Acne-Free for Life

Acne is usually considered a teenage problem. But did you know about 40 percent of men still fight acne after their 25th birthday? And more than one out of every 10 women is still battling pimples well into middle age!¹

But that wasn’t always the case.

Acne is a modern disease. In fact, if you look at cultures that haven’t adopted the modern Western diet, acne is virtually unknown.

Our ancestors didn’t eat the way we do. They hunted for meat and gathered edible plants and nuts in season. Processed foods and grains weren’t a part of their diet. And cultures that follow our ancestors’ diet today don’t have an acne problem.

In a study of two traditional hunter-gatherer cultures – the Kitivan islanders of Papua New Guinea and Paraguay’s Aché tribe – none of the subjects studied had acne. In fact, over a 2½-year period, researchers found exactly zero who suffered with acne. Zero.²

A similar situation once existed among Canada’s Inuit people. A study found that acne cropped up only after they added processed foods to their diet.³

So what’s the common thread here? It’s actually pretty simple.

People who have little or no acne are those who eat a low-glycemic diet. That is, they eat a diet that’s high in natural proteins, fruits and vegetables but low in sugar and carbohydrates.

That’s the same diet our ancestors ate for 250,000 years. Before acne became a big problem.

“Carbs” – grains and sugars – aren’t a natural part of our diet. They were introduced in recent times. And when you eat them, they cause an unnatural spike in blood sugar – a spike your body isn’t designed to handle. This jump in blood sugar tells your body to release large amounts of insulin to deal with all the sugar.

But insulin doesn’t just help your body handle the sudden flood of sugar. Insulin triggers the release of hormones called androgens… and another hormone called IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1). And studies have shown that these hormones cause an increase in acne.⁴

Australian researchers proved the effectiveness of a low-glycemic diet on teenage boys – notorious for their acne.

They assigned young men with acne problems to two diets. A control group ate a “normal” diet, while the other group ate a low-glycemic diet that was low in carbs and sugar. After just 12 weeks, the low-glycemic group had a 50 percent greater reduction in acne compared to the control group.⁵

A low-glycemic diet carries a bonus, too. The teens eating the low-glycemic diet dropped weight. Plus, a low-glycemic diet gets quick results. The Australian team found that a low-glycemic diet cut the hormones that lead to acne in just seven days.⁶

In other words, if you suffer with acne, you could be just a week away from the beginnings of relief. And it doesn’t take expensive prescriptions or some $40-a-month cleansing regimen.

The answer could be as simple as making a few easy changes to your diet.

Sincerely,

Kamila Fiore, ARNP, NP-C

[Ed. Note: Our newest addition to the Pure Radiance panel of experts, Kamila Fiore is the resident Nurse Practitioner at the Sears’ Center for Health and Wellness in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. Kamila is passionate about taking a natural approach to healthcare. She believes it’s a vital necessity in this day and age – a time when our health is being jeopardized by the chemicals, toxins and processes that are incorporated in almost everything we consume, touch or breathe. She earned her Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Florida and became state-licensed and board-certified in 2007. Her professional experience includes Aesthetics, Internal Medicine/Geriatrics and Anti-Aging. Kamila educates her patients on health promotion and disease prevention. She also is experienced in laser hair removal.]

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1 Cordain, L. The Dietary Cure for Acne. Paleo Diet Enterprises 2006
2 Cordain, L, et al, “Acne Vulgaris: A Disease of Western Civilization,” Arch. Dermatol. 2002;138:1584-1590
3 Borré, K.. “Seal Blood, Inuit Blood and Diet: A Biocultural Model of Physiology and Cultural Identity,” Medical Anthropology Quarterly March 1991;5(1): 48-62
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.N., 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,” Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Aug. 2007; 57(2):247-256
6 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