So yeah Social Gals and Gents, breakouts aren’t just for teens and tweens. Sadly, they can plague us grown-ups too, well into adulthood, and have us battling the sexy combo of what might best be termed wrimples, the not so adorable love child of wrinkles and pimples.
That said, I’ve recently fallen upon an approach that seems to be effective in fighting the breakout war, while simultaneously proffering admirable side benefits like a leaner, meaner bod, thanks to some solid weight loss, and on the face front: a glowier, more vibrant complexion.
Interestingly, this regimen focuses more on what we feed the temple, rather than the slew of creams and potions we administer on the outside, and comes courtesy of one of my favourite health aficionados, Dr. Mercola, directly from his site, in his own words. ‘Hope it’s as effective for you as it has been for me. Buh-bye face-polluters!
THE MERCOLA ACNE ACTION PLAN
You Can Take Control of Your Skin Health
Remember, your complexion is a reflection of your overall health. Don’t forget to incorporate these essential factors into your acne-busting plan:
- Sugars and Grains: This is probably the single most important step you can take to improve your skin health. If you can eliminate all sugars and grains for a few weeks, there is a major likelihood you will notice rapid improvement in your complexion. Grains are found in natural whole foods such as beans, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables. Although beans, nuts, and grains contain more nutritive value than simple carbohydrates, you will need to limit them if acne is a problem for you.
- Water: Drink plenty of fresh, pure water every day. Hydrating your body facilitates cell growth and regeneration, elimination of wastes, and sloughing away dead skin cells. Hydration will also improve your skin tone.
Every day, drink enough water so that your urine is a pale yellow color. If your urine is bright yellow, you probably need to drink more water (unless you take B vitamins, which themselves turn urine bright yellow).
- Exercise: Getting plenty of high-intensity exercise helps your body flush out toxins, including those in your skin’s pores. Plus, exercise is vitally important to all other aspects of your health. If you happen to have access to an infrared sauna, this can be helpful, because the more you sweat, the more you flush unwanted debris and contaminants out of your pores.
- Sleep: Did you know that a good night’s sleep can decrease your stress and lead to clearer skin? Your body’s time for healing and rebuilding is at night while you sleep, and this applies to your skin. Sleep is also required for good energy and mood.
- Proper balance of bacteria: This is especially important if you have been on antibiotics, because those drugs indiscriminately kill off the beneficial bacteria in your gut, without which you cannot have a strong immune system. You can reestablish your bacterial balance by taking a high quality probiotic supplement, and by incorporating naturally fermented/cultured foods into your diet.
- Vitamin D: This important nutrient is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune response, and most people are deficient in it. Without adequate vitamin D, your body cannot control infection, in your skin or elsewhere. Exposing large areas of your skin to appropriate amounts of sunshine is the best way to optimize your vitamin D levels, or use a safe tanning bed. You should expose your skin until you just barely begin turning pink, which indicates you’ve generated the optimal amount of vitamin D for the day.
If you don’t have access to regular UV exposure, the next best thing is an oral vitamin D supplement, accompanied by regular monitoring of your vitamin D levels with a blood test.
If you change your diet and lifestyle in the ways I’ve recommended, you can expect significant improvement in the health and appearance of your skin. Plus, those same strategies will lead to improvements in your overall health, as well as relieving your bank account of expensive acne drugs that don’t offer any real or lasting solution to your skin’s woes.
Remember lifestyle changes are not a “quick fix,” but over the long run, they reap endless rewards!