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Diet

Why is Diet Important?

Refined carbs/sugar = more insulin = more hormones = more sebum (oil) = more bacteria = more acne

We're always being told that a diet of pizza and chocolate doesn't cause acne, which may be true to a certain extent, but certain foods can aggravate acne. Simply by cutting down on the foods that can aggravate acne and eating more foods that can help alleviate acne your skin condition will improve.

Cut down on skin sinners
Eat more skin savers
Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals

We're all individual and while some people's skin won't be affected by eating chocolate, others may find this really plays havoc with their skin. You could try an elimination diet (see below) for a limited time and introduce target foods one at a time to see whether any aggravate your skin. Alternatively, if you have a sympathetic doctor, you could ask for an allergy/food intolerance test. This will show up any foods you may be intolerant to.

Read our article about the scientific link between diet and acne >>

Recipes

Elimination diets

For a period of one month, try cutting out all the food listed on the skin sinners list. Make all your meals from fresh, preferably organic, foods from the skin savers list. Try not to overcook your food and stick to mainly salads, quick stir fries and soups. Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts. Experiment with fruit smoothies and juices. After the month is up, add one food from the skin sinners list for a week and see if your skin reacts. Don't add more than one food at a time or you won't know which your skin has reacted to. The following week, add a different food and remove the first. Continue until you're happy with the foods you're eating.

Detoxing

Detoxing is very similar to an elimination diet in that you remove potentially aggravating foods and eat only foods that are cleansing. People do detox diets for various lengths of time, from a couple of days, a week to a month. It is generally better to continuously eat a good healthy diet all the time, however you could kick start with a detox.

Tips on elimination diets and detoxing:

Buy a book on food nutrition - make sure you're not missing out on any important vitamins and minerals by eating a variety of foods
It may take longer than a week for a food to show a reaction on your skin and certain foods in combination may aggravate - just keep persevering
Keep a diary to record what you're eating and how you feel emotionally and physically - this may help highlight food reactions and keep you going
- Record how many new spots are forming, how severe they are, how quickly they disappear etc., to see patterns emerge
You may experience negative symptoms such as headaches, skin breakouts, cravings etc - these are just signs the detox is working