Your local supermarket stocks as many “beauty products” as a department store cosmetics counter. These includes beautifying agents like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, lean meat, chicken, fish and other foods listed in the following guide. Certain key nutrients supplied by those foods are indispensable to healthy-looking skin, hair and nails and strong teeth and bones.
In addition to the vitamins and minerals featured here, remember that fiber-the indigestible framework of fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains-is considered important to the prevention of varicose veins.
Dieters need to pay particular attention to their shopping list: everything that you plunk into your grocery cart, shop more chock-full of vitamins and minerals to avoid shortchanging yourself nutritionally.

Vitamin A
Beef liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, cantaloupe and other green, yellow and orange fruits and vegetables

Can help to keep skin soft and supple; prevent dry, flaky skin; build strong bones by fostering reproduction of bone cells.

Iron
Beef liver, lean beef, blackstrap molasses, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, dark mea meat, poultry (best eaten with a rich source of vitamin C to boost iron absorption.)

These foods can help to prevent anemia which leads to brittle nails, hair, lips and skin.

Vitamin E
Wheat germ and wheat germ oil, sunflower seeds and oil, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and other nuts.

Can help to heal dry, rough, red skin; protect skin against damaging effects of sunburn; prevent dry hair; slow down cellular aging at all levels. (Shortage of vitamin E may cause yellow nails.)

Vitamin D
Sunshine, vitamin-D fortified milk, fish-liver oil, herring, mackerel, salmon, and tuna.

Vitamin D can help to get strong bones.

B vitamins
Whole grains, poultry, legumes, leafy vegetables, brewer’s yeast

B vitamins can help to provide sufficient folate, which teams up with other nutrients to protect against receding or bleeding gums. (Too little vitamin B12 can cause darkened nails)

Calcium
Skim milk, yogurt, cheese, salmon (with bones), tofu, broccoli, calcium carbonate supplements

Can help to build strong bones; prevent rounded shoulders and ensure straight posture, preserving youthful stride; protect against tooth decay and gum recession.

Protein
Lean meat, chicken, fish, skim milk and cheese, tofu, combination of beans, seeds, nuts and grains

Protein can help to maintain firm, smooth, glowing skin, strong hair and nails.

Vitamin C
Citrus juice, cantaloupe, peppers, strawberries, potatoes and other fresh fruits and vegetables

Vitamin C can keep joints lubricated; guard against infection; build strong bones by facilitating absorption of calcium and iron; keep gums firm and pink; heal cold sores (especially when taken with bioflavonoid, also found in citrus fruits and fresh vegetables).

Zinc
Lean beef, liver (chicken, beef, and calves’), turkey, pumpkin seeds, and various legumes

These can help to maintain healthy hair and scalp; keep complexion clear; strengthen fingernails; fight body odor; aid calcium in the prevention of weak brittle bones and poor posture from osteoporosis.