Sugar is notorious being dangerous for our body. Be it for people trying to lose weight, for diabetes, for teeth decaying……the list is simply endless. Sugar is high up on the list of “foods to avoid”. But did you know that the sugar in your diet may truly be the culprit that may be causing acne?
When the blood sugar levels inside the body rise, they automatically cause insulin secretion in order to balance the sugar and that eventually causes inflammation inside the body. High levels of insulin also lead to elevated sebum. This causes the skin cells to regenerate at a faster pace than normal. All these enhanced activities finally result in the pores being clogged and ultimately acne as the skin is unable to cope up and breaks out. High sugar is also known to affix itself to the proteins within the body including the skin cells. As soon as the cells get coated with sugar it hampers the entire process of regeneration and renewal thereby causing acne.
Now the catch lies in how to control this inflammatory action as all that we consume eventually breaks down to sugar. Each food has a various breakdown rate; those foods that breakdown fast and release sugar instantly need to be avoided as they would obviously bring about inflammation in the form of acne. Don’t do the mistake of thinking that only chocolates and candies can give you high sugar levels. Innocent looking foods like bananas, potatoes, cereals, juices, meat, dairy products etc are also the culprits for instant breakdown of food to sugar. Carbohydrates promptly breakdown to sugar once consumed and can be as harmful as any candy you eat.
You may perhaps question this logic with how come not all those who eat sugar suffer from acne? The answer is simply the body constitution as well as the functionality of the liver that secretes insulin as soon as blood sugar levels rise. In some bodies the liver works in a much far better capacity and can detect exactly when to stop secreting insulin whereas in some bodies the secretion of insulin exceeds the requirement, causing all the difference why you suffer from acne and not your friend who gorges chocolates in dozens. Till your liver isn’t in complete shape you don’t have much options but to keep a check on your sugar intake.
But don’t do the mistake of eradicating sugar from the diet. Sugar is really vital for the regular functioning of the body. Sugar gives our body the energy to live and has to be consumed in the proper quantities. For a better judgment on which foods to eat, look at the Glycemic index of the food you consume; it would give you an idea about how it would affect the blood sugar levels if consumed and whether it should be avoided or not.
The key here is to have foods that get converted to sugar gradually and don’t raise the blood sugar levels immediately on consumption. You may also add some foods which are anti-inflammatory to help combat acne. Generally foods with a bright natural color like berries are known to be anti-inflammatory in nature. Fish, omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, legumes, green leafy vegetables and any yellow/orange fruits and vegetables that contain vitamins for acne should be added in your diet to wipe out acne from your life forever.
Prevention is always better than cure. Having a healthy diet and adopting natural acne treatment methods would assure great results in preventing and curing acne.
