When it comes to looking great – at any age – it isn’t about the makeup that you use, the color you put into your hair, or the clothes that you wear. Simply put, if you consume bad choices in food, your skin and your body will show it, and no matter what else you do, your looks will suffer for it.

Processed sugars, abundant salts and unnatural chemicals can do damage to your skin and your hair, and leave you looking worse for wear. But if you take the time to do a little research, you will find that there are plenty of foods out there that can actually help with your daily beauty regimen.

Two of the most important parts of your food that will affect how you look are the fats and the water content of your meals. While we have a tendency to consider fats to be a bad thing when it comes to healthy foods, there are indeed good and bad types of fat that you can eat.

Want an example of consumable fat that will wear on your looks?

Try modern dairy products. These overly processed fats are treated to remove many of the helpful bacteria that originally were present and can be helpful to digestion, and all you are left with is a high fat liquid that might help with your calcium daily requirements, but sure won’t help you to look good.

So, how about an example of a good type of fat for your looks? What if I told you that there was a fruit that you have probably only ever eaten as a mushy, overly spiced paste; one that can be sliced over salad, blended into smoothies, and used dozens of other ways; one whose buttery texture and rich, delicious taste is due to an abundance of wonderful natural and raw fats; and one that can help your skin to glow and your hair to shine?

You might think that was too much to ask of any fruit, but avocados can do all of this, and more. The natural raw fats contained in avocados help to feed your skin and make it glow, and provide your body with a natural source of vitamin E and antioxidants.

But fat is only a part of the story. In order for your skin to really look its best, you need to make sure that you are properly hydrated. Skin that is starved for moisture not only looks bad, but is bad for your body. The skin acts as a natural sponge for water, holding it in reserve for other parts of the body. When hydration levels drop, the water is drawn inwards to those vital organs, leaving your skin parched. Thirsty skin will look dry, flushed and droopy, accentuating any existing wrinkles and age spots.

Other than a big glass of water, you can rehydrate your skin and rejuvenate your appearance with any number of water-dense fruits, such as grapefruit or watermelon. A single serving of grapefruit is over 90% water, which can easily be absorbed by the body and used to refill the sponge that is your skin, leaving it looking plump and full, smoothing out any wrinkles and giving you a healthy, even glow.