Skin 101: How to Support Your Body's Biggest Organ

A vital organ, skin is also the largest organ of your body. While skin plays a crucial role for the body, it is one of the most overlooked regarding health discussions. Beyond its soft texture and attractive appearance, the skin helps regulate body temperature and protect other body organs from harmful organisms.

While maintaining your skin can help you reduce its aging process to some extent, its proper care can support better health. Read on and learn how to support and best care for this hard-working organ.

What does the Skin Actually Do?
As your body's largest organ, the skin plays a key role in promoting overall health. It also has other functions, including:

Synthesizing Vitamin D
Exposing your skin to the sun produces vitamin D, which serves several purposes in the body. Vitamin D helps in immune function, bone health, management of psoriasis, protection against skin cancer, and reducing the risk of atopic dermatitis.

Releases Sweat
Sweat prevents the body from overheating and helps cool the skin.

Front Line Protection
The epidermis – the skin's top layer – is in the front line of protecting our bodies from harmful invaders like viruses. If the skin barrier is disrupted, pathogens easily penetrate the skin and cause diseases. Fortunately, even after the penetration of viruses and bacteria, the skin still keeps on fighting.

Provides Immunity
Research shows that skin cells give signals that help the body protect against and fight infections. The body's white blood cells circulate through the skin to check immunity and fight back when the immune system is compromised.

The skin also contains sebaceous glands that secrete oil that adds another protection layer, and cells that create proteins and peptides have antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.

Makes Melanin
The skin contains melanin that protects against harmful UV rays from the sun. Melanin is a pigmentation that determines a person's skin color.

Affects Touch
The skin helps you feel and recognize touch through its tiny receptors. It lets you realize pressure, pain, and texture and detect temperature.

How to Care for Your Skin Internally
Over the years, multiple skin care products have been developed to help you look good on the outside. Caring for your skin should go beyond what you apply on the outside to what you take in or eat.

Caring for your skin inside out includes eating foods rich in antioxidants like spinach, kale, leafy greens, and berries, probiotics such as yogurt, and unsaturated fats like walnuts, salmon, and chia seeds.

Antioxidants help prevent environmental damage and free radicals from harming your skin. Unsaturated fats strengthen the skin fat layer barrier, and probiotics enhance the skin's barrier. You should also limit the intake of sugary and processed foods to maintain your skin's health.

Your body's ability to produce collagen decreases with age. To assist with collagen production, you can also take collagen peptides daily. BioHealth's Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptide Powder is one of the best anti-aging products that help reverse the aging process from the inside. Collagen is the key protein in your body and the main component of skin, bones, tendons, teeth, and cartilage. Collagen production decreases with age.

Self-care activities like getting enough sleep, exercising, and taking enough water can help you care for your skin internally. Exercise increases blood flow to body organs, including the skin, sleep helps the skin regenerate, and water hydrates the skin. Keeping hydrated is absolutely imperative to keep healthy skin.

How to Care for Your Skin Externally
Many skincare products can help care for the skin externally, including moisturizers, sunscreen, and good cleansers. Anti-aging products also help support your skin.

The aging of the skin is also an important issue that needs to be addressed. Anti-aging products help reduce wrinkles and make the skin look young and healthy. While many anti-aging products are on the market today, not all are safe and effective. Be sure to do your research on your skin type to figure out exactly how to care for your skin topically, effectively.