Clear skin diet.....

What type of foods should I eat for healthier clearer skin. I don't have acne, but my skin just looks bland. Any tips?

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Hi,

Thanks for your email. According to Dr. Perricone, the best diet for great skin is the same diet that's good for your waist line and your health in general. A diet that is most made up of low glycemic foods. What is the difference between low and high glycemic foods?

Well, high glycemic foods are simple sugars and carbohydrates. You see simple carbohydrates like sugars and breads, cause inflammation within the body (not something you can really see right up front).

But in the long, inflammation within the body causes skin wrinkling and other health issues.

Try to make the changes slowly and just add a little bit of green to each meal and less white/brown. For example, eat half a baked potato (instead of a whole potato) or use one slice of bread (instead of two for a sandwich) and add some veggies or a salad to fill out the meal. This is a glycemix index chart you follow to get any idea of foods that are simple carbs and foods that are complex carbs and better for your skin and waist line.

Click on the following links to read more and see the low glycemic index chart.

Benfotiamine
Skin Vitamins/Diet.

Hope this helps,
Linda, Admin Wrinkle Free Skin Tips

Diet for Acne or Herbs to Help Clear Complexion??

What do you think is most helpful? I've tried everything for acne with no luck. Are there any special herbs or special foods I should eat or stay away from?
Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Thanks for your email regarding acne. I understand how difficult acne is to treat. Hopefully, I can provide some information to help you find something that may work for you.

You said you've tried everything for acne – does that include medication like Accutane? You didn't say how old you are or what type of skin you have (i.e. oily, dry, combination).

These factors are important when trying to find a successful treatment for facial acne. They are especially important if you're older (not a teenager), have dry, sensitive, combination, or mature skin with noticeable lines and wrinkles.

Many acne products are just too aggressive for adults and usually contain strong acne fighting ingredients like benzoyl peroxide along with other active ingredients - which may be too much for most complexions too handle.

And while some may work for short time, the skin usually rebounds and your breakouts come back again. Or your complexion becomes red, irritated, peels, or is blotchy.

A better option is to start with products that let you "dial down" the strength and work your way up until you find the right combination that will produce the results you want.

I can't tell exactly which products will work for you. However, as a suggestion, you might want to look for less aggressive treatments that contain salicylic acid instead of benzoyl peroxide (along with gentle botanicals or herbs to calm irritation).

Also, make sure they also offer topical serums and a clarifying face wash that you can add once your skin has adjusted to the initial treatment.

Once you've used the basic treatment for a few weeks (try it every other day at first) and your skin is handling it fine, then you may wish to consider adding the topical serum - which you apply just to the troubled areas as spot treatment - not all over the face.

Then if your skin reacts positively, you can add a clarifying face wash and continue to pay attention to how your skin reacts.

In the meantime, stick with really gentle cleansers like Cetaphil. You can purchase it in any drugstore.

If at any time your complexion becomes irritated back off until it's calm again.

Also, determine what type of skin you have and consider looking for products that offer acne treatments for your type.

This can help you get the most out of the treatment because you'll be able to tolerate long enough to get good results. The more tailored the better.

Products to consider: Proactive. They offer a regular treatment line that contains benzoyl peroxide, but in small amounts so it's tolerable by most. And they also offer a gentle formula (benzoyl peroxide free) for sensitive skin.

Another product to consider: Zenmed. They actually makes four different acne treatments for different skin types.

Unfortunately, this is a real trial and error situation so you'll just have to try to find a combination that works for your type and needs. But the good news is both of these products lines (and many acne products) offer a generous 2 month money back guarantee.

So save your receipt and take advantage of this.

What About Diet?

Well, again, you need to be your own detective here. While it is a bit controversial, there are some small studies indicating that milk and other dairy products can increase acne due to the hormones in the food. You can read more about it here:

acne treatments for sensitive skin

Give it a try and maybe keep a log for a few weeks. If you are a dairy lover, try to eliminate it for a few weeks and see if that doesn't work.

There is also some indication that a deficiency of zinc can make one "more" prone to acne and breakouts.

Unless you have a medical condition that forbids you to take zinc, consider taking a multiple vitamin that contains at least 50 mg of zinc methionine. Zinc gluconate is ok, but the study was done using the methionine form. You can read about that here.

zinc for acne

Other Tips

This last tip sounds like an "old wives' tale" but eating sulfur based foods and vegetables might help. This was something my grandmother always believed in strongly.

Sulfur based foods include eggs, garlic, onions broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and cabbage. It certainly can't hurt to eat these foods for general health too.

Before taking any supplements or eating any foods recommend here, please check with your doctor if you are on any medication or have any health conditions.

I hope this information has been helpful to you. Good luck.