Acne Free with an Acne Detox Diet
The acne detox diet notion has been around for some time, and has created more than it’s share of contention. Is an acne detox diet an effective acne cure, or just another “theory” that is yet to be proven? I thought a bit of fact-finding was in order, and you’ll never guess what I found.
The acne detox diet theory resulted from contemporary clinical studies that reviewed the findings of two other landmark studies conducted in 1969 and 1971. These studies surmised that acne was brought about by a genetic deficiency that causes your body to manufacture an excessive amount of sebum oil, a natural substance that your body uses to keep your skin comfy and pliable.
Excess sebum oil tends to come together in hair follicles and skin pores, plugging the pores and supplying a perfect breeding ground for the P-acne bacteria (Propionibacterium Acnes), which is present on everyone’s skin. In conventional numbers, the P-acne bacteria is actually healthful, controlling other, more menacing, bacteria that come our way.
Unfortunately, excess sebum oil lets the bacteria multiply to abnormal amounts, resulting in skin over sensitivity. Your body’s natural defenses then send white blood cells to the area to control the bacteria. The resulting conflict causes more over sensitivity and the presence of white heads, blackheads (once exposed to the air), pimples, and, well…acne.
But…What does that have to do with an acne detox diet?
Quite a bit, actually. The more modern studies have found that the conclusions reached in the 1968 and 1971 studies were not only problematic, but that the studies, themselves, were fundamentally flawed. Apparently, once they found the DNA-sebum oil connection, they stopped looking for other causes.
Researchers in the more current studies didn’t stop, and eventually found that there is a traceable link between diet and acne. What they didn’t anticipate was to find that the link wasn’t so much what you were eating, but much more about how what you’re eating is made.
A large chunk of the foods we eat, both at home and in restaurants, contain chemicals that act as preservatives. This keeps the food safe and fresh for much longer, which, in itself, is not an undesired thing.
What is a an undesired thing (and the reason for using an acne detox diet) as a natural remedy for acne is that these recent studies also discovered that, over a period of time, these chemicals tend to build up inside your body until they reach a toxic level, causing your body’s natural defenses to begin to eliminate the poisons.
They also uncovered the fact that, in people prone to acne, the body cleans itself of these chemicals by emulsifying them in sebum oil (remember that from earlier?) and secreting it out through your skin. This creates the exact same conditions as those created by faulty DNA, and results in acne formation.
So, you can see how an acne detox diet that rids your body of these chemicals before they reach a dangerous level, can be not just an acne cure, but the acne cure.
Disclaimer: This posting is based on information freely available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with acne and diet. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his or her physician or other medical specialist.