You Are What You Eat
You know that saying, “you are what you eat”? Well…it’s true. Every morsel of food we swallow becomes the building blocks for our cells, our blood, our organs, and our skin. Certain foods contribute to our health and vitality, while others, zap it.
When it comes to acne, there is a substantial and growing body of evidence that diet and lifestyle have a greater effect over our skin than anything else. This is in STARK CONTRAST to the commonly held beliefs about acne.
When I was personally struggling with acne so bad I didn’t want to leave the house, I thought I was cursed with either bad luck, bad karma, or bad genes. After all, that is, more or less, what popular culture and medical advice would leave you to believe.
It turned out though…it was simply a bad diet!
What Causes Acne?
While there is a small number of people blessed with genetically flawless skin, no matter what they eat, and a small number of people who suffer from genetic acne, both of those groups are extremely SMALL. For the vast majority of people, diet and lifestyle play a critical role in determining whether we break out, or not.
Some of the most common diet and lifestyle acne triggers include diet (both nutrient deficiency and eating the wrong foods), stress, and hormonal imbalances (which are influenced to some extent, by diet and lifestyle choices).
In my 3-month program, Eat Beauty, I guide you towards figuring out your personal acne triggers, and how to reverse them, so you can achieve the clear, flawless skin you desire. While there are multiple causes of acne, and the approach to effectively treating it will depend on your unique situation, there are certain foods that can help bring down the redness and inflammation of breakouts more quickly.
That being said, even if you add in all these “blemish blasting foods,” keep in mind that if you are still eating or doing something that is fueling the fire of acne for your unique body, you won’t see complete clearance. Treating acne naturally requires a multi-pronged, holistic approach, and time.
Read more HERE.
About the Author
Maria Marlowe is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who has helped thousands of people improve their health by optimizing their diet. She has created meal plans and programs to help youlose weight, clear up acne, and spend less time in the kitchen yet still eat healthy.
She has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, NBC, Well + Good, and more. Her first book, The Real Food Grocery Guide (to be released May 2017), will teach you how to eat healthy without going broke.