No More Acne

Archive for the ‘Acne Diet’ Category

I have heard of many people who claim to have solved their cystic acne problems through diet, but unfortunately it doesn’t work for everyone. There is some ambiguity on what a “good diet” consists of. For example, some diets are not too keen on grain and carbohydrate based foods while most nutritionists recommend a grain based diet. Also there are lots of books on diet and foods, and there are some differences in opinion.

Interestingly, many studies had been performed on the diet and cystic acne relationship, and none was found. Also, a sickness or disease caused by malnutrition or poor diet tends to linger on until the poor diet is rectified. For example, if you had a low iron intake, you would continue to feel tired and run down until your iron intake increased. Cystic acne (in most cases) disappears in the mid-twenties even though sufferers have made no change in their diet. Now, if cystic acne is a disease caused by poor diet, why should it suddenly disappear?

One thing I would object strongly to, is the idea that cystic acne is a symptom of western diet.  In fact, those of us who have travelled may have noticed that traditional Asian and African diets are no better for their culture than western diets, at least in terms of the incidence of cystic acne amongst their people. There may well be strong evidence to suggest that western diets are not actually very good for us – but there really is no evidence that it can either cause or worsen cystic acne.

I am not seeking to totally discredit the claim that diet has a part to play in cystic acne but still there are lots of other factors that can trigger this skin condition like hormones, genetics, vitamin deficiency, stress and much more.

If you are a teenager a cure for acne will likely be first on your list after finding a boyfriend or girlfriend, and most of us who have been teenagers can probably remember the misery that our perception of our looks gave us.

There have been many theories as to the cause of acne, and it is highly likely that there is more than one. The basic reason for the appearance of acne is that oils, dead skin cells and bacteria block the pores of the skin to form a variety of different types of pimples or spots, such as whiteheads, blackheads and pustules than can be irritating or painful. They can also be very unsightly, affecting the face, neck and sometimes the chest and back.

Studies have indicated that acne is caused by the over-production of sebum, a fatty oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of the skin to keep it supple and lubricated. If this is excessive, the sebum can block the pores causing blackheads, and become infected causing acne. So what causes this excess production of sebum? There are theories that it could be due to high insulin levels in the blood.

High insulin levels are promoted by high blood glucose levels the more blood glucose in your blood then the more insulin your pancreas produces to help covert it into energy. Higher insulin levels are also associated with high levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). The result of this is an increase in androgens (male hormones), specifically dihydrotestosterone (DHT), metabolized from testosterone. This in turn causes an increased production of sebum leading to acne.

The complete chain, therefore, begins with increased levels of glucose in your blood and ends in acne. In order to prevent acne you would have to break this chain anywhere in its sequence, and the only viable place to do this is at the beginning reduce your blood glucose level. In order to achieve this you would have to determine what foods you are eating that could cause an excessively high level of glucose in your blood.

Glucose is metabolized from carbohydrates, ranging from complex carbohydrates to refined sugar. However, those that you should try to avoid are the refined carbohydrates such as pasta, white bread, rice and sugar. These are what are known as the high glycemic index foods that can cause a sharp rise in your blood glucose levels when consumed. The complex carbohydrates take longer to be metabolized and are not so prone to producing sudden increases in your sugar levels. These lead to more sustained and gradual increases in blood glucose that demand a steady insulin supply, rather than the sudden increase that can lead to acne. Such foods include high fiber whole grains, oats and the like.

Studies have indicated that twelve weeks on a diet of low glycemic index foods resulted in a significant reduction in acne symptoms when compared to a control that did not change their diet. It therefore seems likely that your nutrition can affect your acne, and that changes in your diet could lead to a significant long-term reduction in acne symptoms such as pimples, pustules and other types of lesion.

The same studies also proved a reduction in the androgen levels of those on the complex hydrocarbon diet compared to the controls, and also greater sensitivity to insulin. However, the test group also experienced a significant weight loss, and it was not conclusively proved whether the reduction in acne symptoms was due to the reduction in blood glucose levels or to the weight loss.

However, the result is in accordance with the insulin and androgen theory, and it is known that diabetes is connected with obesity, so the two might in any case be related. Acne, diabetes, and weight are all related to your blood sugar level, which is in turn related to diet and carbohydrate intake.

Although a low glycemic index diet is suggested, such a diet is not easy to apply properly, and a dietician could help you here. Persistence is the name of the game, and you will not see instant results. Note that the tests referred to above were over twelve weeks, and this is likely the minimum period you will need to stick to your diet. However, the minute you break it, and revert back to simple carbohydrates, your problem will return. There is no sudden cure, rather a continual dietary approach to the prevention of the condition. Acne is not a disease that you can catch and cure. It is a condition created by lifestyle and diet, and can only be controlled rather than cured until you grow out of it in your late teens or early twenties, although many people suffer from acne until later in life.

Your diet should include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and cereals, brown rice, fish, eggs and lean meats. You should avoid saturated and trans fats, and eat unsaturated fats and oils, with plenty of omega fatty acids, vitamins and minerals for a good skin and good health. Exercise will help by improving the blood flow to your skin.

You can also help your condition by taking some specific supplements. Saw palmetto and zinc will help to reduce the levels of testosterone in your blood, and vitamins E and B6 are also believed to help. Selenium, pantothenic acid and essential fatty acids are other supplements that can help with acne, but your best bet is to discuss your condition with a naturopath or somebody trained in the use of natural remedies and supplements with your condition.

Many swear by tea tree oil, although treatment has to be prolonged over a length period before it becomes effective, but you might prefer this to one of the chemical testosterone blockers that can be prescribed for acne in certain cases.

Overall, acne is not a serious condition but can be disfiguring. Although you can seek medical help in the event of serious attacks, your recommended treatment initially is to eat plenty of healthy foods low in simple carbohydrates, to take the appropriate supplements and nutrients to keep you healthy and to take plenty of exercise to maintain a good blood supply to your face.

In these ways you can reduce the number, depth and lasting effects of acne pustules, and in many cases clear the condition altogether.

When you develop acne, it can have a major change in your strong and active personality.  It has the power to make you feel helpless, insecure, and bashful.  To get a smooth and clear face, you need a new attitude about your health.  Your acne and treatment that you use for it should start with improving your health.

 

Your body is run by hormones.  They tell your body what to do so that your body remains in balance.  You can become imbalance when your body has physical changes, when you eat a poor diet for a long time, or when you frequently get upset.  Depending on your body’s weak areas, acne may develop or it many not.

 

You will hear from a variety of people that your diet has nothing to do with your acne.  But, have you ever noticed that when you eat some fatty foods or junk food, the next day you might have a pimple or two.  Your experience tells you that a poor diet creates pimples.

 

Do you really want to get rid of your acne?  Most people want to, however, they want the three day cure.  This is impossible.  The body does not work this fast.  Using a diet can get results, but it will take time.  As you change your diet, your body needs time to replenish depleted stores of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrient.  This will help to cure your acne and treatment will be a good diet.

 

For you acne, eating a good natural diet is a good start.  By changing your diet, you will not clear your acne in three days.  For your diet to make a change in your body, it takes at least 3 months.  But, if you never change your diet then, it will take forever before you see an improvement in your health and a change in your acne face.

 

To make your diet more effective, there are some lifestyle changes you can make that will accelerate your health.  First, you can start being more active by not watching so much TV.  The movement of your body helps to route toxins out of your body, so do some exercise.  If you smoke or work where there is a lot of air pollution, you need to consider making changes.  Pollution will definitely shorten your life and create blemishes on your skin during your life time.

 

So, what should your diet consist of for acne and treatment?   Here are the foods you need to stop eating and substitute a better choice.  You don’t need to stop eating these foods instantly. Few people can do this. You need to do this gradually. I know it will be hard to stop eating some of these foods that you have enjoyed, over the years.

 

*   Minimize the use of breads and other flour products, unless they are made with multi-grains.  When you eat bread, always eat vegetables with it.  Bread and other flour products do not have fiber.  Fiber will help to move the bread through colon must faster.

 

*   One way to know if the food you eat is good is to know that good food is not found in packages.  Packaged food has all kinds of chemical additives that literally poison your body.  They disrupt you organ functions creating hormonal imbalances that lead to acne.  Most food that is good for you is not found in the grocery store it is found at the farmers market.

 

* Milk, ice cream, hard chesses – these foods cause allergies and cause mucus to form. This mucus coats the colon giving bad bacteria and other pathogens  a nice place to live and thrive.  If you cannot digest dairy products, this can cause you to have acne.

 

*   If you eat processed meats, reduce your use of them – bologna, pepperoni, hot dogs, or sausages.  These meats contain all kinds of additives.  Look at the label and see if they contain Nitric compounds.  These compounds are used to preserve the product.

 

Your acne and treatment you use for it should concentrate on improving your diet.  Change your health and it will change your acne.  Good health means you are eating the foods your body needs to build a good body.  Eat junk and processed foods, and you will create a junk body.

 

Acne is a natural occurrence of the body that plagues over 87% of teenagers in America. There are several natural reasons why this is so. However there are also some behavioral factors and lifestyle decisions that can have a massive and lasting impact on the state of your acne.

Diet

It’s one of those debates that you hear going all the time because people are stubborn about their beliefs and because science is finding loopholes for anything and everything dietary but it’s a fact that certain foods increase the percentage of contaminants in your body and bloodstream, contributing to acne. These include milk and cream-based products, complex carbohydrates which stimulate insulin-related acne growth, saturated fats and oils, and high-fructose corn syrup which is essentially a heavy saturation of glucose or sugar.

Stay away from things like soda, sweets, white bread, milk, butter, and fried greasy foods. These things make your body work on overdrive to keep things cleaned out inside. You’ll have to fight this with a good body cleanse.

Hygiene

Contrary to what you might think, blackheads and other acne is not necessarily caused by dirt. It isn’t always dirt that you have to clean from your face. It’s also the build-up of natural oils and toxins that are actually coming out of your skin! This is why it’s so important to keep your face and other areas vulnerable to acne clean and rinsed at all times. It doesn’t mean you’re a dirty person, just that your body is doing some cleaning. Help it out by removing its waste products from your skin with a good scrub.

Sweating

Many people assume that being clean and in good hygiene means avoiding sweat. This is actually really terrible for you! Remember that toxins and chemicals are being expelled through your skin, your pores. Another important evolutionary tactic our body uses in this detoxing process is to clean out these ports with a good spray. When you sweat, your body is power-washing the very ports that are cleaning your body and in danger of getting clogged. Granted, you have to continue cleaning and rinsing of course, but the sweat generated and pushed through the pores helps to keep the pathways clear.

In short, get some good excercise– it’s good for you anyway!

Originally posted 2009-11-03 03:09:36.

Lifestyle

Is your lifestyle causing your acne? Certainly not. But the way you live affects your whole body, including its largest organ: the skin. The place you work, the hours you keep, the ways you play — all of these can take a toll on the epidermis, especially in those who are prone to acne. Following are a few everyday acne triggers you might not be aware of, and a few things you can do to avoid them.

Comedones on the job. Since some part of your skin is always in contact with your environment, it’s important to pay attention to the substances with which you come into contact on a regular basis. You may be exposing yourself to comedogenic (pore-clogging) substances on the job without even knowing it; while these substances are not the cause of your acne, they can aggravate it. For example: the airborne grease in a fast-food restaurant can create an invisible film on your skin, clogging your pores. Most industrial oils — the kinds used in cars, in factories, on bicycles — are comedogenic as well.

Acne & Sleep – Sleep and your skin. The simplest good deed you can do for your skin may surprise you: sleep! Scientists and mothers around the world agree that a good night’s sleep — at least eight hours — can do wonders for your complexion. How? A healthy, well-rested body has the resources to build a strong immune system. While a robust immune system won’t prevent acne altogether, it can help fight infection so your lesions clear up more quickly. Luckily, your body isn’t picky; uninterrupted sleep in the daytime is just as beneficial. So if you work late, sleep late — and try to maintain a regular schedule.

Acne & Sun – Savvy sun worshipping. While it’s true that small amounts of sun exposure may initially improve acne, don’t be fooled; the benefit is temporary. Consistent sun bathing will dry your skin, causing your sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Also, skin that has been exposed to the sun has to slough old cells more frequently; when you combine the extra oil and extra dead cells, you create the ideal environment for comedones, or blocked pores. So if you work (or play) in the sun, it’s important to protect your skin with sunscreen. Look for oil-free products that provide at least an SPF 15 protection level from UVA and UVB rays.

Acne & Stress – The stress connection. Not surprisingly, stress often has a starring role in the ongoing acne drama. “Ninety percent of my patients complain about what stress does to their skin. It has a huge impact, and it’s becoming a bigger problem every day,” says Katie Rodan, MD, a clinical professor of dermatology at Stanford University.

How can stress — emotional anxiety caused by any number of factors in your life — show up on your face? The connection is purely chemical. When you become tense, your adrenal glands go work, flooding your bloodstream with the hormone cortisol. This triggers the sweat glands in your face to produce more oil. When your sebaceous glands go into high gear, there’s a higher probability that this excess oil will mix with dead skin cells and clog your pores, trapping bacteria inside. The result? More acne, primarily inflamed papules rather than blackheads or whiteheads.

What can you do? Of course, you can’t eliminate stress from your life — it’s part of being human. But you can minimize its damage by leading a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet and at least seven hours of sleep every night will help you build a stronger physical foundation; if you’re well fed and well rested, you’re less likely to feel irritated by the events of your day. Try to get some exercise every day, even if it’s just a walk around the block at lunchtime. It’s also important to take time out of every day to relax — read a book, take a bath, practice yoga, or do whatever makes you feel happy and calm. It’s an important step towards overall good health, and therefore the health of your skin.

Diets

Don’t eat that — you’ll get zits! We’ve all heard it; from parents, friends or even the family doctor. But the fact is, even after extensive study, scientists have not found a connection between diet and acne. Not chocolate. Not french fries. Not pizza.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, “A healthy diet is important for improving raw materials for healthy skin,” but they also note that greasy or sugary foods do not cause acne.1 Likewise, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concurred, “Diet plays no role in acne treatment in most patients…even large amounts of certain foods have not clinically exacerbated acne.”1 Of course, that doesn’t mean you should make a habit of eating foods high in sugar or fat. The skin is the body’s largest organ, so what’s good for the rest of you will be good for your skin, too.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Nutrients for healthy skin. There are a number of nutrients found in everyday foods that are known to promote a healthy body — and therefore healthy skin. Get wise to these substances, and you’ll increase your chances of conquering your acne.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Vitamin A. Naturally occurring Vitamin A, or retinol, is found in fish oils, liver and dairy products. The Vitamin A produced by plants is known as Beta-carotene, and is found in yellow/orange fruits and vegetable such as carrots, yams, apricots and cantaloupe, as well as green vegetables like parsley, kale and spinach. Extremely high doses of Vitamin A are toxic, so don’t overdo it.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Vitamin B-2. Stress has been known to aggravate existing cases of acne, and Vitamin B-2 is often helpful alleviating stress. Foods with a high concentration of B-2 include whole grains, fish, milk, eggs, meat and leafy green vegetables.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Vitamin B-3. Found in peanuts, eggs, avocados, liver and lean meats, Vitamin B-3 improves circulation, promoting healthy skin. It also reduces the cholesterol level in the blood and helps you metabolize protein, sugar & fat — increasing your energy through proper utilization of food.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Vitamin E. Vitamin E is found in almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, broccoli, wheat germ and vegetable oils. A powerful antioxidant, it protects your cells against the effects of free radicals, which are potentially damaging by-products of the body’s metabolism.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Zinc. Even in trace amounts, the antioxidant zinc is known to boost the immune system, improving overall health — which of course is reflected in the skin. Zinc can be found in eggs, whole grains, nuts and mushrooms.

Acne Prevention & Diet – Know your own triggers. Since acne is different for everyone, there may be certain foods that cause flare-ups in your skin. Clearly, these foods should be avoided. You may also want to check your vitamin supplements for their iodine content; while normal amounts of iodine have not been shown to affect skin, amounts greater than the RDA of 150 mcg may aggravate your acne.

Overall, use your common sense. Drink lots of water and eat a healthy, balanced diet — but don’t be afraid to indulge your cravings every now and then.

Kerwin Chang writes for http://www.acnestuff.net where you can find out more about acne and other skin care topics.