What Your Skin Is Telling You About Your Health
Joanna Vargas

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Your skin is the largest organ in the body, and in many ways, it’s a barometer for what's happening internally and externally to you every day.

Frequent breakouts:

It may be a sign that your diet needs a change.

Eating veggies with every meal will help your body digest properly and not be forced to use the skin as a filtration system. Avoid processed foods with a lot of added sugar and salt, and try swapping whole wheat for white grains.

Dry/dull complexion:

If you lack an overall glow, your diet likely needs more good fats.

Add avocado to your next salad; it will taste great and hydrate your skin.

Dark under-eye circles:

Do you always look tired, no matter how much you sleep?

Your afternoon latte may be the cause. Topically, caffeine is a common ingredient for banishing bloat, but drinking coffee actually causes poor circulation in your eye area. The result is dark circles and puffy eyes. Replace java with green tea and you’ll look as rested as a day at the beach.

Puffy face/body:

The circulatory system has its own pump -- the heart.

But the lymphatic system, which governs whether or not you look puffy by how effectively it moves lymph fluids through your body, has no pump. Instead, it works through contractions, and sometimes the system can use a little help. A muscle-rousing exercise like running or speed walking can go a long way in helping to banish bloat.

Joanna Vargas is the founder of Joanna Vargas Salon/Skin Care Sanctuary, a Midtown Manhattan salon specializing in antiaging facials and treatments. Vargas' clients include celebrities and supermodels.

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