Vegetables for Helping Acne

Acne is a skin condition most commonly found in the younger crowd; usually this skin scourge strikes at 13 or 14 years and disappears on its own. For those afflicted with acne for prolonged periods of time, scarring often results. Some individuals suffer form acne later on life- in their twenties. When acne hits a person well past the teenage years, the condition is aptly called adult acne. Adult acne is harder to treat, and comes at a time of a person’s life where look are just as important as skill at work.

UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSES

Acne is primarily caused by overproducing sebaceous follicles that are found everywhere on the body. The increase however, often happens in the most inconvenient regions, like the face, the neck and the chest. What happens is that hormones instruct the sebaceous follicles to start producing increased levels of the oily sebum, a natural secretion of the human skin used to regulate body temperature and to moisturize the skin.

Without the oily substance known as sebum, the human body would have difficulty retaining its warmth and would have a tough time regulating the overall temperature of the body. This pristine picture changes when the pores in the face begin to clog and dirt starts to impact itself unto the small pores.

Teenagers often have a very hard-hitting time with acne with social and peer pressure telling them to do something about acne. Some go for over the counter medications while a small percentage go to a doctor or a dermatologist for answers and prescriptions.

VEGETABLES CAN HELP IN TREATING ACNE

A medical journal in the United States (M.J. of Clinical Nutrition) recently published a study linking diet with the occurrence and possible treatment of the skin condition acne vulgaris. For the longest time people have had trouble proving that diet indeed played a role in the occurrence of acne. This study proves that yes, it’s hard to blame food for the occurrence of acne. But the study proved something else: vegetables can help in treating acne.

This exciting new discovery signals a renewed vigor to campaign for more vegetables on tables during family dinners. Vegetables lower the blood sugar level and slow down the distribution of sugars around the body. When this happens, it appears that the unsightly red lesion that is the characteristic of acne, go away. Teenagers who participated in the study showed immense improvement after lowering their sugar levels by eating vegetables for a particular period of time.

For about 12 weeks, meat was thrown out of the picture and the participants of the study were encouraged to eat high-carbohydrate and high-fiber foods. Fat was eliminated from the picture, and consequently, oil also. The result was more than encouraging- it was staggering.

It seems that the sudden change in the body chemistry of those who had the acne was changed radically with the introduction of the vegetables. With this in mind, parents of teenagers who are suffering from acne should consider increasing the amount of vegetables present in their diet. Not only would we be increasing the intake of vegetables and vitamins, but we would be helping in eliminating acne from their skin.