Nutritionist post -Why is your skin breaking out?

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Why is you skin breaking out?? The only thing as annoying as having acne is not knowing why you have acne. It is a question many of us ask ourselves as we debate whether or not to pop the persistent pimples.

I had terrible acne when I was in my early 20s. I went on the oral contraceptive pill, antibiotics and Roaccatane. These medication didn’t get to the root cause of my acne, this isn’t to say that medication isn’t helpful for deep cystic acne. However treating acne holistically will give the best outcome.

Hormones

Hormonal acne is exactly what it sounds like — acne tied to fluctuations in your hormones. Have you noticed you break out before your period or even with ovulation.

Although it’s typically associated with hormone fluctuations during puberty, hormonal acne can affect adults of any age. It’s especially common in women. A number of factors may contribute to this, including menstruation and menopause.

Before bleeding with your period begins, both estrogen and progesterone hormones are at their lowest levels whereas testosterone is at higher level than other hormones, causing more sebum (oil) production. This produces different effects which vary from woman to woman; healthy skin for some while acne-loaded skin for others. In fact, research has found that people with acne may produce more testosterone than people without acne.

But how exactly does testosterone trigger acne? Well, it helps to know a bit about how acne develops. Testosterone stimulates the production of sebum (Oil). Overproduction of testosterone may lead to excessive sebum production, which may increase the risk of inflamed sebaceous glands.

Hormonal acne may also be caused by influxes of hormones from:

  • menstruation

  • polycystic ovarian syndrome

  • menopause

  • increased androgen levels

Stress

Cortisol is your body’s main stress hormone. When you are under stress, your adrenal glands produce cortisol. Chronic stress can manifest in a wide variety of ways – hair loss, disrupted sleep, food cravings, anxiety, etc. It can also wreak havoc on the skin, leading to breakouts. Cortisol interacts with the testosterone pathway and higher cortisol levels are associated with oilier skin. Additionally, having consistently elevated cortisol can weaken the proteins in your skin – collagen and elastin leading to premature ageing.

Gut health

Many inflammatory skin conditions have been directly linked to disruptions in gut microbes, including acne, rosacea and eczema psoriasis. While poor gut health is unlikely to be the sole cause of the development of acne, digestive issues are more common in those with acne than those without. Low stomach is more prevalent with acne breakouts, 40% of people with acne have low stomach acid.

Liver health

skin health

Just as an imbalanced gut can lead to breakouts, a buildup of toxins in the liver can also manifest as skin imperfections. The liver is our main pathways for detoxification of toxins. What you eat, drink and breath all of these toxins are process through the liver, your skin is a direct reflection of what is going on inside your body. You skin is also a detoxification pathway, when the liver is congested and unable to break down toxins, your body makes every effort to purge these toxins through other ways, such as your skin.

Diet

The exact role between diet and hormonal acne isn’t fully understood. Compelling evidence shows that high glycemic load diets may exacerbate acne. Dairy ingestion appears to be weakly associated with acne and the roles of omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fibre, antioxidants, vitamin A, zinc and iodine remain to be elucidated. But overdoing it on certain foods may lead to increased inflammation and breakouts.

You may consider limiting the following:

  • sugar

  • dairy products

  • refined carbs, such as white bread and pasta

  • red meats

Want to figure out what the root cause of your acne is and what nutrients can help reduce breakouts. Book in a consult today.