Self-proclaimed 'Itch and beauty' doctor Aparna Santhanam explores the idea of 'Holistic' health and fitness through food in her book, Skin Deep. Find out why carbs are essential to beauty



How to incorporate colour power in your diet
>> Eat fruits of all colours, especially when a fruit is in season
>> Prepare a fruit salad of mixed fruits
>> Make sure you eat vegetables that are red, orange, yellow, green, purple - the more varied the colours, the better they are for the skin.
>> Have soups and salads made with a mixture of different vegetables.
>> Stews, goulash, casseroles, etc. which incorporate vegetables, grains and pulses are both delicious and colourful.
>> Add nuts to vegetable salads to make them crunchy and interesting.
>> Count your intake of colour, every day!

No sugar tonight ufffd
ufffdand not tomorrow morning either! The verdict is now clear: avoid simple sugars; if not for your waist, then in the interest of glowing skin! I can see the skepticism on your face: Is this just another way of pushing a no-carbs diet at me? Are you trying to appeal to my vanity rather than my fitness to push me to avoid all carbs?
The answer is an emphatic 'NO'. Carbs are important for you. It is just one of those rare occasions where complex is better. All we need to do is avoid the simple sugars and reach for the more complex starchy foods and grains.

Beauty and carbs
Carbs form the backbone of any diet anywhere in the world because they provide us with the energy to perform our everyday jobs and functions. We also know that in any regular diet, 60 per cent of all the food that we eat is usually in the form of carbohydrates. In addition, the brain is known to use glucose exclusively for its metabolism and functioning. So the trick is not to eliminate carbs but to convert carbs we eat into beauty foods.

This is how it works. The two elements that contribute the most to keeping our skin beautiful, supple and young are proteins called collagen and elastin. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the skin and has various types ranging from 1 to 7. The most youthful looking skin is one which has the correct proportions of the collagen to maintain its elasticity and smooth appearance.