Acne

Overview

Acne is an inflammatory disease involving the hair follicles and sebaceous glands of the skin characterized by papules or pustules also known as comedones or simply plugs. This common skin condition (especially in young adults) is marked by the eruption of pimples, sometimes painful, on the surface of the skin.

Acne is characterized by black heads, pimple outbreaks, cysts, infected abscesses, and sometimes scarring. The places in your body most susceptible to acne are locations with the most oil glands such as the face and forehead. This inflammatory condition can also affect the arms, back and chest.

Symptoms

Inflammatory – Closed papules that have become red, irritated and severely inflamed. In some cases rupture can occur underneath the surface of the skin causing scarring.

Non-Inflammatory – Oil trapped underneath the surface of the skin forming the so called white-heads or blackheads.

Acne rosacea is the variety affecting middle aged women and men. It is characterized by red eruptions and pustules without the formation of blackheads.

Causes

Key Factors

Bacterial
Propionibacterium acne is the normal bacteria that resides on the surface of the skin. It functions to protect your skin from harmful foreign bacteria. When these bacteria grow inside the oil trapped in a hair follicle the result is the transformation of the oil by the bacteria’s chemical processes. This alteration causes irritation and inflammation on the surface of the skin. This inflammation is the body’s way of trying to eliminate the irritating compounds produced by the bacteria.

Hormonal
Androgens are the hormones that are primarily responsible for the stimulation and secretion of sebum or oil underneath the surface of the skin. During puberty there is a significant increase of androgens which can cause blockages. Hormonal changes affect the oil glands underneath the surface of the skin causing an increased out-put of oils. If the pores become blocked from the collection of skin cells inside a pore then this oil becomes trapped causing all the symptoms of acne. Hormones are greatly affected by diet and will be discussed below.

Emotional
Stress can have a direct effect on the hormones thus contributing to excess sebum production in the oil glands beneath the surface of the skin. This can have a cyclic result because you can develop stress from the way acne affects your appearance.

Beauty Products
Ironically many beauty products and pharmaceutical creams claiming to be helpful in treating acne not only do not work, but they actually make acne worse in many cases. This is because oil based products that are not all natural contain rancid oils and oil compounds mixed with petroleum-derived chemicals as preservatives. This causes allergic reactions, a build-up of toxins, the clogging of pores and other conditions that make acne worse.

Do

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Diet

Supplements:

Take a probiotic such as Fivelac – one packet three times a day.

Take Alli-C (super powerful antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-parasite garlic capsules) – 4 capsules three times a day should be taken for the entire four months. 1 capsule is the equivalent to 40 cloves of garlic (without the breath to go with it!!).

Vitamin D has been shown to be a key factor in improving Acne. Take Vitamin D3 50,000-100,000 International Units a day for periods of 4 weeks at a time.

The following should be supplemented if you are not getting enough from your dietary intake:

Vitamin A – it works to strengthen the skin’s protective tissue and prevents acne formation by reducing sebum production.

B Vitamins – each of the B vitamins has a specific role in promoting healthy skin, and many of them compliment each other. Besides direct effects in enhancing your skin tone, B-complex vitamins are also considered to play a role in reducing stress, which can indirectly aid in preventing acne since many studies show that stress contributes to acne formation

Chromium – it can combat acne by reducing infections in the skin.

Selenium – it aids skin elasticity and can also assist in acne relief through diminishing inflammation of the skin.

Zinc – it can help prevent acne because it aids in regulating the activity of your oil glands.

Wholefood supplements are the best way of ensuring your nutritional needs are met.

Mind

We know that when the body is out of balance, energy doesn’t flow, leading blockages and eventually dis-ease. It is no surprise then that many studies have concluded that Acne is worsened by increased stress. The science behind this is that there are receptors for stress hormones in the cells that produce sebum. Higher levels of sebum are produced during stressful times, resulting in acne. The knock on psychological effects of acne creates an additional stress of their own, with an extremely damaging impact on self-confidence, self-esteem and self-image.

Things you can do to combat stress:

Go to a Dr Morter BEST (Bio-Energetic Synchronisation Technique) Practitioner.

Stephen Lewis, founder of the Aim Program. Find out more by clicking here.

. Find out more by clicking here.

Consider using Mary Millers Iching System Products – ichingsystemsinstruments.com

Use the incredibly simple but extremely effective Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to remove past, present and future stress from your life.

Remedies

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Articles

A Naturopathic Approach to Skin Care and Healing NC_Newsletter_12-04.pdf

Acne and stress NC_Newsletter_12-04.pdf

Go Green to Beat Acne NC_Newsletter_12-04.pdf

Using Essential Oils to heal acne – Essential Acne Healer NC_Newsletter_12-04.pdf

Heal from within – top food and drink for acne sufferers NC_Newsletter_12-04.pdf

Scar Tactics NC_Newsletter_08-06.pdf

Squeaky Clean (Colonic Irrigation) www.naturalcures.com/squeaky-clean

Colloidal Silver NC_Newsletter_09-08.pdf

Jump for Joy – Rebounding is a great stress busting workout NC_Newsletter_12-10.pdf

Video

Simple Ways to Stop Acne Naturally – main video www.youtube.com/watch?v=B88-W68uwyE

Burt’s Bees Natural Acne Solution Products –

Clean up your health – www.hungryforchange.tv/

Research

Thyme fights acne-causing bacteria – www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/news/20120416/thyme-studied-as-acne-treatment

The Response of Skin Disease to StressChanges in the Severity of Acne Vulgaris as Affected by Examination Stress – archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=479409

Vitamin B / Zinc tablets appear to be an effective oral therapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris and rosacea – www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16871775

Acne Vulgaris: A Disease of Western Civilization – archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=479093

Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load: New Evidence for a Link with Acne www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20234032