How your skin reacts to foods

Our skin is the biggest organ in the human body, it acts as a protective barrier that separates the organism from the surrounding environment, protecting it and contributing to keep it's structures intact, all while acting as a communication system with the environment.

Our skin is also affected by the way we treat ourselves... too much sun can be harmful, but not enough can too.  Smoking and drinking too much are known causes of early aging and we have all been told by the cosmetic manufacturers that we really need to look after our skin and use expensive creams to achieve a youthful aspect.

Back in January of this year, I wrote a post on feeding your skin, and how to help from the inside out, but here's a little bit of information on how daily foods can affect the aspect of our skin.  So let's start off with my personal favorite!

Sugar.

I actually am in the process of seeing how long I can go for without refined sugar.  I LOVE anything sweet and I am incapable of eating a small square or two of chocolate.  If I open the packet, the whole lot is likely to disappear.  But on 31st May this year I decided to switch to a low carb - high fat diet and it is amazing the difference it has made to my skin.

Sugar causes lines and wrinkles on the upper forehead, saggy skin under the eyes, blemishes and

large pustular or cystic acne which is widespread over the face as opposed to concentrated in certain areas.  It can also cause a gaunt appearance with thinning of the skin, and an unhealthy pasty white hue complexion.

This is because sugar leads to glycation, a process where excess glucose molecules cling to your collagen and distort it and make it stiff.  It is amazing what quitting or even reducing sugar can do for your skin, and you will literally see the difference in a matter of days to a couple of weeks.  A client of mine had terrible acne, for a totally different reason she decided to break her addiction to ice cream.  What she didn't expect was to get a vast improvement to her skin.

Dairy.

I'm putting this after sugar as the two have a lot in common... lactose is the sugar in milk so the two are strongly related (this is why the client I mentioned above got such an improvement on giving up ice cream... no sugar, no dairy... win win).  As we age our bodies find it increasingly hard to digest lactose, so even if you believe you have never had a problem with dairy, you might just find it's affecting you now.  Being unable to digest lactose is due to a loss of enzymes which leads to inflammation throughout your body, including your face which may appear tired and red.

Dairy can produce dark circles and/or bags under the eyes, swollen eyelids, widespread acne and other blemishes, spots concentrated on the chin and pale cheeks.  We do not NEED dairy produce in our diets, but if you can't live without it then keep it below 5% of your diet.

Wine.

Sorry!  Yes, wine is good for us in many ways, especially where antioxidants are concerned.  However it does have a few negative effects as well, such as oral health problems.  And yes, it can also affect your skin.  This is because wine has a very high sugar content (all alcohol does), there is also a potential pesticide and sulphite problem, but wine also causes dehydration.  So don't forget to moderate the wine and keep up the water intake at the same time, other wise you skin will become ruddy, saggy and wrinkly.

Wine and dehydration lead to pronounced lines or blemishes between the eyebrows and droopy eyelids.  The fine skin under the eyes becomes lined and wrinkled.  The dehydration causes feathery lines on the cheeks, a reddish skin tone, deep folds from the nose to the mouth and enlarged pores.

Gluten.

Yes, I know, gluten-free diets are all the rage at the moment, but please, if you don't recognize these symptoms in your skin and you aren't celiac or gluten intolerant then YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP GLUTEN.

Some people who may not realize they have a problem with gluten might recognize some of the symptoms here; blemishes on the forehead and puffy cheeks and jowls and an all round bloated appearance to the face.  Redness and/or red spots on the cheeks and blemishes or darkened areas on the chin.  If this is you then it would be a good idea to quit gluten for 3 months and see how you feel and look.  If you like, after that initial 3 month period you could try reintroducing gluten and see if it affects you.  Do this little by little.  Try a piece of bread, for example and then wait for 4 days to see if you notice anything out of the ordinary, gas, headache, skin breakout.

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com