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How to Get Rid of Acne, Not Just Treat the Symptoms
by Mark Hyman, M.D. | July 28th, 2009 | 26 Comments
topic: Health & Wellness, Healthy Eating
Acne rates are rising — contradicting the belief that this condition is caused by genes.
Eight million people see the dermatologist every year for acne, and millions more rely on infomercial products hawked by celebrities or over-the-counter products that total $100 million in sales every year. Clearly, this problem, like so many chronic diseases in the 21st century, is increasing. Why?
Let me tell you about a book that I just finished reading. It’s called The Clear Skin Diet. It’s written by renowned dermatologist Val Trelor, M.D., and Alan Logan, N.D., a naturopath. This book gives us real answers to why pimples are popping up all over!
For the first time, this book links many of the imbalances in the underlying keys to health (The 7 Key of UltraWellness) to the real causes of acne — including your nutritional status, stress, toxicity, inflammation, and hormonal and gut imbalances.
The key to healthy skin isn’t just dealing with the symptoms — like lathering on potions and lotions, popping and pricking pimples, or taking antibiotics or strong liver-damaging medication.
There’s a better way.
Beauty and vibrant, clear, healthy skin come from the inside out, not from the outside in. Here are some things that I have learned over the years and that have been very well reviewed and summarized in The Clear Skin Diet:
A poor diet is bad for your skin
- Skin health, and acne in particular, are tied strongly to diet.
- Acne is caused by inflammation and oxidative stress (two keys of UltraWellness).
- Traditional indigenous cultures have little acne, but as soon as they adopt a Western diet or SAD (standard American diet), they see increasing levels of acne.
- Sugar raises insulin levels, which promotes the production of testosterone in women, and inflammation in general, causing acne.
- Saturated and processed fats increase arachidonic acid levels and compete with omega-3 fats in the body, leading to more inflammation and acne.
- Milk and dairy consumption is closely linked with acne (and many other skin and health problems) in part because of the hormones (including growth hormone) in dairy and because of the saturated fats.
- High-sugar milk chocolate can increase acne by increasing inflammation, but dark chocolate does the opposite.
Nutritional deficiencies promote acne
- Widespread nutritional deficiencies of zinc, omega-3 fats, and some anti-inflammatory omega-6 fats like evening-primrose oil promote acne, while supplementing with them can help boost immunity and reduce inflammation and acne.
- A topical form of vitamin B3 (nicotinamide) can reduce inflammation and help acne.
- Antioxidant levels are low in acne patients — especially vitamins A and E, which are critical for skin health.
- People who eat more fruits and vegetables (containing more antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds) have less acne.
- Certain foods have been linked to improvements in many of the underlying causes of acne and can help correct it, including fish oil, turmeric, ginger, green tea, nuts, dark purple and red foods such as berries, green foods like dark green leafy vegetables, and eggs.
Your brain can cause acne
- Stress causes acne flare-ups.
- Stress does this by causing increased inflammation and oxidative stress, raising cortisol, and depleting zinc, magnesium and selenium, which help control acne.
- Stress causes poor dietary choices.
- You can manage stress through meditation, yoga, saunas, massage, biofeedback, aromatherapy, and more.
Read more about causes of skin problems here.
So getting healthy skin and clearing up acne truly depend on the optimal function of many of the core systems of the body — your nutritional status, your immune system, your gut, your hormones and your mind-body health.
I hope you’ve learned more today about how getting to the roots of illness via the 7 Key to UltraWellness can help you uncover the source of your health problem, wherever you may find it — even in a pimple on your nose!
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, M.D.
Is nicotinamide still a prescription drug? Or is it over the counter now with a different name? I had heard of Nicomide but it wasn’t covered by most insurance plans and it was quite expensive
Jenna: I’m pretty sure nicotinamide is just an over-the-counter vitamin; you should be able to pick it up at a drug store. Nicomide is a drug based on it.; I wouldn’t be surprised if the vitamin was just as effective. :)
The message for acne treatment is that it’s not the problem but the result of a imbalance in the body. Whether that imbalance is hormonal or dietary or what ever is what needs to be addressed to have success.
I’m glad that you covered the internal side of acne. Many people don’t realize that you have to fight acne both internally as well as externally. I believe a well balanced diet and reducing stress is very important.
I’m glad others are discovering the direct relationship between acne and nutrition. That is actually what my entire blog is dedicated to.
Would love a guest post from ya ;)
I’ve also read that beverages such as sodas and certain alcoholic beverages can cause acne; they definitely make it worse.
Drinking lots of water doesn’t prevent acne but along with an acne preventing diet, drinking water definitely helps.
Thanks for the great information. I have witnessed how fruits and veg works in curing acne!
Having acne is, or can be devastating, especially if you suffer from a moderate to severe case of it. What many do not realize is that moles, warts, and skin tags can be just as devastating and equally as hard to get rid of.
Great information-diet is the number one thing people overlook…sometimes it’s not a quick fix that will help you but a healthier approach
Diet is most definitely linked to acne!
I wasn’t buying into all these fancy chemicals that they were pumping out to “cure” acne. Since I’m extremely cautious about what I put on my skin or what I take into my body, when I had severe acne I sought a more holistic acne cure.
My insulin levels were through the roof and I consumed all the wrong things in staggering quantities.
All I did was change a few diet habits and research the healing elements of some herbs and stones and that did the trick.
I’m just glad that someone finally said it was diet related instead of pushing that garbage of it being “hereditary” or a “teenage problem”. Thanks Doc!!!
Wow – great article! The bullet point about indigenous cultures having little acne until they adopt our lousy diet says it all. It’s about time we start connecting the dots between our poor lifestyle choices and the unwanted effects they produce.
I think diet is huge as an influence in the causes of acne. As a teenager you tend to eat a lot of junk food and this aggravates the condition. Sure hormones also play a part but the old tale that chocolate gives you pimples also has some merit. As an organic farmer for the last 20 years I have read and seen what a good healthy diet can do for you especially those that are sick and need to make radical changes to bring their bodies back from dis-ease.
Acne is one of the major skin problem people are facing nowadays. This article shares information to how to prevent and maintain a soft and beautiful skin you’ve always wanted.
So what is this I hear that you shouldn’t wash your face often.
What is the daily limit? I allow my daughter to wear some makeup but I make her wash it off before dinner and again before bed.
I am getting conflicting advice and would like some scientific proof or something…
I read above that: Nutritional deficiencies promote acne. How do you determine that your Nutritional deficiencies is the problem. I eat right and work out but I still have problems.
The people at my school says that this is a ‘young person thing’ and I will grow out of it. But then I read that adults have acne and pimples too!
Help Please.
Oh, I’ve never thought that nutritional deficiencies are also one of the causes of acne. I really learned a lot from this article! This article is really nice since it made people to be aware about the causes of acne. Thank you for sharing this!
It’s true: if you want to control your acne problem, you need to adjust your lifestyle. Lowering stress is a great way to relieve many types of skin problems, not just acne. A friend of mine has bad eczema that always flares up during exam week at school. As you mentioned, using biofeedback to treat high, prolonged levels of stress can be a great first step at treating acne — for the longterm!
Hi Mark,
I do not believe that diet related to acne. Acne caused by too many parameters that diet is not one of them.
-Jonathan
Diet is huge as an influence in the causes of acne. As a teenager you tend to eat a lot of junk food and this aggravates the condition. Sure hormones also play a part but the old tale that chocolate gives you pimples also has some merit. As an organic farmer for the last 20 years I have read and seen what a good healthy diet can do for you especially those that are sick and need to make radical changes to bring their bodies back from dis-ease.
Thank you Dr. Hyman! My daughter has a problem with acne and I definitely agree that healthy skin is dependent on many of the core systems of the body. I think your suggestions will help to improve overall health, not just skin health.
For me the first and responsible to the acne is our brain, yes the stress cause a lot of acne specially when you do not sleep on time or you sleep only 5 hours below a day. Dr. Hyman your blog is amazing – keep posting the things that cause and can prevent the acne. Thanks.
Dairy are NOT linked to acne because of its saturated fats! Low fat dairy products trigger acne more than fat dairy products, and low sugar dark chocolate – the fat is mostly saturated – is actually good for acne. At least according to dr Mark Hyman and the authors of “The clear skin diet” Valorie Treloar and Alan Logan.
Thanks for everything. I love your blog.
You are right diet and stress do contribute to acne
I myself has lots of acne and been depressed about it, thanks for sharing this helpful article and wonderful tips.
Hi, Everyone :)
This is a good advice: Use effective at-home products for acne prone skin.
Here is a helpful mask for acne and clear skin:
Aspirin and Lemon Juice Mask for Acne and Clear Skin:
Components:
- 3-6 aspirin.
- 1 lemon.
- Baking soda.
- Coffee cup, rolling pin or glass cup (to crush the aspirin).
- Warm honey, moisturizer made for the face or natural oil such as olive, almond or coconut.
Preparation:
1.) Based on the amount of coverage needed, use 3-6 aspirin.
2.) Crush the aspirin into small pieces by rolling a coffee cup, rolling pin or glass cup over them. Place aspirin in a dish.
3.) Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon per 3 aspirin) and allow the aspirin to dissolve into a paste.
4.) In the event you have dry skin, add a tablespoon or so of warm honey, moisturizer or a bit of oil (olive, almond or coconut works). Stir well.
5.) In the event you have oily skin, you can skip this part and add a few more drops of lemon instead.
6.) Apply as a mask or spot treat the pimple or itchy area.
7.) Allow to dry.
8.) Remove the mask with a warm, wet washcloth dipped in baking soda.
Thanks for this article.
Guy Shane