Last week I posted about the foods that are great elixirs for the skin, but eating these while grazing on crisps and chocolate won’t have the desired effect!
A lot of skin flare-ups stem from the gut – so simple changes in diet can work wonders for allergy sufferers.
Here are just a few foods that are best avoided, or at least consumed in moderation, to maintain a radiant complexion.
Refined sugars
Our bodies require extra insulin to break refined sugars down. This insulin has a knock-on effect on our hormone levels and causes extra sebum to be produced. This, in turn, clogs pores and causes those dreaded spots. This process is explained in more detail in my previous blog about chocolate.
To avoid these sugars, cut down on sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks, sauces and salad dressings.
Alcohol
We don’t use ethyl alcohol in our products for a reason. When applied topically it can dry out and irritate the skin.
Alcohol, when consumed, has an equally unfavourable effect. It causes the blood vessels and capillaries to rapidly expand, making the skin feel itchy.
This is what can cause your face to flush after a glass of wine. In heavy and regular drinkers the vessels never get a chance to contract, and skin tone becomes permanently reddened or marked with burst capillaries.
Animal Fats
These are the bad fats. They contain a high proportion of saturated fat, an inflammatory that worsens conditions such as eczema and other skin sensitivities.
Fat also exacerbates acne by causing swinging blood sugar levels. This fluctuation leads to an increase in cell regeneration – in order to make room for new cells, more dead cells have to be pushed out. When combined with that excess sebum, these dead cells stick together, clog pores and cause breakouts.
Acidic Foods
Eating a diet high in acid upsets the balance of our cells, causing them to produce toxins that escape through the skin in the form of various disorders.
The link between highly-acidic foods and eczema flare-ups is particularly common, and one that has been around since the 1930s.
To calm skin allergies from the inside, it is best to eat a diet that is 70% alkaline and 30% acid.
Do your homework though as often foods you assume are acidic aren’t and vice versa. Foods that have a high acidity include butter, eggs, red meat, oats and coffee.
As I said last week, it’s just no fun to cut out these foods altogether! Ultimately it’s about modifying and moderating our eating habits rather than turning vegan overnight. Forcing extreme changes will dramatically reduce your chances of sticking at it. It’s why that New Year’s resolve so often falters!
Make the good foods everyday eats and the bad ones special treats. Soon your clear, supple and radiant skin self will emerge.
Receive other tips & news like it…