Acne is a medical condition that isn’t limited exclusively to teenagers. Many adults have been forced to confront it and try to minimize the damage done to their skin. Bad acne can make an adult want to avoid social settings out of embarrassment about their appearance. There are some tactics that all adults can use to fight an outbreak of acne, although which ones are most effective will be a personal matter.
Apart from home remedies and personal hygiene routines, there’s also the option to seek professional help. Residents living in Arizona can avail themselves of Acne Skin Care Services in Chandler, AZ. Specialists here are experienced, knowledgeable, and able to help most patients bothered by acne. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the most effective treatments patients can use to fight acne’s ravages.
What is the Connection Between Acne and Diet?
Much research has shown a significant connection between acne and some foods. Scientists conjecture that this connection may lie in some specific hormones that affect the development of acne or that some food types contribute to inflammation in the skin. Many factors can strongly influence the development of acne, including hormones, acne-causing bacteria, keratin and sebum production, inflammation, and blocked pores.
The connection between acne and diet has been controversial, but the most recent research clearly shows a tangible link between the two. The development of acne can sometimes be avoided by adopting a healthy diet rich in grains, proteins, vitamins, and necessary minerals. Now it’s time to look at some of the foods thought to trigger outbreaks of acne, or at least those which can contribute to triggering an outbreak.
What Types of Foods Contribute to Acne?
One of the biggest culprits for triggering acne comes from refined carbohydrates. A definite link has been observed between the high consumption of refined carbs and more severe acne outbreaks. Some foods in this category are:
- white rice
- rice noodles
- sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup, agave, or cane sugar
- pasta, especially the type made with white flour
- cereal, bread, crackers, or baked goods made with white flour.
Several studies have shown that foods rich in fats and sugars are 54% more likely to cause acne after consumption, while drinking sugary beverages is 18% more likely to trigger an acne outbreak. This is primarily due to refined carbohydrates’ effect on insulin and blood sugar levels. Since refined carbs get absorbed into the bloodstream quickly, blood sugar levels become rapidly elevated. When the blood sugar level rises, insulin assists in distributing that extra sugar out of the bloodstream and into body cells. Once situated in your body cells, the sugar is more likely to trigger an acne episode.
How to Build and Maintain a Healthy Diet as an Adult
A well-balanced diet is essential for maintaining good health and helping people develop properly as they age. Establishing a healthy diet as an adult will help you to avoid the potential for an acne breakout. By ensuring a balanced diet, you’ll provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to effectively carry out daily activities. Here are some of the elements of a well-balanced diet for an adult:
- nuts
- legumes
- lean proteins from meat and other sources
- whole grains such as wheat and oats
- fresh fruits like berries, bananas, apples, oranges, and watermelon
- fresh vegetables like celery, broccoli, carrots, onions, and beans
Another element of building a healthy diet involves limiting yourself to an appropriate number of daily calories. The average person requires about 2,000 calories each day, but this can vary considerably, depending on your age, activity level, gender, and some other factors. Any time a person consumes more than the calories they need to stay healthy, those calories will accumulate, and the person starts to gain weight. It’s also best to avoid foods containing empty calories and instead favor those with other nutrients the body needs.
Tips For Managing Acne
It can be very frustrating when you do your best to eat healthily and treat your acne, but you still see outbreaks reasonably often. If you’re one of the people who does everything right but is still troubled with acne, you may need to take it to the next level and seek professional help. However, you can do quite a few things on your own to help your case, even if you don’t see the results you want. Here are some of the ways you can treat acne as an adult:
- Keep your skin clean – wash your face gently 2-3 times per day and again after a period of exertion where you are sweating. This removes much of the bacteria that can be responsible for triggering acne.
- Choose the right skin care products – avoid buying skin care products that contain alcohol, and avoid products like exfoliants, astringents, or toners. These can cause your skin to dry out seriously, which will always make acne look worse.
- Shampoo often – the oil from your scalp can definitely make its presence felt through acne on your forehead. By shampooing regularly, you can reduce the presence of oil on the scalp and lessen the chance it will trigger an outbreak of forehead acne. It’s also a good idea to keep your hair off your forehead for the same reason.
- Stick to the plan – if you don’t see immediate results from one acne treatment, don’t immediately switch to another one. Switching can cause irritation to your skin and trigger breakouts. It usually takes at least several weeks for any given product’s effectiveness to manifest on your face.
- Do not pick at pimples – picking at pimples on your face can cause acne to flare up worse. Any time you pick at pimples, there’s a good chance you’ll be extending the period of the flare-up, and you’ll also increase the chances of scarring after the pimples subside. It’s also possible for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation to develop on your skin.
- Avoid strong sunshine – not only should you avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, but you should also avoid using tanning beds. Tanning can cause damage to your skin and can worsen any outbreak of acne. There are also some medications used to clear up acne that make your skin more sensitive to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, so you could be at increased risk for skin damage.
Conclusion
Acne is a condition that affects at least 10% of the American population, and probably more than that since many cases go unreported. A significant portion of that 10% comprises adults since they undergo many of the same conditions as teens. While teens typically have oilier skin and tend not to eat as healthily as they should, acne certainly does not restrict itself to the teen crowd. If you’re an adult obliged to deal with acne outbreaks, there are some home remedies you can adopt that will help your cause.
Get plenty of sleep and rest at night so your skin has time to heal and repair itself from your daily activities. Establish a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, proteins, whole grains, and non-sugary beverages. Regular exercise can also help regulate body processes better, thus helping avoid excesses that may lead to an outbreak.
If you’ve been following all these good practices and still have persistent acne outbreaks, it may be time to call reinforcements. Contact Acne Skin Care Services in Chandler, AZ, so you can consult with the team of specialists about your condition. They have seen all kinds of acne outbreaks, so yours won’t be anything new to them. Undoubtedly, the team in Gilbert will be able to diagnose the cause of your outbreaks and develop an effective treatment program to counteract them.
