The Best Acne Treatment - Good Nutrition


by Carol Stack - Date: 2007-02-07 - Word Count: 531 Share This!

Most of us have suffered from acne at one time or another beginning in early puberty. Its medical name is "acne vulgaris" and indeed, many of us feel that it is absolutely vulgar.

For some, it is severe enough to require medical intervention by a dermatologist. For most people, though, acne is a relatively mild condition that can be controlled with a healthy diet, as well as basic good hygiene practices and keeping your face clean.

Most teenagers suffering from acne will find that limiting certain foods, or completely illiminating them from their diet, will help a lot in getting rid of acne.

Sugar and other refined carbohydrates

Experts suggest avoiding refined carbohydrates, such as white flour, and especially sugar. This includes high amounts of fruit juices, although whole fruits should be consumed.

Sugared sodas especially should be avoided. These are often overlooked as major sources of sugar, since they are drunk rather than eaten.

For a natural non-caloric sugar substitute that has no aftertaste, try stevia liquid, available at most health food stores or online. It is purported to be 600 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a very long way.

Switch from white flour and refined foods such as white rice to whole wheat breads and brown rice. Make sure to read labels and look for the words "100% whole wheat" or "100% whole grain." Carbohydrate foods low on the glycemic index are best to control acne breakouts, so foods such as white potatoes should also be avoided.

High amounts of fats, including "good" fats

There's a lot of talk these days on "good" versus "bad" fats. Indeed, "good" fats such as polyunsaturated and unsaturated oils like canola or olive oil, the fruit of the avocado and nuts are "good" for you in small amounts, while hydrogenated oils and trans fats should be avoided altogether. But if you have acne, you should be especially careful to limit your fat intake, even good fat intake.

Dietary fat from any source can increase the sebum production of the skin, leading to acne breakouts. Peanuts and peanut butter especially should be avoided or greatly curtailed. However, fish oil supplements or eating fish a few times a week will help acne breakouts, as these are beneficial to skin health.

Dairy products

Unfortunately, that bowl of ice cream you enjoy as a snack every night not only probably has sugar in it, an acne no-no, but dairy also contains hormones such as progesterone, which can lead to acne breakouts, as can the iodine in dairy.

It has been shown that the fat content of the dairy does not seem to effect its promotion of acne breakouts, so substituting skim products for full-fat products will not help. Using soymilk instead of regular milk and other soy products such as cheese will help control breakouts.

Incidentally, it's unclear whether chocolate itself, commonly thought of as an acne trigger, actually causes acne. However, most chocolate consumed also contains high amounts of refined sugar, which is an acne trigger.

Reducing or eliminating the foods noted above, along with good hygiene, will greatly reduce or even eliminate acne breakouts, along with other good habits such as ample consumption of fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise. Bon appétit!


Related Tags: acne, acne treatment, best acne treatment

Carol Stack has written numerous articles on health and related subjects. She lives in the United States with her husband, three children, and various dogs and cats. Carol and her sister Barbara have combined forces to produce a website that focuses on healthy recipes and nutrition. You can visit it at: http://www.healthyrecipesandmore.com Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

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