Acne affects most teenagers/college age students and for some it worse for others whether that be psychologically or physically. I have been a constant sufferer of acne since 10th grade of high school. I then was on doxycycline (a common antibiotic prescribed for acne and skin infections) and that cleared up my skin for a few years until my 2nd year of college when it started upsetting my stomach and giving me stomach cramps. I then had to learn how to control acne without drugs and harmful chemicals and have fought an endless battle of creams, washes, supplements, diets, etc.
Throughout this struggle to clear up my skin, which currently looks ok (still get acne, however it looks average and nothing unusual, a little bit here and there), I have learned a lot on how to control acne naturally. All of the things I do are natural and healthy, so feel free to give all or whatever you choose a try (within reason). Also, Remember that everyone's bodies are different and what works for me may not work for you.
My Acne Attack Plan:
-Diet: Eating a healthy diet will help provide a functioning body. It only makes sense that your skin is partly a reflection of your diet because it can also be reflection of your health.
-Avoid high sugar foods and one's on the high glycemic index. This means you really should only consume sugar that comes from natural forms such as fruit. Avoid the sweets, white breads, and foods with sugars added.
-Fried Foods:these create an imbalance in your omega fat levels and can show in your skin and can cause you to break out.
-Meat: Most meat contains antibiotics and the animal was fed with a corn product. Therefore this meat may have hormones and bad fats instead of the proper omega fats.
-Dairy: Dairy is naturally full of hormone's which can cause an imbalance in one's own hormones and cause acne. It also can be full of antibiotics in order to prevent and treat diseases the cows might get therefore be sure to check on the bottle if it is antibiotic free (most are now). I am not saying avoid dairy like the plague, however eat it in moderation and see if it makes a difference for you.
-Avoid alcohol and caffeine, or drink in moderation. I personally don't drink much of either so I am not familiar with the effects. I have heard they can both make acne worse and therefore drink in moderation/avoid.
-Omega 3's: I advise eating omega 3 rich foods and consuming a supplement. I advise consulting a doctor before consuming large amounts of this supplement. If you do not have a previous health condition you are probably safe to take what is recommended on the bottle. *Also, be sure to buy one's that filtered out mercury, heavy metals, and whatever else might be in the water/fish. You should also consider buying one's that say burpless or else you might burp up fish oil odor, which tastes gross. I recommend Nature Made Burp-less 1000mg, 300mg, Omega-3. It's definitely helped me. I usually take two a day.
-Multivitamin: I also advise a general multivitamin. Try to buy a trusted well tested brand. I hear vitamins are not always consistent or well tested for accuracy so buy a well-known and trusted brand. I recommend buy one designed for your gender.
-Vitamin D: I advise consuming about 1000IU or less of supplemented Vitamin D. It is rarely found in food and if you live in New England or Northern North America there can be times in the year where you can't get enough Vitamin D from the sun. Do not supplement more than 2000IU without talking to a Doctor. I also think sun exposure can help acne, however be reasonable because there are negative effects from too much sun exposure such as wrinkling and skin cancer, etc.
-Green Tea: Grean Tea has antibacterial factors and can be just as effected as washing with benzyol peroxide washes with none to little side effects. It is also full of anti-oxidants and helps keep your body hydrated and skin clear. The only side effect I have encountered is discoloration of teethe (good thing there is whitening tooth paste and white strips). I advise drink around 4-6 cups of green tea spread throughout the day for best results.
Those are the basics that most people can try to do. Other aspects of our life are harder to control such as stress, work, sleep, however these are simple steps one can take at every meal.
Also consider exercise to help acne, wash twice a day, makeup, and birth control.
If you have acne try one of my suggestions. I always advise drinking a lot of water as well.
Stay Strong,
Best,
Trevor
Pic from http://glmfs.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1
That is my favorite, also the kind with pomegranate is tasty as well!
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