Acne & Acne Rosacea – A Holistic Approach

On 28 Aug, 2017
By Anne Chiotis
With 0 Comments

Eat a Healthy Diet

Having a good diet is essential in the long term treatment of acne. Eating the right types of fats and oils in your diet is also of paramount importance. Eat organic fruit and vegetables which contain anti-inflammatory substances and antioxidants. These will help repair the skin.

Foods like wild salmon which are rich in omega-3. Consume fish oils, flax, linseed oils and cold pressed hemp seed oil. Also GLA fatty acids help remedy this situation.

Coconut oil, avocados nuts and seeds like Chia, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Sunflower seeds are rich in vitamin E which protects the skin against damage caused by sun, pollution and bacteria. Pumpkin seeds are rich in zinc which will encourage healthy new skin.

Sesame seeds are rich in oleic fatty acids and are therefore beneficial in the diet. Sesame seed paste spread on bread is a nice way of eating these seeds. This can also be added to home baked biscuits. Unrefined sesame oil is the oil of choice as a salad or cooking oil. It does have a very strong taste though and therefore should be used in moderation, maybe added to one of the other oils above.

What else should I eat?

Other foods which can be freely eaten are mung beans, adzuki beans and cucumber. Legumes in general i.e. peas, beans and lentils help keep the digestion healthy and help detoxify the body. Alfalfa sprouts and soya sprouts are particularly helpful in cases of acne.

A substance known as resveratol, found in foods such as: peanuts, pistachios, grapes, red and white wine, blueberries,cranberries, and even cocoa and dark chocolate has been found to reduce acne by as much as half. Resveratol is anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial.

Also eating live yogurt containing friendly gut bacteria have been proven to be helpful since research has found that they encourage healthy gut bacteria and discourage the unhealthy ones. This is highly beneficial to people suffering from acne.

An increase in dietary fibre e.g. wholegrain organic brown rice, flour, bread etc. Things to cut out are sugary foods and drinks, chocolate, crisps, fried foods, greasy foods, also milk and whey products. Clinical trials have found that foods which lower the glycaemic load are beneficial. The glycemic load is a measure of how quickly carbohydrates in different foods raises your blood glucose levels. For a comparison of the GL of different foods check out the following website.

High, Medium and Low GI Foods article from “www.the-gi-diet.org”

Good foods to eat

Free range eggs, garlic, onions, carrots, red grapes, water cress, fennel, beetroot, tomatoes and oatmeal. Garlic, onions and egg yolks are rich is sulphur which will help eliminate bacteria. Carrots are rich in a procurer of vitamin A. Vitamin A prevents overproduction of skin cells which when they die will clog up the pores.

Red grapes help eliminate toxins which lead to bacterial outbreaks. Water cress is rich in magnesium, potassium and substances which convert into vitamin A.
Fennel helps flush toxins from the system. Beetroot is rich in vitamin A, E, magnesium, calcium and potassium as well as fibre. This all helps cleanse the skin.

Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C which helps repair the skin and also aids the system to clear the acne bacterium. Oatmeal is rich is magnesium which will help balance the hormones in acne rosacea. It is also one of the best sources of fibre which help clear out toxins from the system. Drink nettle tea which is rich an anti inflammatory substances which will soothe the skin. It is also packed with anti oxidants which will protect the skin from damage.

Green power is good

Dark, leafy greens are essential in the diet. They are loaded with vitamin A, but also contain vitamin C, folic acid, zinc, iron and other vitamins and minerals which aid skin health. Greens are also rich in chlorophyll which purifies the blood of toxins that cause skin eruptions

Spirulina is micro-algae contain massive amounts of healthy nutrients and chlorophyll. Small amounts of this can be added to smoothies or taken in capsule form.

Seaweeds e.g. nori flakes sprinkled lightly over your food, kombu – one piece placed in stews to add flavour and minerals and then removed at the end of cooking since it tastes somewhat leathery. Hijiki can be soaked and then added to stir fries. Because they are cooling and detoxifying by nature seaweeds are highly recommended for regular use.

N.B. I stock organic, powdered spirulina and kelp and can capsulate these on request.
I also stock organic, cold pressed hemp seed oil.

Foods to avoid

Avoid sugar and all foods containing it; greasy and fried foods; refined oils i.e. trans-fats and hydrogenated oils (check for these on the label if you are buying prepared foods in the supermarket). Also avoid citrus fruits, oysters, herring and shrimp. All these foods create heat in the body and thereby put an extra burden on the liver and kidney elimination.

More detailed advice would be given as part of a herbal consultation when I would go carefully over your present diet and make appropriate suggestions.

Acne Vulgaris

Herbs & Supplements for Acne vulgaris

There are many excellent herbs which help cleans the liver, glands and system in general to take internally for acne. It may be that there is poor intestinal elimination. Inadequate elimination is always an issue so the bowels must be given attention. Herbs do have a lot to offer when addressing conditions such as these.

Vitamins

Vitamins A, C, E and Zinc have found to be effective. Clinical trials have demonstrated that a combination of B vitamins, zinc, and folic acid are an effective treatment for both acne vulgaris and acne rosacea.

Other effective treatments

Acupuncture and moxibustion (burning moxa herb on specific acupuncture points) have been found to be effective for acne vulgaris. I can supply this service along with herbal medicine.

Blue light irradiation is a safe and harm free treatment that is as effective as a chemical treatment normally prescribed without side effects.

Cannabis seed extract is effective topically.

Copaiba essential oil applied topically. This oil is antiseptic and therefore helps prevent skin infection. It also helps the skin to heal.

Green tea topically as a lotion. Green tea reduces the oil production which blocks the pores of the skin. Also being an anti-oxidant it helps stop the inflammation. In addition, green tea stops the bacteria which cause acne from colonising.

Exposure to sunlight regularly. One of the benefits of moderate sunbathing is that Vitamin D is produced in the body. This vitamin leads to the production of antimicrobial substances which have been found to be highly active against the bacterium which causes acne vulgaris.

Treatment with Tea Tree Oil is another useful path to clear skin. Try washing twice daily with soap containing Tea tree oil. Cleanse the infected skin twice daily using Tea Tree oil (5-7 drops in 200mls water), and brush spots with undiluted Tea Tree oil daily.

Skin toning herbal bark extracts have been found to be effective in suppressing acne.

Herbal Treatment for Acne vulgaris

The purpose of the herbal treatment is to cleanse the system and eliminate toxins and mucus which have accumulated in the blood and lymphatic system.

The choice of herbs will depend on the individual’s constitution. This is why a full consultation is needed by a medical herbalist before making up a herbal prescription since this provides such information about the individual.

Acne Rosacea

This condition affects between 0.5 and 10% of the population. This manifests as a butterfly shaped symmetrical redness/blush of the face across the top of the nose onto the cheeks. Spider veins may occur which are visible broken veins. The skin stings or feels burning and may swell up. It may also become dry, scaly, itchy, and dry. It is aggravated by alcohol, allergy and excess stomach acid. It is also often associated with menopause and although it may start during adolescence it doesn’t manifest until adulthood. Orthodox medicine sees this condition as untreatable with flare ups occurring periodically during the person’s life.

If you have Acne Rosacea it is best to avoid exposing the face to direct sun and heat. If you use a sun block make sure it is a health one, many are toxic and will thereby increase the inflammation. A cold compress may help.

Precipitating factors especially amongst women are coffee, alcohol, and above all stress.

The Vitamin B supplement Niacin should be avoided.

Use natural moisturisers and cosmetics.

I sell three organic herbal creams on my website:

http://www.shop.lifeherbs.co.uk/products/all

These are Neroli, Chamomile and Geranium cream. Chamomile is the gentlest and suitable for any hot, inflamed skin condition. Geranium has excellent healing properties. The fragrance of Neroli is particularly calming to the nervous system.

Herbal treatment for Acne rosacea

Herbs have much to offer with this condition. The herbal approach is to balance the hormones, if needed. Blood cleansing herbs are also good, particularly if they are oestrogen like in action. Plant oestrogens are totally different from the body’s oestrogens. Plant oestrogens block the sites in the body preventing the hormonal oestrogens from attaching. This can be very helpful when our oestrogen levels are too high and thereby causing problems.

There are also very good calming herbs which can help with stress. Again, the choice of herbs will depend on the individual’s constitution. This is why a full consultation is needed by a medical herbalist before making up a herbal prescription since this provides such information about the individual.

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