Eat the Rainbow: Why Your Skin Needs a Colorful Plate, Not a Pill
You don’t need a supplement tower to glow. You need real food, real color, and hydration that starts from the inside.
If you’ve been popping pills and still feeling blah…
If your skin feels tired, your gut’s a mess, or you’re overwhelmed by health trends that seem to change every week, I get it. You’re being told to take powders, pills, shots, and semi-pharmaceuticals to be your best self or just to feel “normal.” Your feed is full of supplements and synthetic superfoods.
Everyone’s selling you shortcuts.
But here’s the truth: your skin doesn’t need a shortcut.
It needs support. And that support starts in your gut.
You don’t need to buy that magic pill. You just need to eat better. Not stricter, not cleaner, not trendier. Just better.
You’re still the woman who believes in beauty from the inside out.
You already know that real wellness isn’t about extremes.
You want glowing skin and energy to cook dinner. A clear face and a calm belly.
You want to feel strong, sexy, and smart. Not starved and stressed.
That part of you is wise. She knows this isn’t about control.
It’s about care. Variety. Color. Nourishment.
You don’t need to start over. You just need to start adding back in the right things.
Let’s talk about the skin-food connection (and what actually works)
Your skin is a mirror of what’s happening in your gut, your nervous system, and your daily habits.
That barrier you’re trying to protect? It’s made of cells that need vitamins, hydration, fats, and proteins to repair and thrive.
Here’s the good news:
Your body knows what to do — you just have to give it what it recognizes.
Forget the hyper-processed powders. Let’s go back to basics:
Skin Vitamins 101: What They Do + Where to Get Them
These are the vitamins you see advertised in every skincare ad. Let’s connect them to what your body actually needs internally.
🦜 Vitamin A — Cell turnover, healing, and acne support
Think orange, red, and dark leafy greens
You’ve seen this in skincare as retinol or retinoids. The gold standard for smoothing texture and clearing acne. But your body also needs internal vitamin A to fuel cellular repair, balance oil production, and support healing from the inside out.
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Spinach
Red bell peppers
Cantaloupe
Eggs
💚 Vitamin C — Brightening, collagen support, antioxidant hero
Think green and citrusy
Found in brightening serums and “glow” products. Vitamin C supports collagen production, fights free radical damage, and evens tone. But it can’t do much topically if your body is depleted internally.
Kiwi
Pineapple
Broccoli
Guava
Papaya
Limes + lemons
☀️ Vitamin D — Hormone balance, mood regulation, inflammation
Get in the sun safely and eat some fish.
It’s rarely in skincare, but vitamin D deficiency shows up on your face: dry skin, dark circles, inflammation, acne. It also affects mood and energy, which impacts everything from your glow to your motivation.
Salmon
Sardines
Mushrooms (especially if sun-dried)
Fortified milks (oat, almond, coconut, or dairy)
Egg yolks
Steak
Chicken
🥑 Vitamin E — Skin barrier love + scar healing
Think seeds, nuts, and healthy oils
Common in creams, oils, and scar treatments, vitamin E helps repair the skin barrier and soothe damage. But real food sources help your skin build that resilience from within.
Sunflower seeds
Almonds
Avocados
Olive oil
Pumpkin
🐟 Collagen + Cell Repair — Think protein, minerals, and whole food
Collagen powders are everywhere, but to truly build and protect collagen, you need the amino acids and minerals that come from whole foods. Your skin, joints, and gut will all thank you.
Bone broth
Grass-fed beef
Sardines and mackerel
Tuna and Salmon
🧪 Antioxidants + Probiotics — Calm inflammation and feed your gut
These are buzzwords in every “skin superfood” product, but you need them in your gut, not just in a serum. Probiotics support digestion and hormone balance. Antioxidants fight aging and inflammation at the root.
Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Greek yogurt
Berries (all of them!)
Dark chocolate
Green tea
Pomegranate
Passionfruit
🌈 Eat by Color: A Guide for the Visual Brains
If memorizing vitamins isn’t your thing, don’t worry. Just use color as your cue.
Here’s what each shade of the rainbow does for your skin:
💜 PURPLE + BLUE — Antioxidants, anti-aging, circulation, repair
Blueberries
Blackberries
Purple cabbage
Plums
Purple sweet potatoes
Eggplant (skin on)
Concord grapes
❤️ RED — Collagen support, inflammation reduction, UV protection
Tomatoes
Strawberries
Watermelon
Beets
Raspberries
Red apples
Red bell peppers
🧡 ORANGE — Vitamin A, cell turnover, glow boosting
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Mango
Cantaloupe
Pumpkin
Papaya
💛 YELLOW — Brightening, immune support, antioxidant power
Pineapple
Yellow bell peppers
Lemons
Corn
Bananas
Golden beets
💚 GREEN — Detox support, gut health, calming + balancing
Spinach
Kale
Avocado
Cucumber
Kiwi
Broccoli
Herbs (mint, cilantro, parsley)
⚪️ WHITE + BROWN — Immune support, barrier repair, gut balance
Garlic
Onion
Cauliflower
Coconut
Ginger
Mushrooms
Chickpeas
Seeds + grains
Don’t forget smoothies (aka your edible skincare routine)
One of the easiest ways to get a few colors in your day? A smoothie.
It’s fast, it’s glow-friendly, and it’s one of my favorite ways to make good skin feel effortless.
We keep it super simple at our house. Dane and I prep freezer bags in advance with chopped fruit and veggies, sometimes a full rainbow mix, sometimes just by fruit or veggie type.
We buy in bulk from the market (or harvest from our own trees when we can), chop it up, and freeze it into easy grab-and-blend portions. It’s budget-friendly, waste-reducing, and you’ll always have something nourishing to reach for.
Try tossing in:
Pineapple, mango, or papaya for that sweet tropical vitamin C
Spinach or kale for a hidden hit of vitamin A
Yogurt or kefir for probiotic power
Chia or flax for omega support
Frozen cauliflower for skin-loving fiber (you won’t taste it)
Add water, fruit juice, coconut milk, nut milk, or even cold coffee/espresso if it makes sense with the recipe, blend, and sip. Your guts and skin will know instantly how good it feels.
Cook it yourself! The simplest nutritional glow-up
One of the best pieces of advice I got from a nutritionist was this: You can eat whatever you want, but you have to make it yourself. Just like that, most preservatives disappear. Sugar, sodium, and weird oils come back into balance. Cooking is the gateway to nourishment.
Fast food, Postmates, and takeout every week? Your body knows. This isn’t about shame, it’s about support. No one’s too busy to deserve to feel good. You can reclaim your health one homemade meal at a time. Start with eggs and fruit. Soup. Smoothies. Roasted vegetables. It’s not about perfection, it’s about building momentum.
A gentle note on food, fear, and healing
Food is deeply personal. And for many of us, the relationship with food hasn’t always felt safe, simple, or loving. Whether you’ve dealt with restriction, binging, orthorexia, emotional eating, or just years of confusion about what’s “good” or “bad,” I want you to know: you’re not alone.
This post isn’t here to give you rules.
It’s here to remind you that real food can be beautiful, joyful, grounding, and skin-supportive.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to “earn” your meals.
You just have to eat enough, often enough, and with enough variety to support the body and skin you live in. If your relationship with food feels complicated, that’s okay. You’re allowed to take small steps.
Start with one new color on your plate. One veggie-forward lunch. One recipe that sounds fun instead of scary.
This is nourishment. Not punishment.
Your body wants to heal. Your skin does too. You are deeply, deeply worthy of both. Okay, moving on…
Just try this for one week:
🪴 Eat at least five natural colors a day
🐚 Add one protein-rich fish, meat, or egg-based meal
🥤 Make a smoothie from what’s in your freezer
🧊 Drink a gallon of water
🥜 Choose a recipe that feels joyful, not punishing
🥒 Skip the supplement aisle and eat the real thing
Bonus support if you need it:
📚 Browse my go-to cookbooks (yes, I sold them in the shop for a reason):
Your skin will tell you what’s working.
Your gut will too. Your energy, mood, and mirror will all confirm it.
Let food be your glow-up.
Let color be your guide.
You deserve nourishment that feels good and works.
I’m so excited to hear how it goes for you!
