H
ave you ever heard of a cake that
makes you beautiful? No, neither did I,
so I decided to explore the possibilities.
As we know, beauty comes from inside out. What
you put into your body will refl ect on your skin,
hair and nails. So, what makes us beautiful?
What does the body need to reward us with
healthy looking skin, shiny hair and strong nails?
I embarked on a challenge not only to learn the
essentials we need, but also to create a delicious
recipe as a result of my fi ndings.Vital vitamins
Vitamins and microelements are a minefi eld, but
you don’t need the whole Mendeleev table, just
the essential few to look amazing. The recipe on
page 108 will help boost your immune system
and keep you healthy and glowing.
One by one let’s go through the vitamins to
understand their function and sources, so you
can use them widely in your diet or confi dently
substitute ingredients in your raw cake. Note
that ingredients mentioned are relevant to the
making of cakes only, so the list is not full and
doesn’t include ingredients for other dishes.Vitamins for the maintenance of
healthy hair, skin and nails
Biotin increases hair’s elasticity, making it
strong. It helps produce keratin, which is the
main component of healthy hair, strong nails
and glowing skin. There are two forms of biotin
and the easiest one for the body to absorb comes
from plants. Biotin is found is nuts, like pecans,
peanuts and walnuts, and seeds like sunfl ower.
Bananas, carrots, raspberries and avocados are
natural sources of biotin, as well as leafy greens.
Vitamin A is important to keep hair healthy
and to maintain and repair vital skin tissue,
commonly used in anti-ageing creams. It’s an
antioxidant that helps to boost the immune
system. Because vitamin A is fat soluble it pairs
up well with coconut oil. Carrots, spinach,
kale, dried apricots and mangos are full of this
essential vitamin.
Vitamin E is necessary for the skin and hair. It’s
the most abundant vitamin found in skin. This
fat-soluble antioxidant is good for the immune
system and anti-ageing. Foods containing
vitamin E are: sunfl ower, pumpkin, and sesame
seeds; almonds, hazelnuts and pine nuts;
avocados, papaya and leafy greens.Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B5,
is needed by many diff erent types of skin cells for
proper regeneration and growth, reducing the
signs of ageing, preventing wrinkles and fi ghting
greying of the hair. This acid strengthens hair
follicles, allowing them to function properly. Use
sunfl ower seeds, avocados, spinach and peanuts
to get pantothenic acid into your system.
Vitamin C is essential for production of
collagen, which is a component of hair, skin
and nails. Collagen helps reduce wrinkles and
improves skin texture. This powerful antioxidant
helps your body to absorb iron, a mineralBeauty
food
Ludmila MacDonald reveals
how a cake can not just look and
taste good, but do you good too!The body needs a lot of
vitamins, amino acids
and elements to keep hair,
skin and nails looking
and feeling healthy
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