No one wants to look in the mirror to find a newly formed pimple on their skin or acne.
Acne, zits, spots — whatever you call them — will affect approximately eighty five percent of people between the ages of twelve and twenty four.
Furthermore, it will continue to occur in up to fifteen percent of women into their thirties and forties, though men experience it as well.
There are ways you can manage it with diet though, and today we’re going to look at some of them.
Once you complete your Diploma In Holistic Nutrition online course, clients will ask you about using nutrition for acne.
And it doesn’t take an advanced nutrition course to understand the connections between diet and health
Keep reading to learn more about using nutrition to help your clients manage their acne – or to manage your own.
What Actually Is Acne?
Acne occurs because of secretions from the skin’s sebaceous glands.
These secretions clog pores and hair follicles resulting in those spots no one wants to see when they look in the mirror.
Whiteheads and blackheads are also the result of clogged pores.
Another, more severe, type of acne is cystic acne which occurs when there is swelling and inflammation beneath the surface of the skin.
What Does NOT Cause Acne?
There are a lot of myths surrounding what causes acne.
It might surprise you to learn the following things are not the cause of your acne:
● Poor hygiene
● High sex drive
● Chocolate
● Greasy food
Poor hygiene and diet may aggravate acne that already exists, but they’re not the root cause.
So What Does Cause Acne Then?
So now that we know what doesn’t cause it, let’s take a look at the actual causes.
In short the cause of acne comes down to a couple of factors: bacteria and hormones.
The hormone testosterone is responsible for a number of things, including the production of oil.
This is part of the reason why teenagers going through testosterone driven puberty tend to be more likely to experience acne outbreaks.
When oil gets trapped in the pores, it creates an environment which is hospitable to bacteria which causes acne — these bacteria grow, and cause irritation which leads to inflammation and eventually, zits.
Taking A Holistic Nutrition Approach To Acne
If you’re dealing with acne, there are a lot of approaches you could take to combat it.
While it might seem easy to get some high powdered creams or prescription medications from the pharmacy, these may not be ideal solutions.
Creams can be drying and irritating, and medications may come with adverse side effects.
You may want to first consider a more natural, holistic solution such as targeting acne through diet and nutrition.
Keep reading to learn more about how to do this.
1. Try An Elimination Diet
The premise of an elimination diet is to remove most foods which could be irritating or otherwise causing you issues from your diet, and then gradually add them back in, and watch how your body responds.
Elimination diets can be used for a variety of conditions, including stomach upset, inflammation, food allergies, and skin issues including acne.
This process can help you pinpoint which foods cause a reaction.
Foods to eliminate can include processed sugar, white bread, and dairy.
2. Eat An Anti Inflammatory Diet
Inflammation plays a large role in many skin conditions, including acne.
Avoiding foods which trigger inflammation and adding more which help combat it is important for healthy skin.
Some examples of foods which help fight inflammation include:
● Olive oil
● Tomatoes
● Fruits
● Leafy green vegetables
● Turmeric
● Fatty fish
● Beans
● Sprouted whole grains
● Flax and chia seeds
● Black walnuts
3. Increase Your Chromium Intake
Chromium is used by the body to help with the metabolism of sugar.
This is important since high blood sugar levels can cause an increase in acne development.
Foods containing chromium include:
● Pears
● Dates
● Mussels
● Brazil nuts
4. Increase Your Zinc Intake
Zinc is a trace mineral which your body uses for a variety of purposes, including blood clotting, thyroid function, and immune system function.
It can also help to regulate your oil glands, which is why it’s useful for helping to combat acne.
Other properties of zinc which make it useful for combating acne include:
● Wound healing properties
● Preventing scarring
● Antioxidant properties — protecting against free radicals
● Metabolizing testosterone
Some food sources of zinc include:
● Pine nuts
● Pumpkin seeds
● Oysters
● Mushrooms
● Asparagus
5. Increase Your Selenium Intake
There is evidence that low selenium levels can contribute to acne, as well as other skin conditions including psoriasis and eczema.
It helps to prevent inflammation which can lead to acne.
To get more selenium in your diet, try adding the following:
● Eggs
● Brazil nuts
● Spinach
● Sunflower seeds
Contact The Edison Institute Of Nutrition Today
Do you want to learn more about the way’s food can affect your health?
Are you interested how dietary changes and holistic nutrition can make a big impact on conditions which many people reach for medications to help with?
If you think a career in holistic nutrition is the right move for you, then contact us today at the Edison Institute of Nutrition to learn more about the programs we offer.
