Acne is most prevalent during puberty and adolescence as hormonal levels increase, though it can continue to be an issue or develop anew well into adulthood. Dietary changes can and do improve acne as well as exfoliation to remove the dead skin cells so that the pores stay unclogged.
The primary dietary culprits for acne, in my experience as a practicing ND for decades, are wheat and gluten, sugar, and dairy, though any food the body has an allergic reaction to can exacerbate acne.
Eating foods one is allergic or sensitive to can cause the sloughing epithelial cells to adhere to each other, making a clogged pore worse. Add this to increased sebum production from the hormonal and increased androgen shifts of adolescence and you have a situation with more trapped oils and sebum blocked by stuck together dead skin cells, and acne worsens.
By enhancing detoxification pathways to calm down the hormones as well as identifying and eliminating the foods that cause the dead skin cells to adhere to one another, many of my patients experience better clearer skin.
Along with the above, improving and correcting imbalances to the digestive system and the microbiome (which after all, is part of the body’s detoxification system ) is key to helping to clear the complexion.
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