smartskin101

If this is going to be an entire blog dedicated to skin care, let us get started with the very basics.  What is skin?  It’s a pretty safe bet that everyone is able to answer this: it is the largest organ in the human body and is the outer tissue covering the body.  And thanks to Wikipedia, we learn that one of the functions of skin is:

Aesthetics and communication: others see our skin and can assess our mood, physical state and attractiveness.

Aesthetics?  Okay, we know that’s a given; good skin definitely contributes to one’s perception of physical beauty.  But, communication?  Well, I agree with this, and I am going to break it down for you in this first series as to why you should never forget this skin care basic.  Your body communicates with you in many ways, and your skin is most definitely one of them.  Yes, forget those old myths about chocolate and greasy pizza inducing acne.  Do not, however, discredit the notion that what you put in your body does affect your skin’s clarity, be it acne or radiance.  The first part of this series will focus on food allergies and sensitivities.

Let me set this section up with a little anecdote involving a friend of mine; I will call her Chloe.  Chloe began telling me about a new tinted moisturizer she discovered. With the summer months approaching, she wanted something less heavy on her skin.  You see, she had felt resigned to wearing heavier foundations daily to cover up red marks [left] from her persistent acne…but something was different this time.  Chloe’s acne had relented and she was, for the first time, comfortable with wearing something with a sheer coverage.  What was different this time?  Chloe let me in on a secret.  A couple of months prior to our conversation, she began wondering if she was lactose intolerant.  She began eliminating dairy from her diet and tested variations of eliminating and adding foods back into her diet.  Sure enough, when she stopped consuming dairy for an extended period, her skin became clear, and when she added dairy back in, the acne soon reappeared.  After nixing dairy from her diet for good, Chloe’s skin was seeing greener, clearer, pastures.

Normally, one would assume that lactose intolerance would be supplemented with feelings of nausea or stomach discomfort.  And that’s often the case.  The body, however, is obviously far more complex than this simple explanation, with its parts working interdependently.  Since lactose (found in dairy products; think: cheese) is commonly linked to flatulence (many people, and in particular those of Asian and African ethnic backgrounds, have typically lower levels of the enzyme “lactase” to break down lactose), you may never think twice about that bloating after eating a 3-cheese pizza.  However, for some of us, our bodies may try to communicate more with us, that NO, we shouldn’t be ignoring that suspect gas.  For Chloe, her skin began reacting in attempts to send her an SOS that dairy, as it would turn out, was no friend of her digestive track; she had a food allergy.

The conclusion we draw from this is that external skin care is important, but rest assured, if you’re suffering from relentless/consistent blemishes, you ought to look into what is going on internally.  Another function of the skin serves to eliminate waste and toxins in the body.  When there is a build up of toxins in one’s body, it may result in clogged pores and coinciding inflammation.  In layman’s terms, if you ingest a particular food that you are allergic to, the digestive process will result in toxic reactions.  Your body will then fight the resulting toxic buildup as if it were an enemy of the body (much like a virus—a foreign substance in the body).  This natural defense mechanism leads to an inflammatory response, which is a healing process to protect us from infection and remove—in this case—the toxins.  And after all, what is a pimple?  Well, most of us have been able to observe, first hand, one of these buggers, and you often see that the skin is slightly reddened and raised above the skin (inflamed), while trying to bring that pussy white stuff (toxins) to the surface of the skin and out a pore (removal).

Now, that isn’t to assume that if you end up with a zit or two, that you should automatically start questioning whether that bowl of ice cream is the culprit.  Other factors may lead to unruly skin (which will be discussed in later entries); if you’re suffering from regular acne, however, you should start paying attention to your dietary trends and how they may be playing their part.  Food sensitivities/allergies have been discovered to be a major source of acne issues, with possible links to eczema, as well.  There are several ways to determine whether you do have a hypersensitivity to a particular food.  For starters, try to understand what you’ve been genetically predisposed to, and what might run in your family.  Start paying closer attention to your body’s reaction to foods and begin to eliminate and add them in over certain extended periods of times, noting any differences you feel/see.  For a more definitive confirmation, see your doctor and have them do some blood work/testing.

Personal note:

Unlike Chloe, I did not suffer from regular acne, but there were infrequent times I would break out inexplicably for an extended period.  One such instance was the summer I trained for a marathon.  My dietary needs had changed in order to support my training.  Along with a lot of carbohydrates, I began seeking simple sources of protein, which included eggs—every which way you can serve them—on a daily basis.  It actually took a few months for any noticeable blemishes to park themselves comfortably on my face, but when they finally came, they were relentless.  I recalled my conversation with Chloe, and decided to nix the eggs (along with endurance supplements—I will touch on this in my next entry).  It took a couple of weeks, but my skin eventually thanked me.  (Although eggs are not a dairy food, they can trigger the same types of reactions as those with hypersensitivity to dairy.  They are also a common food allergy.)

*Some dermatologists may argue that dairy does not cause acne.  And, it may not directly be the cause of acne, but a person who has a food sensitivity or allergy may find that his/her reaction is a trigger for acne.

Photo c/o rent-a-moose