Banishing Blemishes
One of the best ways to rid yourself of acne is to follow a healthy diet that will help eliminate toxins from your body.
Eating plenty of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and low-fat protein foods including nuts, is a perfect way to help improve your acne.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of helping to get rid of acne. If you aren’t a big vegetable eater, then juice your vegetables.
Just make sure it is fresh juice and not ones that are processed as they are loaded with sugar, preservatives, and other chemicals. You will need to eliminate any food containing sugar such as candies, cakes, cookies, and chocolate.
You will also need to eliminate coffee, alcohol, tobacco, iodized salt, high fat, fried foods, and carbonated drinks.
Why change your diet? Processed foods and dairy put a lot of stress on the liver which has to work had to filter out all the toxins (chemicals/pollution) that gets ingested.
Your liver can become over-taxed and as a result, your skin has to help remove those toxins from the body. Since your skin is your largest organ it is only natural for it to take on that job and as a result, you can end up with acne.
Give your liver a rest by eating whole foods and you will soon have acne-free skin.
Besides following a whole food diet you will need to make sure that you clean your skin properly. As well there are some supplements you can take to help improve your skin.
Make sure you use a clean face cloth every time you wash your face. You should use pure white cotton face cloths as the dye in colored face clothes can be an irritant to your skin.
Choose a soap that is natural and pure without a lot of additives such as chemicals and perfumes.
Have a glass of water first thing in the morning before you have breakfast. The water will help to flush out any toxins that have accumulated in your body.
Find a way to keep stress at bay. Take up yoga or do some breathing exercises when you find you are feeling stressed. Take a hot bath or read a book
Get a good night’s sleep but make sure you remove any makeup before going to bed and apply a light moisturizer.
One very important point: refrain from touching your face with your hands during the day because you can get the bacteria and dirt on your face that you picked up with you hands which will only aggravate your acne problems.
Give yourself a facial. I like mud packs but an easy one to do at home is to make your own using egg whites. Egg whites help absorb the oils in your skin and help to heal the acne.
Eating a whole food diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water will help give your liver the support it needs to do its job of clearing away all the accumulated wastes. Once that happens your liver will thank you and you will be rewarded with great skin!
My Drugstore Anti-aging Skincare Routine
Supplements to Relieve Acne
There are several nutritional supplements you can take to help nourish your skin and help get rid of acne. If you are not getting all your fruits and veggies, make sure you take a good quality multi-vitamin. However, don’t just rely on this to help your skin. Eating a well-balanced diet is optimal.
Two important supplements to take for acne are Vitamin A found in fish oil and zinc. Vitamin A helps with skin healing and zinc helps to prevent scarring. Zinc is also good for helping the body resist infection.
Omega-3 fatty acids are another important supplement to take for healthy skin. Omega-3 helps bring nutrition to your cells to maintain healthy skin and as well it has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Acidophilus should also be taken as it aids in keeping the intestinal bacteria from being destroyed which helps to maintain healthy digestion. If you have particularly oily skin, then taking digestive enzymes might help as they will improve the absorption of fats that may not be fully digested.
A popular topical remedy for acne is Burdock root. It has been used as a blood purifier in China and Japan for centuries.
A herb used by the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks was chamomile. It actually can calm skin irritations and as well controls infections. Chamomile has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties and comes in either capsules or ointment as an acne remedy.
Your local herbalist will probably recommend lavender as an acne treatment. Lavender oil helps to improve dry skin and is available in many forms including lotion, soaps, and tinctures.
One of my favorite remedies is Manuka honey. This honey is from bees who feed on the flowers of the Tea Tree in New Zealand and produce honey that has anti-bacterial, antiseptic, and antiviral properties.
These are just a few of the different supplements available. Follow a good whole food diet and use some of these remedies to help clear up your acne.
Causes & Ways To Treat Acne
Do Dairy Products Cause Acne?
You may be sensitive to various kinds of food and a common cause of acne is food allergies.
The skin becomes inflamed and as a result, your pores get clogged. Once that happens, bacteria can begin to grow resulting in acne.
Studies have shown that dairy products may have an impact on the skin because of the fat content and also the hormones that are present in most milk products.
Change your habit of drinking milk and substitute it with rice milk, soy milk, or almond milk and see if there are any changes to your skin.
Also, milk contains mucus that when digested can inhibit the proper absorption of nutrients by your body.
One of the drawbacks of drinking milk is that most dairy cows are fed very high amounts of antibiotics and hormones and once these chemicals get into your body they can cause a reaction. That reaction could be the cause of your acne.
Remember that the following are also dairy products: cheese, butter, and ice cream. They are also high in fat and as we know too much fat in the diet can also cause acne.
Zinc Supplements For Acne
There are several studies that were done recently that show how zinc helps to reduce acne breakouts. Often antibiotics that are prescribed by dermatologist help treat acne but taking them over the long run can cause some serious health implications. Zinc on the other hand has the same effect as antibiotics but does not pose any risk to our health.
You will find zinc in a lot of different foods including mushrooms, chamomile, soybeans and sunflower seeds. Its is important to our bodies as it helps to support vital functions and keep our immune system strong and healthy.
Treating Acne Scars
There are a number of acne scar treatment products that claim to remove scars. However, this often means that they are loaded will all sorts of chemicals that make them effective.
For the most part, these acne scar treatment products often only help fade surface scars; they don't actually penetrate deep into the skin to remove scars.
One treatment that does work very well is acne scar laser treatment. However, this procedure is very expensive, which is why most people do not have the procedure.
The best way to not have to deal with acne scar removal is to make sure you take care of your skin so that you don't get breakouts.
If you do then make sure you use some sound treatments to relieve your problem that will ensure that you don't end up with scars.
Getting Rid of Chest Acne
If you have chest acne, one simple solution to getting rid of it is to change your diet. Stay away from processed foods.
No more fast food or anything that comes in a box, package, bottle, or can. You should also plan on eating more whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.
As well you will want to make sure you eat only good quality fat from nuts and seeds. This will help you get a lot of the essential vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy and keep your skin clear.
It is also a good idea to eat lots of antioxidant-rich foods. Try eating only dark chocolate as well as berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries), broccoli, garlic, green tea, and tomatoes.
Red grapes, spinach, and carrots are also full of antioxidants.
Try to avoid stress. You can relieve stress by listening to soothing music for at least 30 minutes a day. As well get some exercise. Twenty or thirty minutes of brisk walking each day will help you remove some stress.
When it comes to chest acne you need to take good care of your skin.
Don’t scrub the area too roughly as this can cause irritation and inflammation which will only make your acne worse.
Use a good bacterial soap and dry your skin with a soft towel. Again don’t rub the area but pat it dry with a towel.
Wheat and the Acne Connection
According to Dr. William Davis in his book, Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, acne can result from eating grains such as wheat.He says that people who eliminate wheat from their diets found that in as little time as week their skin improved.
The gastrointestinal tract, when not working properly can cause acne outbreaks. It seems that what happens in our digestive tract can be mirrored on the skin. When you eat wheat the delicate bowel lining can be compromised.
People who eat wheat often suffer from acid reflux and a disruption of the natural flora in the bowel. All this contributes to your body not being able to eliminate toxins and the result is skin problems!
Other skin problems can occur from eating wheat such as dermatitis, seborrhea, psoriasis, dandruff and dry skin.
Did you know that wheat is not just in the food we eat, but it is also in cosmetics? If you are gluten intolerant or a celiac or you want to eliminate wheat from your diet, check out the number of gluten free cosmetic that are available.
Plant Based Skin Care
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