Acne Is for Kids... Right?

Wrong!

Irrespective of your age, acne probably troubles you at some point. Even though you may think it only affects kids! Well, these are the stark facts in the Western World:

 

  • The average age of acne patients has now increased from 20 to 26 years old.
  • Millions of adults are experiencing acne for the first time.
  • Acne rates are rising, in the USA, eight million people see a dermatologist every year for acne and millions more rely on infomercial products hawked by celebrities or over-the-counter products that total $100 million in sales every year.
  • Healthcare costs for prescription acne treatment exceed $1 billion a year.
  • All of which contradict the long-held beliefs that acne is for kids and caused by genes.

What is happening?

The key to healthy skin isn't to just smother the symptoms with acidic, antibiotic potions and lotions, or by popping and pricking pimples, or even by taking strong liver-damaging medication like Accutane.

Rather, an excellent solution is found in ‘The Clear Skin Diet’ by dermatologist Val Trelor, MD and Alan Logan, ND, a naturopath. They identify the real causes of acne: your nutritional status, stress, toxicity, inflammation, hormonal and gut imbalances.

Good Skin Comes from the Inside Out, Not the Outside In!

 

In fact, they show how acne results from:

  1. A diet rich in sugars, saturated and processed fats, dairy, grains and grain-fed meat.
  2. A diet poor in fresh, organic fruit and vegetables, fibre, omega-3 fish oils, turmeric, ginger, green tea, nuts, dark purple and red foods such as berries, green foods like dark green leafy vegetables, and eggs. In other words, nutrient deficiencies.
  3. Hormonal imbalances with a key trigger being the glycemic load of your diet (how quickly the food increases your blood sugar and insulin levels).
  4. Inadequate liquid especially in the form of pure water. You need a min of 2 litres per day.
  5. Leaky gut and food allergies: Foods like gluten, dairy, yeast, and nuts cause allergies if you have a leaky gut.
  6. Stress causes inflammation and oxidative stress, raising cortisol and depleting zinc, magnesium and selenium, which help control acne.
  7. Toxicity from poor diet, pollution, negative thoughts and feelings.
  8. Lack of regular exercise: a combination of aerobic, anerobic, cardio and interval training are known to oxygenate your entire body which in turn regularises hormones, weight, blood flow and pressure, improves mental clarity and mood and helps with detoxification. Healthy, vibrant, clear skin depends on the optimal function of many of the core systems of the body: your nutritional status, immune system, gut, hormones, toxic load, oxygenation, and mind-body health.

We can help to an extent with your nutritional deficiencies through Total Balance and our Omega 3 DHA fish oil...but, all the other components mentioned above need to be considered if you want really good looking skin.

This applies to all of us, at any age!

3 Responses

Hello Esther,

Thank you for your comments and congratulations on taking control of your health and acne!

You are absolutely right that this requires a permanent lifestyle and dietary change to include all the factors mentioned in my blog above.

There is not just one simple solution. Good skin comes from the inside out, not the outside in! You need to ensure that all your internal systems and processes are balanced for the whole to work optimally.

A tough task I know in todays stressful, nutritionally depleted world. But possible, if like you, you take responsibility of your health and wellbeing.

You may find our blog <a href= http://www.xtend-life.com/Blog/10-06-01/The_Genie_in_Your_Genes.aspx >
http://www.xtend-life.com/Blog/10-06-01/The_Genie_in_Your_Genes.aspx interesting in this context as it shows how YOU can in fact greatly influence your genes, and therefore your heath.

Also acne may even be caused by a severe hormonal imbalance. It might be worthwhile to find a doctor specializing in bio-identical hormones and have a full hormone panel test done.

Xtend-Life Expert June 17 2010

Hi Chloe,
That’s right. There are things that can help both cosmetically and internally.

Total Balance and Omega 3/DHA formulas are good for overall balance of the body, including hormonal balance (which is a contributory factor to sebum production), and general skin health.

Breakouts and oiliness, as well as balanced and hormonal correction, can be helped a lot with dietary improvements, fluid intake improvements and exercise also.


Diet should be as pure as possible, concentrate on an abundance of raw/steamed vegetables as your main meal product, plus plenty of fruits, nuts, seeds, lentils, whole grains and fish. These are good mainstay products.


Fluid intake should be pure (pure water, and fresh blended whole vegetable juicing, greens plus others), at 2+ litres per day. This will help to release toxins that build up in the skin and in the body.


Regular, moderate exercise helps to oxygenate the skin, keeping efficient blood flow to the surface for normal and optimal function.


If you put all of this together – with the cosmetic skincare such as the cleansing mask for example, internal supplement balance, diet, fluid and exercise, this should really benefit you.


Additional tips can also include:
A short-term course of probiotics (acidophilus) to help replenish essential bacteria to reduce outbreaks.

Colloidal silver is a natural antibiotic which can be taken orally or applied direct to the affected area with cotton wool to help.

Joanna

Xtend-Life Expert September 14 2010

Having had acne from the age of 13 to 35 (getting worse every month) and finding nothing that worked, I changed my diet and lifestyle completely, starting, with the extreme for me, of taking out dairy which I craved and increasing raw food in my diet.  Six months later I had no acne.  The theory I read was that if your digestion isn’t working properly then the overload comes out through the skin.  No amount of popping pills or smearing lotions helps chronic acne, a complete change was what I needed.  Sadly in our day and age of fast food/slack diets and not wanting to take responsibility of our own health, if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we’re getting.

Esther June 15 2010

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