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by:
Kim Standerline
Get plenty of fresh air and sunshine. Not only will your skin
appreciate the vitamin D, your body and mind will enjoy the
oxygen and stress reducer of just being outside in the fresh
air.Remember to use sun protection or tanning lotion if you're
out for any period of time.
Even "good" stress can trigger internal chemical responses that
result in acne, so plan ahead to deal with extra stress when
planning a wedding, graduation, move, new job, job transfer, new
baby, etc. Get help around the house, take time off, exercise
have fun or whatever you need to do. But be proactive.
When you control stress, you help control the stress hormone
cortisol - reducing its release as you reduce stress, reduces the
effects of acne. Activity and exercise help improve blood flow
and circulation and are natural healing aids for your skin
enabling improved waste management, via your skin pores.
Both blackheads and whiteheads are filled with trapped sebum and
bacteria. So prevention and treatment advice for how to handle them is important.
Drink plenty of water daily. A recommendation is three to four
tall glasses of mineral or filtered water. If you don't drink
enough, it can lead to dehydration, which leads to dead skin
cells not naturally falling off or sloughing properly. This
results in blocked pores which ultimately turns into acne.
Acne has nothing to do with dirt, so don't over-wash or
over-scrub your face or the rest of your body. Too much washing
and scrubbing can result in dry skin. Dry skin means your skin
creates more oil. which leads to extra dead skin cells and
blocked pores which trigger acne flare-ups.
Add more fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts to your regular diet.
Add salads, dried fruit and nut snacks, juices and other healthy
treats to your daily diet plan
Decrease your intake of caffeine, sugar and refined
carbohydrates. Some studies show caffeine can increases levels of
stress hormones inside your body, provoking or worsening acne
conditions.
Sugar and refined carbohydrates, such as that in white bread,
rice, flour, pasta, etc., can result in an insulin surge,
resulting in an excess of hormones stimulating the skin to
discharge lots of sebum.
Decrease your dietary intake of red meat and dairy products.
Since they are more difficult to digest, it's thought their
acid-forming properties are linked to our bodies's health. It's
thought when the body puts effort into the digestion of high
levels of animal protein, waste products are not completely
processed as quickly as they should be, i.e. they shed slowly,
blocking pores which causes acne.
Red meat and dairy products may contain high levels of hormones
that may generate higher levels in humans thus causing acne.
Use natural products on your skin. Avoid unnecessary chemicals in
skin/body products that may be harmful.
Use non-pore clogging or noncomedogenic products like make-ups
and tanning lotions.
Look for any combination of these terms on labels: natural
ingredients, antibacterial, antiseptic, anti fungal, anti
parasitic, antiviral and / or antimicrobial agent.
by:
Peter Crump
Acne is a pernicious
condition that is as damaging to self-confidence as it is to the skin,
but the wide variety of treatments for acne available today mean that
nobody need soldier on without help. It can take what seems to the
sufferer to be an agonizingly long time to find the treatments for acne
that work best for each individual, but persistence pays off. Try all
avenues, from topical solutions to oral medications to the best natural
acne treatments around, because you will eventually find the treatment
that works best for you.
In this modern, consumer driven world,
we have been trained to believe that we can have what we want, and we
can have it now, but the old axioms still hold true. Patience really is a
virtue, good things, including the best treatments for acne, come, and
the best things in life really are worth fighting for. But there is
little comfort to be found in what seem like empty words when you are
waking daily to a painful and embarrassing condition.
The thing
that fuels the search for effective treatments for acne is the damage
the condition can have upon self-esteem. And while the right treatments
for acne, even when finally discovered, can take some time to work, the
most important treatment will be one that does not relate to your skin.
Acne is an unfortunate condition, but has absolutely no impact
whatsoever on your abilities or your worth as a person.
Acne
sufferers have all thought that at one point or another it would be best
to stay in bed until their skin clears, but the best treatment for the
emotional side effects of acne is to get out into the world and enjoy
life. Acne is nothing to be ashamed of, and avoiding work or social
experiences only serves to reinforce your lack of confidence. You will
find the right acne treatment for you, and you will enjoy clear skin
again, but you will enjoy it so much more if you have retained your
sense of self in the meantime.
Don't let acne ruin your life -
the wide range of products available today means that you will find the
best natural acne treatment, the best topical or oral treatment for acne
soon. Be patient, and don't let acne mess with your self-esteem.
You will find the right treatments for acne that work for you, don't let acne ruin your life.
by:
rudy silva
To eliminate or
clear your face of acne it will require you take a variety of health
steps. The use of essential fatty acids is but one step. I have
identified 10 different steps but will only discuss one step in this
article - using essential fatty acids.
Getting sufficient essential fatty acids is of prime importance in
clearing acne. It's these fatty acids that help to control the
production of excess androgens - the hormones that surge during the
teen-age times It is androgens, which causes excess sebum oil to clog
your hair follicle and contribute to creating your acne.
The three fatty acids you need to get daily are:
· omega-3
· omega-6
· omega-9
When you are deficient in these essential fatty acids, you will
have,
· A weaken immune system
· Inflammatory disorders
· Poor skin
· Skin eruptions and other wounds that won't heal
· Sebum production increases (this is what happens when you have acne)
· Sebaceous glands size increases
Eating essential fatty acids are necessary to provide you the right oils
that are used in the sebaceous glands. These oils can come from
straight vegetable oils or from oils in specific foods such as nuts and
seeds.
Here's what you need to do. Use flax seed oil (omega-3 oil) and olive
oil (omega-6 oil) in your salad. These are the best oils to eat and are
called polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The other oil that is even better for you is called monounsaturated
fatty acid or omega-9. This oil is found in avocados and somewhat in
olive oil.
Most diets people have contain an excess of omega-6 oil (olive oil), so
mostly likely you need to concentrate on getting more omega-3 oil (flax
seed oil) into your diet.
You can get omega-3 oil from,
· avocados
· sesame seeds
· pumpkin seeds
· walnuts
· dark leafy green vegetables (spinach, mustard greens, kale)
· wheat germ oil
· salmon
· sardines
· albacore tuna
Or, you can take one to two tablespoon of flax seed oil, omega-3 oil,
each day. This will give you the amount of omega-3 oil that your body
needs. You can add this oil to your morning cereal, soups, smoothies,
salads and other liquid foods.
You can get omega-6 oil from,
· olive oil
· flaxseed oil
· flaxseeds
· grape seed oil
· pistachio nuts
· olives
· sunflower seeds
· chicken
· evening primrose oil
· pumpkin seeds
· pine nuts
Taking 2-3 tablespoons of omega-6 oil a day will give you the amount of this oil that you body needs.
So, to control those androgens and help your body reduce the creations
of acne or pimples start using more essential fatty acids.
Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist. He is
the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid ebooks. He
also writes a newsletter called "natural-remedies-thatwork.com." For
more information on the essential fatty acids go to:
http://www.fatty-acid-remedies.for--you.info
by:
Ryan Bauer
How Pantothenic Acid Works
Many
people have commented before that I recommend vitamin B5 (pantothenic
acid) a lot to acne sufferers. There happens to be a reason for that: It
is what cleared my acne. Totally. 100% Eliminated. If you haven't tried
it before, I strongly urge you to give it a go, it really is amazing
stuff.
Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B5, is commonly
supplemented in large doses to reduce oil production and help rid your
skin of acne. It works like Accutane, in the sense that it reduces oil
production. Pantothenic acid, however, works by helping your body to
metabolize the fats in your body that later turn into sebum. Accutane
actually shrinks the oil glands to block the oil from coming through to
your face. Since pantothenic acid addresses the underlying problem, it
is, in fact, the more efficient solution.
Let's get into the
details of how exactly pantothenic acid works. During your natural
metabolism process, your body breaks down fats. When your body lacks
enough coenzyme-A, not all of these fats can be broken down, and your
body has to get rid of them some how, so they are ejected through your
oil glands on your skin in the form of sebum (oil). By creating more
coenzyme-A, these extra fats can be broken down with the rest, and oil
production will be greatly reduced.
Coenzyme-A is made up of
three things: Cysteine, ATP and Pantothenic Acid. Your body takes care
of cysteine and ATP by producing it by itself, so vitamin B5 is the only
thing that you have to take in through food. By supplementing with
pantothenic acid, more coenzyme-A is producted, fats are broken down
better, and less oil ends up on your skin. Without too much oil on your
face, when a pore gets clogged, the p. acnes bacteria will have nothing
to feed upon and can't thrive to cause acne in the first place.
Considering
that pantothenic acid works for more than 90% of the people who take
it, including myself, it's a very effective medication. Since it's all
natural and water soluble, it's much safer than Accutane, which only
works for 70%-80% of the people who take it. It's also more efficient
than Accutane, because it eliminates the problem, instead of covering it
up by shrinking the glands and trapping the fats inside the body.
Supplementing with Pantothenic Acid
As
I've said before, to address a pantothenic acid deficiency, you have to
take large amounts of it, up to around 12 grams or so. Not everyone has
to take quite that much though, so the recommended dosage is as
follows: Start out with around 4 grams per day. Always divide the doses
into 4 times per day, spreading them out as much as possible. To prevent
stomach irritation, the only known side effect of pantothenic acid, try
to take it with food or at least a glass of water.
If the 4
grams doesn't work for you, slowly ramp it up until you start to see
results, stopping at around 12 grams. When you find a dose that seems to
be working for you, stay with it for about two months straight,
continuing to divide the doses so that you are splitting the dose into 4
parts. After those two months or so, you should be able to slack back
on it until you start seeing negative results to find out how much you
will need to continue to take as a "maintenance dose".
The only
thing to watch out for is that pantothenic acid can deplete your body of
other B vitamins, so a B-50 complex should be taken with it. Some say
you should also take Zinc with it, though I only take B-50.
Since
pantothenic acid has to be taken in large doses to see results, that
means you can forget trying to get enough by eating foods high in it, or
through a multivitamin or B vitamin complex. You can even forget about
taking pantothenic acid pills, since that means you would have to take
20+ pills every day. There's only really one reasonable way to take the
amount of B5 you will need to treat acne, which is pantothenic acid
powder.
Pantothenic acid pills can't be found in most stores,
much less the powder form of it. Some health food stores might have it,
but the ones around my area didn't. You might be able to talk to someone
at the store and have them order it for you, though it's usually marked
up quite a bit. The easiest and cheapest way to get pantothenic acid
powder is to just order it online
by:
Naweko San-Joyz
While "War of the
Worlds" sets a new sales record for Paramount, this Hollywood
blockbuster sends a healing message as old as time itself- bacteria are
lifesavers.
Even though most microorganisms are invisible to the
human eye, life, as we know it would be utterly impossible without
ubiquitous bacteria. We can all enjoy the blessings of photosynthesis,
digestion and the formation of natural gases thanks to the innate power
of bacteria to break down substances.
Ironically, much of the
anti-acne industry is built around destroying the widely misunderstood
yet biologically necessary bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes, or
p acne bacteria.
All life forms strategize to survive and
procreate. Weeds, worms, birds, fungi and bacteria all work to sustain
their own lives on this planet. In fact, we humans survive because of
the biological games constantly unfolding in our mist.
P acne
bacteria are no different. They want and need to survive. Skin bacteria
perform an important function. Bacteria use the secretions of our sweat
and sebaceous glands (sebum is the oil that makes our skin look shiny)
as nutrients. P acnes that are in balance with your body prevent
colonization by more harmful bacteria.
P acne bacteria only
encourage acne formations if the production of oil on the face is
excessive. This surplus of oil of prompted by hormonal, nutritional,
environmental and/or psychological changes in the body. So to prevent
acne, you do not what to kill bacteria per se, but keep the amount of
bacteria on your skin at an optimal balance.
You optimize your
oil secretion by understanding and controlling your response to
hormonal, nutritional, environmental and/or psychological changes.
If
we upset the balance of bacteria in our bodies by taking antibiotics,
our resident flora is upset and this enables harmful bacteria (such as
Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter baumannii) to colonize on our
skin.
In short, using antibiotics on bacteria is a battle amongst
intelligent parties involving the bacteria, the body and the human mind.
If we fail to appreciate the bacteria as bodily maintenance
workers and continue dousing them with antibiotics or antibacterial
soaps the bacteria just become more resistant to our antidotes. The
bacteria are practiced at playing dead as a tactic for survival.
Even
people who have used the strongest acne drug on the market, Accutane,
have witnessed the cunning behavior of bacteria as zits reappear some
months after using this course of acne treatment.
These people
have discovered that bacteria do not die; they silently and
strategically multiply. If you do not want your bacteria out of balance,
do not provide them an environment conducive to acne.
It's true
that bacteria have managed to wipe out entire populations of people.
Now, Hollywood comforts us with knowing that even aliens will fall prey
to the ever-plotting or is it ever-knowing bacteria. I'll just leave you
with this thought: Is that anti-bacterial soap making p acnes smarter?
About the Author
Naweko San-Joyz is creator of the Acne Messages program, the only
acne program to combine the latest scientific research and ancient
wisdom to deliver an acne cure as unique as the acne sufferer.
by:
Rudy Silva
Drink More Water
The skin stores around 12% water. It is important to maintain
this amount with the correct amount of good fat to keep your skin from
getting acne. You need to drink around 2 quarts of distilled water every
day. If you are not drinking this amount, just start increasing the
amount that you do drink.
Drinking water helps you get rid of toxins in the blood. By
drinking water, you will urinate more and more toxins will be
eliminated. The cleaner your blood the healthier your skin will be and
your will not have a problem with acne.
Use glass containers when buying distilled or reverse osmosis
water. Try to avoid using plastic containers for water since plastic
containers contain chemicals, left in the container walls during
manufacturing, which leaches out into the water.
If you are drinking fresh juices, you will also be getting water from these juices. Drinking sodas is not drinking water.
Here's a few things you do to help you drink more water or to
make the water healthier. Find a 16 or 32 oz glass container and add
distilled water. Then add one of the following nutrients:
* A few drops of Alkalife. This solution changes the pH of the
water from 7 to 8 and also activates the water with its electrolytes -
sodium and potassium.
* Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the water. Do not add sugar. A few drops of honey may be ok.
* Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the water and add up to one
teaspoon of powdered MSM. MSM is excellent for the skin disorders such
as acne. It makes the skin cells more flexible, allowing more nutrients
to go into and out of the cells, and its anti-inflammatory. MSM is also
excellent in activating peristaltic action and will prevent
constipation.
* Put 2 oz of mangosteen into the water. Mangosteen is an over
all body tonic. It works on all parts of the body and will help keep you
regular.
You can also choose to add your favorite nutritional flavor to give water an additional value.
Chose one of these natural additives for your water and drink
this water little by little all day long. This is one more thing you can
do to get rid of acne, improve your skin texture or to keep the nice
skin you already have.
Get Some Sunshine
One more thing you can do for your skin is to get more natural light.
Expose your face to plenty of sun and air. This helps your skin
to heal faster. But don't purposely place your face in the sun, but
remaining in the shade and open outdoors gives you plenty of sun and
air.
At least 20 - 40 minutes a day in the outdoors is necessary for you to get sufficient vitamin D for you daily needs.
Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist.
He is the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid
ebooks. He writes a newsletter call "natural-remedies-thatwork.com."
More acne hints and information on his acne e-book can be found at: http://www.acne-remedies.for--you.info
