Many times people will use topical creams or even get prescribed antibiotics to help with acne. However, from a naturopathic standpoint, acne is mutli-factoral and most commonly stems from your digestion or can be hormonal.
I have seen time and time again when gut health is better, skin symptoms can improve greatly. Common food allergies can cause break outs. Foods include dairy and sugar as the biggest culprits. Dairy has insulin like growth factors when consumed and can influence endogenous hormones that can trigger increase in oil production. Sugar itself also increases in oil production and can affect our hormones as well.
When hormones are out of balance as well, this will often cause breakouts. When your body produces an increase in androgens, this can cause imbalances in hormones that can results in acne. Androgens increase sebum production and cause thickening of the skin. These can contribute to pore-blocking and can trigger breakouts.
The products that you use on your skin can also make your acne worse. Your skin is your largest organ and anything that you put on topically can be absorbed systemically. Using harsh chemicals can also aggravate your skin products. You can always look at www.ewg.org/skindeep to look at your products and see their toxicity levels.
Often times there are some simple things you can take to help with acne. Here are 5 things that could help with your skin:
- Magnesium. Magnesium is an important nutrient to reduce inflammation(acne is inflammatory). Calcium is part of the body’s tissue matrix—comprising bones, cells, and skin—and is important for skin cell renewal. Taking magnesium with calcium combined in supplement form can reduce inflammation and acne.
- Omega-3s. Getting enough omega-3 fatty acids from fish or flax oil can improve skin significantly. With fish oil, many can see clearer, softer, smoother skin within a few days.
- Zinc. Zinc deficiency is a common for many/ When we’re deficient in zinc, our pores become easily irritated by bacteria and show redness. Research has shown that using zinc can ease acne even when compared to commonly prescribed antibiotics.
- Probiotics. We need probiotics for a healthy gut. A common symptom of a damaged and depleted microbiome is acne and other skin issues like rosacea. It’s particularly important with hormonal acne as your microbiome assists your body in processing and eliminating excess estrogen.
- B Vitamins. Your skin needs B-vitamins to regenerate and renew as they provide the energy all of your cells need for fuel. Taking a good B-complex every day that includes a high level of B6 will target hormonal or premenstrual acne. B6 prevents skin inflammation and overproduction of sebum (the oil your skin produces that can create acne issues).
