The Beauty Diet by Lisa Drayer

and the other group drank a bottle of oolong tea with 22 milligrams of catechins. Other elements in their diets were kept constant. After three months, the study showed that those who drank the green tea extract lost more weight (5.3 pounds vs. 2.9 pounds) and experienced a significantly greater decrease in body mass index (BMI), waist size, and total body fat. Also, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol went down in the participants who drank the green tea extract. Researchers concluded that catechins in green tea not only help burn calories and lower LDL cholesterol but may also help reduce body fat.
    Now get ready to learn about feeding your features for more beautiful skin, hair, nails, teeth, and eyes.

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Nutrition for Smooth, Glowing, Clear, Taut Skin
    Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson
    Since beauty is my business, I'm always on the lookout for the latest trends in fashion and cosmetics. There are worse jobs than reading glossy magazines and noting Hollywood trends to see what's new! I love watching the Oscars with my friends, since they all have completely different tastes and opinions and their discussions get very lively. But while everyone else is critiquing the gowns and shoes and jewelry, I am looking at the stars' flawless skin and expert makeup. These are people who
really
know how to look good.Their interest in beauty isn't just personal, it's professional. A great dress may get them attention on the red carpet, but a gorgeous complexion will get them the close-up when the cameras are rolling.
    Do you have to be a celebrity to have movie star skin? Absolutely not! Gwyneth Paltrow may get exfoliating facial scrubs made with diamonds, but I can tell you how to boost the circulation to your skin by eating the right radiance-inducing foods. Scarlett Johansson was rumored to have
three
people carrying umbrellas to shield her from the sun, but I can show you how to protect your skin with an antioxidant-rich diet. The best beauty secret isn't a secret at all: when you eat well, you create star-quality skin from the inside out.
You Were Born with Beautiful Skin
    Once upon a time you had plump little cheeks and super-soft skin that lifted effortlessly into your baby smiles. When you woke up from a nap, your skin would be glowing and moist and irresistibly kissable. Come on, it wasn't that long ago!
    Being skin is hard work, so over the years your skin has lost some of the suppleness it used to have. As the largest organ in the body, your skin has been busy regulating your body temperature and maintaining a barrier between you and the environment. It has been assaulted by soaps and sunlight and buffeted by dry winds. It has protected your organs from ultraviolet radiation, toxic chemicals, and germs. It has enabled you to sweat yet has prevented the vital water in your body from evaporating. It has given your face beautiful expressions, made you blush, and allowed you to feel soft caresses. Your skin has endowed you with your distinctive hair and given you fingernails and toenails to polish.
    Over the years your skin accumulates damage—not just on the surface but also underneath. Free radicals break downcell membranes and cause irritation on the cellular level. Your skin gets thinner, and the fat pads underneath diminish and shift, making your skin look looser while accentuating wrinkles. Collagen and elastin—proteins that provide structure and support for your skin—start to break down and are renewed at a slower rate, making your skin saggy and less elastic. With age the skin produces less oil, so it becomes more difficult for it to retain moisture and it becomes drier. The skin around the eyes usually shows the first signs of aging due to the presence of smaller and fewer oil glands there. As you get older, blood vessels in your skin become more fragile, taking away some of the radiance of youth. Some facial expressions,