“I feel like I’m 46 going on 16…but not in a good way.”
My patient Jessica was telling me how fed up she was with her pimples.
“I thought I left this acne problem behind in high school.”
And just as with teenagers, acne was eating away at Jessica’s self-confidence. She didn’t want to leave the house when she had a flare-up. She started cancelling lunches and rescheduling meetings at work so she didn’t have to face other people.
Jessica is not alone. I am seeing much more adult acne in my patients. In fact, about 26% of women in their 30s and 12% of women in their 40s now have clinical acne.1
For women, outbreaks usually strike whenever hormones fluctuate wildly. That can mean the days before your period. It can also mean you’re looking at months or years of perimenopause.
Most dermatologists will prescribe antibiotics, birth control pills, drugs, or toxic creams like Accutane. But they don’t address the root cause of acne.
You see, acne is a disease of our modern lifestyle. Primitive cultures never heard of it. Here’s why.
Acne Linked To Modern High-Carb Diets
In 2002 my friend and colleague, Dr. Lauren Cordain, studied the Kitavan people. They live on remote islands in Papua, New Guinea. He found not a single case of acne in 300 natives between the ages of 15 and 25.2
It’s not that the Kitavan have better genes than we do. Inuit (Eskimo) people were also never known to have acne. But when they switched to a Western diet, acne appeared for the first time.3
Traditional Inuit fished and hunted wild animals. They gathered nuts, seeds, and berries. Their diet was high-protein, low-glycemic, and rich in antioxidants. Compare that to a typical Western diet. It’s over 70% refined sugars, grains, vegetable oils, and dairy.
High-glycemic “carbs” – grains and sugars – aren’t a natural part of our diet. They cause an unnatural spike in blood sugar. Your body has to scramble to release large amounts of insulin to deal with all the sugar.
But all that insulin also triggers the release of male hormones called androgens. And another hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). Those hormones cause an increase in acne.4
A low-glycemic diet can prevent the insulin spike and hormone jump. In an Australian study, acne sufferers switched to a low-glycemic diet. In just 7 days they cut their levels of acne hormones.5 After 12 weeks they also had a 50% greater reduction in their acne lesions than patients eating a typical Western diet.6
Here’s how you can do the same.
Clear Your Skin By Lowering Your Glycemic Load
Here at the Wellness Center, my patients see promising results by following 3 simple steps.
1. Eat More Low-Glycemic Load Foods. Eating more like our caveman ancestors can naturally balance insulin levels.
The glycemic index measures how quickly a food will spike your blood sugar. But you also need to pay attention to the glycemic load. That takes into account the quantity of carbs you’ll find in a serving of a particular food.
Click here for my easy to use glycemic load chart.
Foods with a glycemic load above 20 will cause blood sugar and insulin spikes. These include processed foods, sugars, and high-carb choices like breads and cereals.
Foods with a glycemic load under 10 are good low-carb choices. These include fruits, vegetables, and protein. Foods that fall between 10 and 20 on the chart have a moderate effect on your blood sugar. Aim to keep your choices well below 20.
2. Lower Inflammation with Omega-3 Foods. Inflammation can make acne worse. But foods rich in Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and keep ugly red flare-ups to a minimum. Eat plenty of wild-caught salmon, sardines, grass-fed beef, walnuts, avocados, kale, and flax seeds.
3. Cleanse Your Skin Gently. Don’t be tempted to use a teen acne treatment. Teen acne products are too harsh for adult skin, which tends to be thinner and dryer. Prescription Retin A or retinoic acid cleansers can cause peeling, redness, blistering and sun sensitivity. One of the best adult acne treatments is an all-natural remedy. Rose hip oil is high in retinoic acid but contains essential fats that make it gentle on your skin.
Look for organic, cold-pressed 100% rose hip seed oil. Gently massage 2-3 drops into your face morning and night. Or look for a cleanser containing rose hip oil.
Learn more about natural skincare treatments and how to have younger looking skin by subscribing to my daily email, Ageless Beauty .
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Alexis C. Perkins, Jessica Maglione, Greg G. Hillebrand, Kukizo Miyamoto, and Alexa B. Kimball. “Acne Vulgaris in Women: Prevalence Across the Life Span.” Journal of Women’s Health. February 2012, 21(2): 223-230. doi:10.1089/jwh.2010.2722.
2. Cordain L, Lindeberg S, Hurtado M, Hill K, Eaton B, Brand-Miller B. “Acne vulgaris—a disease of Western civilization”. Arch Dermatol 2002;138:1584–90.
3. Schaefer O. When the Eskimo comes to town. Nutr Today 1971;6:8–16.
4. Cappel, M., et al, “Correlation Between Serum Levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, and Dihydrotestosterone and Acne Lesion Counts in Adult Women,” Archives of Dermatology 2005;141:333-338
5. Smith, R., et al, “A pilot study to determine the short-term effects of a low glycemic load diet on hormonal markers of acne,” Mol. Nutr. Food Res. June 2008;52(6):718-26
6. Smith, R., et al. “The effect of a high-protein, low glycemic-load diet versus a conventional, high glycemic-load diet on biochemical parameters associated with acne vulgaris: a randomized, investigator-masked, controlled trial.” J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2007:57 (2), 247-256.