body can convert into vitamin A.
Vitamin A is also found in many multivitamins and skin supplements. Check the form and amount before taking it separately. Preformed vitamin A can build up in the body, and high amounts can be harmful, especially during pregnancy.
2. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is required for collagen production. Collagen gives the skin structure and is also used when the body repairs wounds.
Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant and helps your body absorb iron from plant foods.
Adult women need 75 milligrams each day.
Good food sources include bell peppers, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, and cantaloupe.
Because vitamin C is water soluble, your body does not store large amounts for long periods. It makes more sense to receive it regularly than to take an occasional large dose. High supplemental amounts can cause stomach discomfort or loose stools.
3. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is involved in immune function and communication between cells. It is also needed for healthy muscles and bones.
Adult women through age 70 need 15 micrograms, or 600 IU, each day.
Very few foods naturally contain much vitamin D. Salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, egg yolks, UV-exposed mushrooms, and fortified milk or yogurt provide some.
Your skin can also make vitamin D from sunlight, but the amount depends on the season, where you live, your age, time spent indoors, sunscreen use, and skin tone. Melanin reduces vitamin D production from sunlight, which makes this nutrient especially important for women with deeper skin tones.
Vitamin D is one nutrient many women need to supplement. A blood test is the only reliable way to know your level. Because vitamin D is fat soluble, take it with a meal that contains fat. Avoid choosing a very high dose simply because it is available.
4. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that helps protect cells from oxidative damage. It also takes part in immune function.
Adults need 15 milligrams each day.
Almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, hazelnuts, avocado, spinach, broccoli, and plant oils are useful sources. Nuts, seeds, oils, and avocado already contain the fat needed to absorb vitamin E.
Many multivitamins and skin supplements include vitamin E. Check the amount before adding a separate product. High-dose vitamin E supplements can interfere with normal blood clotting, so more is not automatically better.
5. Niacin
Niacin is vitamin B3. Your cells use it to turn food into energy, and it is needed for normal cell development and function.
Adult women need 14 milligrams of niacin equivalents each day.
Niacin is found in chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, beef, pork, peanuts, beans, lentils, whole grains, mushrooms, and potatoes. Your body can also make some niacin from tryptophan, an amino acid found in protein foods.
Most multivitamins and B-complex supplements already contain niacin. Check those labels before taking it separately. High supplemental amounts of nicotinic acid can cause intense flushing, and very high doses can affect the liver.
6. Zinc
Zinc is needed for cell growth, protein production, immune function, and wound repair. These are all important when the skin is recovering from an inflamed blemish.
Adult women need 8 milligrams each day.
Oysters contain a large amount of zinc. Other sources include beef, chicken, turkey, fish, crab, eggs, dairy products, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
Zinc is often included in supplements made for acne-prone skin, but the amount matters. Taking too much for an extended period can lower copper levels, cause nausea, and interfere with normal immune function.
The adult upper limit is 40 milligrams a day from food, supplements, and medications combined. Check whether zinc appears in more than one product before adding the amounts together.
7. Selenium
Selenium is a trace mineral, which means your body needs only a small amount. It is used to make proteins that protect cells from oxidative damage and is also needed for normal thyroid function.
Adult women need 55 micrograms each day.
Fish, shrimp, tuna, salmon, chicken, turkey, beef, eggs, dairy products, beans, lentils, whole grains, and nuts provide selenium.
The amount in plant foods depends partly on the soil where they were grown, so the same food can contain different amounts.
Brazil nuts are especially concentrated. One nut can provide more than an entire day’s need, so eating several every day while also taking a selenium supplement can push your intake too high.
Selenium is already included in many multivitamins and thyroid supplements. Check your labels before taking it separately.
Look at Food and Supplements Together
You do not have to count every nutrient at every meal. Many foods provide several of them at once.
Eggs contain vitamin A, vitamin D, niacin, zinc, and selenium. Salmon provides vitamin A, vitamin D, niacin, zinc, and selenium. Sweet potatoes, broccoli, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and leafy greens add several more.
Eating a wider range of foods gives you a better chance of covering your needs, but I still believe a well-chosen supplement makes sense for many women. Food quality, digestion, and day-to-day eating habits are not always consistent.
A multivitamin may already contain vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, niacin, zinc, and selenium. Vitamin D may need separate attention depending on the amount in the multivitamin and your actual level.
Read every supplement label so you know what you are already taking. A multivitamin, immune supplement, skin supplement, and separate vitamin can contain many of the same nutrients.
Use food to provide as much as you reasonably can. Then use supplements to cover what your meals are not providing consistently, without taking the same nutrient from several products at once.
