Acne Diet

Posted on: July 28th, 2015 by California Skin Institute

As part of our commitment to help patients find long term acne treatment solutions, California Skin Institute providers can help you understand if your diet is playing a role in your breakouts. This is a very important aspect of acne treatment, because proper diet doesn’t just help control breakouts, but can improve the health of your skin in the long term.

When you visit California Skin Institute for an acne consultation, one of our expert providers will provide personalized recommendations for acne diet improvements and treatment options. This ensures that the suggestions are customized to your specific situation and health needs. However, when it comes to a proper acne diet, there are several general points to keep in mind.

Food as Medicine

To understand how diet can affect acne, let’s first take a look at how breakouts form.

The main causes of acne include overproduction of oil (sebum), acne bacteria, an inefficient skin rejuvenation cycle, and hormonal changes. All of these factors may cause pores to become clogged; creating ideal breeding grounds for bacteria and causing the pathways from sebaceous glands to become blocked. This often leads to the development of pustules, papules and the associated inflammation.

When considering acne diet changes for patients, California Skin Institute providers look at food as medicine and analyze how some of the vitamins and chemical compounds in nutrition may affect your skin.

• Vitamin A: You may have already heard about topical products that contain retinol, a chemical that is broken down by the skin into retinoic acid, which can stimulate the skin’s natural shedding process and make it more efficient. Well, retinol is a derivative of Vitamin A, a nutrient present in many foods, like carrots, leafy greens, and lettuce among others. This nutrient is essential for skin health and a deficiency in Vitamin A has even been associated with skin disorders and excessive dryness. In some cases, consuming more food with this vitamin can give your skin an added boost and improve its health in the long term.
• Vitamin E: Another acne diet nutrient is Vitamin E. This chemical is a natural anti inflammatory that may play a role in reducing the appearance of redness associated with breakouts. In fact, some studies have shown that Vitamin E is excreted through the sebaceous glands; those same skin structures responsible for producing sebum. By consuming foods rich in Vitamin E, you may be helping your skin decrease some of the acne inflammation.
• Linoleic Acid: This nutrient is an essential fatty acid that can improve skin health by decreasing dryness and skin cracking. Those with oily skin may think that dryness is not a problem, because they’re already fighting excessive amounts of oil. However, in some cases the excessive oil production can be the result of dry skin, and is simply your body’s response to the lack of hydration. Further, linoleic acid is thought to play a role in decreasing inflammation, which is important for those suffering from inflammatory acne.
• Hydration: In addition to eating foods that may fight acne, it’s also important to consume enough water to help the skin flush out toxins. In this day and age, there are many beverages on the market that have a lot of caffeine and other dehydrating ingredients. The daily consumption of these refreshments can cause the skin to become dehydrated, which makes it harder for the body to fight acne and for skin cells to function efficiently. To avoid this problem, it’s vital to consumer ample amounts of water on a daily basis.

These are just some of the nutrients that may play a role in a broader acne treatment plan. When you visit us for a consultation, your California Skin Institute provider will create a personalized treatment plan for your specific needs.

To schedule your consultation, please call a California Skin Institute practice near you, or fill out the Contact Form below!