Foods That Cause Acne - How Nutrition Can Clear Up Your Skin

Acne is a problem that can effect anyone from adolescence until adulthood. It's something that many people are embarrassed of and search high and low for a cure. Topical antibiotics are the typical course of treatment for mild cases but as the severity increases so does the treatment. Drugs such as Accutane and stronger antibiotics may be used in severe cases of acne. Along with these stronger drugs comes a black box warning due to psychiatric problems and liver damage. So as people search for a cure to their acne it isn't always as easy as taking a pill.

Inside the body we all have a hormonal system that should stay balanced. Our levels of certain hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone should be held within a normal range so that our bodies function optimally. When this balance gets out of wack, such as during puberty, an imbalance occurs and this imbalance is seen on the skin in the form of acne. For some people this will last months or perhaps a few years, but for others this hormonal imbalance lasts for a lifetime. Not only do hormonal imbalances cause acne but they may contribute to other harmful diseases such as cancer.

The most effective way of ridding the body of acne is through a nutritional intervention. There are certain foods that can help to balance out hormones and defeat acne. There are other foods that will cause an imbalance or cause acne to thrive. It's important to know how foods effect your skin. The typical advice is to just wash your face more, which as anyone who has acne will tell you never really fixes the problem. So to truly cure yourself of acne you need to use nutrition as the foundation of any program.

But what to eat? There are so many foods out there that have benefits and so many that cause harm, but what ones should you focus on for skin health? The first group are foods that can trigger acne and should be cut out immediately. The #1 trigger is dairy products, this includes milk, cheese and yogurt. Cutting them out causes a dramatic decrease in most cases of acne. The 2nd trigger is sugar. This is found in sweets, soft drinks, and all kinds of junk food. Avoiding all things that you know are harmful to your health will dramatically improve your skin. 3rd would be gluten which is a protein found primarily in wheat. For some people that are sensitive to gluten it may cause acne to thrive. So cut anything out with gluten, such as bread, pasta, bagels, cereals, etc.

The other aspect of nutrition for acne is adding things into the diet that balance the hormones. This is primarily the cruciferous vegetables. Kale, Collard Greens, Broccoli, Cabbage, Watercress, are all great examples and should be consumed each and everyday. For severe cases of acne many people will have to juice these greens mixed with sweeter vegetables or fruits. But this is only in severe cases normally.

Vegetables and fruits are great for skin health. Beans should be incorporated slowly if you aren't used to eating them because for a tiny percentage of people they may cause acne to reappear. Nuts and seeds are extremely healthy but they also cause acne in a certain set of people. So you'll have to eliminate all these foods before you'll be able to find your certain trigger.

Acne Nutrition:

Avoid forever: Dairy of all kinds and Sugar in any form

Avoid for 3 weeks and then slowly reintroduce once food every 2 weeks to see what happens to your skin: Gluten, Beans, nuts and seeds

Consume daily: Cruciferous Vegetables and all other vegetables, fruits and gluten-free grains(ex. quinoa)

Supplements that may help: Fish Oil, Borage Oil, Zinc Picolinate, Vitamin A, Natural Progesterone(for women who break out at certain times during their cycle)

For mild cases of acne to improve most people just have to cut out the triggers. For moderate cases people will have to add in some more vegetables and healthy foods. For severe cases, which are normally hormone related, people need to avoid many foods and incorporate vegetables, fruits, and vegetable juices into their diets. But regardless of how severe the acne seems to be there is always a way to fight it with nutrition and supplementation.