Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a surprising number of complements on my complexion. “You have great skin!” “How come you never break out?” “I wish my face was as clear as yours!” I have to say these complements have done wonders for my self-esteem.
I’m not telling you this because I want to brag about my beautiful face (sarcasm), but because I want to share some secrets with you. Here’s the first secret: I don’t have a clear face just because I didn’t get the acne gene. In high school and college I had my fair share of mornings spent moaning at the mirror – “I swear that huge red thing was not there when I went to bed! How am I going to hide that before my date tonight?!” Is it just me, or do those pesky things pop up (literally) when you least need them?
I know you’ve been there too. So how did I transition from a mirror-moaner to a worshiper? The answer lies in this week’s Secret/Not So Secret factoid.
Not so secret: Your lifestyle affects your skin. Secret: If you’re looking for a devil to blame for your pesky pimples, I’ve got two for you - dairy and sugar.
Why Dairy? Simply put, milk contains hormones. Increased hormones in your body = increased oil underneath your skin. Increased oil = BREAKOUTS! In addition, dairy products can cause inflammation in people that are lactose intolerant (and believe it or not, the majority of the U.S. actually is lactose intolerant). Internal inflammation can lead to external inflammation in the form of zits.
But what about sugar? Refined sugar quickly raises your blood sugar, which triggers a similar hormone response to dairy. More inflammation, more hormones, more oil, more breakouts! Check out this article for a more detailed explanation.
Still not convinced about the connection between dairy, sugar and acne? Why not try an experiment? Yup, it’s challenge time.
Challenge: For the next 7 days cut dairy and sugar out of your diet completely. This includes all forms – cheese, milk, ice cream in the dairy category, and evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, raw sugar in the sugar category. Why 7 days? Because within the first 3 days, your body will probably start to detox and you may see an increase in breakouts. Give it some time. On the 8th day add in either dairy or sugar (but not both!). See how you feel the next morning. Got break outs brewing? On the 9th day add the other devil back in. Now are those pimples ready to pop? After this experiment, you'll know if one affects you more than the other. If both make you break out, then at least you'll have an idea of what foods to avoid before your next big date.
If you’re tired of breaking out, but all of this information sounds daunting, why not shoot me a little email and schedule a free nutrition breakthrough session with me? We’ll go over your health concerns and goals, and together we can make an easy-to-follow plan to tackle your troubles!
I’m not telling you this because I want to brag about my beautiful face (sarcasm), but because I want to share some secrets with you. Here’s the first secret: I don’t have a clear face just because I didn’t get the acne gene. In high school and college I had my fair share of mornings spent moaning at the mirror – “I swear that huge red thing was not there when I went to bed! How am I going to hide that before my date tonight?!” Is it just me, or do those pesky things pop up (literally) when you least need them?
I know you’ve been there too. So how did I transition from a mirror-moaner to a worshiper? The answer lies in this week’s Secret/Not So Secret factoid.
Not so secret: Your lifestyle affects your skin. Secret: If you’re looking for a devil to blame for your pesky pimples, I’ve got two for you - dairy and sugar.
Why Dairy? Simply put, milk contains hormones. Increased hormones in your body = increased oil underneath your skin. Increased oil = BREAKOUTS! In addition, dairy products can cause inflammation in people that are lactose intolerant (and believe it or not, the majority of the U.S. actually is lactose intolerant). Internal inflammation can lead to external inflammation in the form of zits.
But what about sugar? Refined sugar quickly raises your blood sugar, which triggers a similar hormone response to dairy. More inflammation, more hormones, more oil, more breakouts! Check out this article for a more detailed explanation.
Still not convinced about the connection between dairy, sugar and acne? Why not try an experiment? Yup, it’s challenge time.
Challenge: For the next 7 days cut dairy and sugar out of your diet completely. This includes all forms – cheese, milk, ice cream in the dairy category, and evaporated cane juice, brown sugar, raw sugar in the sugar category. Why 7 days? Because within the first 3 days, your body will probably start to detox and you may see an increase in breakouts. Give it some time. On the 8th day add in either dairy or sugar (but not both!). See how you feel the next morning. Got break outs brewing? On the 9th day add the other devil back in. Now are those pimples ready to pop? After this experiment, you'll know if one affects you more than the other. If both make you break out, then at least you'll have an idea of what foods to avoid before your next big date.
If you’re tired of breaking out, but all of this information sounds daunting, why not shoot me a little email and schedule a free nutrition breakthrough session with me? We’ll go over your health concerns and goals, and together we can make an easy-to-follow plan to tackle your troubles!
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