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Skin solutions
We sat down with Dr. Alan Logan, co-author of The Clear Skin Diet to chat about the correlation between acne and poor nutrition. Read on to discover how what you eat can affect how you look.
By Lara Ceroni
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Why are more adult women suffering from adult acne?
A: Obviously, we can't write off the increased rates of adult acne to genetics, so we have to look to environmental factors to explain why one out of every two women over the age of 26 is experiencing some degree of acne.
Diet is an obvious candidate, and certainly there have been major unhealthy shifts in our diet over the last half century. Stress may be another factor; research is showing that not only do women do more daily work than men, this added burden of more work in home beyond the 9 to 5 translates into higher levels of the stress hormones. Unfortunately when women experience stress and elevated stress hormones, they are more likely than men to have stepped up production of sebum, the oil that blocks the pores. It's also true that when under stress, we are typically not reaching for kale and broccoli. Instead we are drawn to comfort foods high in sugar and the wrong types of fats.
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What role do Omega 3 fish oils play in achieving great skin?
A: The omega-3 fatty acids, particularly those from fish, may be the cornerstone of healthy, radiant and clear skin. These omega-3 fatty acids, and one of them in particular called eicospentaenoic acid or EPA, have major anti-inflammatory properties. This is important because we now know that inflammation is at the root of most chronic skin conditions, especially acne.
Therefore cutting off this cycle of inflammation by fish oil can have great benefit. It is worth noting that in one large study in North Carolina, those teens who have the greatest intake of fish and seafood had the lowest rates of acne and the lowest amounts of acne lesions - from blackheads to full blown inflammatory acne.
Which source of omega 3 do you recommend? Flax? Fish oil? Walnuts?
A: Fish oil has the highest concentration of the anti-inflammatory EPA. Ground flaxseeds, walnuts, hemp and organic canola oil all contain the parent omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). While ALA is very healthy and should be incorporated into the diet, it is important to note that in humans it must be converted, in the liver, into EPA. This conversion process is rather sluggish in humans, however, since fish is already rich in pre-formed EPA, the issue of conversion is a non-factor. For this reason fish oil may have the anti-inflammatory edge in acne.
Image courtesy of ImaxTree.com
Click here for more about diet and acne.
Read more:
Stop the signs of aging
Pearly white teeth tips
The battle of rosacea
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