At Bronte Wellness Boutique, we focus on natural acne treatment that provide our patients with lasting results. In our last skin-focused post, we discussed all of the common causes of acne including food choices (hello, dairy and sugar!), nutritional deficiencies, and hormonal imbalances. Since the causes of acne vary from patient to patient, an individualized natural acne treatment from your Naturopathic doctor will give you the best results. That being said, there are still a few tried and true natural acne treatment that is generally helpful for acne sufferers. The following evidence-based natural therapies are a great place to start if you want to clear your skin from the inside out:
- Cut out dairy and sugar: A large randomized controlled trial found that people who consume higher amounts of dairy and sugar had significantly more acne. Replace cow’s milk with coconut milk, high protein pea milk or nut-based milks. Many of our patients also find that their skin clears significantly while on a paleo diet, which eliminates refined sugars and high-glycemic grains.
- Eat pumpkin seeds: The mineral zinc can reduce the effects of acne due to it’s ability to regulate oil production along with antimicrobial affects against p. acnes; the bacteria implicated in breakouts. It’s best to get zinc from your food, since high dose supplementation (more than 100 mg a day) can result in side effects and cause a relative copper deficiency. Eat 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds every night before bed to maintain adequate zinc levels.
- Stress less: When cortisol, your stress hormone, rises it causes your body to release glucose into the blood stream. More glucose floating around in your blood will lead to a spike in insulin levels. This insulin spike then causes an increase in a protein called insulin like growth factor or IGF-1, which is one of the worst acne culprits. Try daily exercise, guided meditations, walks in nature, or a yoga practice to keep those stress levels down.
- Drink green tea: Studies show that drinking green tea can help fight acne because it reduces excess testosterone via 5-alpha-reductase inhibition. Excess testosterone, especially in women, causes oily skin and increased breakouts, so drinking 3 cups of green tea throughout the day may be beneficial for many acne sufferers.
- Address nutritional deficiencies: The top nutrients to consider when dealing with acne are omega 3s, zinc, vitamin D, B vitamins and vitamin A. Our Naturopathic doctors can provide functional lab testing that will identify your specific deficiencies, but in the mean time you can start taking a high quality multivitamin or incorporating more nutrient-dense foods into your diet to correct and prevent nutritional deficiencies.
- Eat fermented foods: Inflammatory acne is associated with altered microflora in the gut. The following probiotic-promoting foods can reduce inflammation in your digestive system to reduce frequency of breakouts: Kefir, Sauerkraut, Miso soup, Tempeh, Kimchi, Kombucha.
The Naturopathic Doctors at Bronte Wellness can work with you to help clear your skin, naturally. Our personalized acne treatments involve an hour-long relevant skin history and physical exam and individualized functional testing to really get at the root cause of your acne in order to help you develop an effective and sustainable skin treatment plan.
Looking to connect with a Naturopath in Oakville to develop a personalized acne protocol to clear your skin from the inside-out? Book your appointment today.