Acne and How to Treat it

If you suffer from acne you have probably tried a number of different creams and lotions, and, while they help a bit, they do not cure the problem. What you need to do is to take what is called a holistic approach, and to look at the underlying causative factors and correct those as far as you can.

You see, you may kill off a lot of the bacteria in the spots, but, these bacteria are not invading bacteria, but what are called commensals. In other words it is normal for them to be there, on the skin. Everybody has them and you can never get rid of them completely. They feed off the skin’s secretions but don’t normally cause any bother unless they start multiplying like mad which is what causes the acne.

The main underlying cause of this seems to be the outpouring of male sex hormones (that effects both sexes) at puberty and beyond, which causes more secretion of the oily substance sebum, by the skin. The purpose of sebum is to protect the skin and help stop it drying out, but, too much of it causes skin pores to block up and bacteria to multiply. The toxins produced by these bacteria irritate the skin and inflammation and redness result. The body attempts to fight the infection with white blood cells amongst other things, and these coalesce to form white spots or pustules.

In order to beat this sequence of events it is necessary to restore the balance of the skin’s environment, reducing the output of sebum. This can be done by modifying your lifestyle somewhat. A major contributing factor in acne seems to be diet, although this is contested by many doctors. Many acne sufferers though, do think that diet is important.

To help overcome the problem you should eat a healthy varied diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables to ensure adequate uptake of vitamins A, B5, C, D, and E, plus various minerals.

You also need to avoid certain foods as much as possible, especially sugary foods. These types of foods are called refined carbohydrates, and are bad for your general health as well as bad for your skin. They cause sudden rises in blood sugar levels which have a knock-on effect on hormone systems. One result of this is more sebum production. The other main food type causing excessive sebum production is milk and other dairy produce, which may well be due to hormones present in milk.

Other changes in lifestyle may be necessary to ensure you get sufficient exercise and sleep. Exercise helps improve blood flow to the skin, supplying more nutrients and helping the skin’s defences. You need plenty of sleep to allow the body’s healing processes to work efficiently.

If you seriously want to cure acne and keep it away, you should follow these guidelines. There is even more that you can do which is the subject of a short book that shows the exact steps to take to rid yourself of acne for good.