The Clear Skin Diet book review continued:
This is a compilation of facts of what I think are important points taken from the book.
- It’s not just sun, smoke and pollution that cause skin problems. We now have scientific proof that poor diet leads to acne, wrinkles, and most other skin problems.
- In the last half century acne has increased dramatically. Many adults are experiencing acne for the very first time. The most obvious changes within the last 50-60 years are increased stress, and changes in our diet.
- We’ve heard for many years that diet has no relationship to the quality of our skin. Many doctors have held onto that myth even in the face of overwhelming evidence proven by advances in clinical nutrition.
- Dietary changes may not help everyone to the same degree, and are not a substitute for skin care. However, the foods that are responsible for poor skin are also the cause of the most common health problems in modern society…diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Let’s discuss the anatomy of the pore and what causes skin to break out.
The hair follicle is our pore. Below every hair is the root of the hair follicle, and on the side of the follicle is a gland(s) that secretes sebum. The sebum is secreted along with old skin cells up through the hair follicle, travels up the hair (like a wick) and onto the skin. Sebum serves as a skin lubricant.
What is acne?
1. Over-production of sebum.
2. Pore obstruction by dead skin cells that are not removed from the skin.
3. An increase in bacteria & yeast since they feed on sebum that is trapped in the pore. The body responds by producing inflammation, a normal response to any infection.
A complication of acne could be the rupture of the follicle allowing the infectious material to travel beyond the pore, and into the surrounding tissue. This results in a cyst filled with pus and debris. When the inflammation occurs deeper within the pore, a hard, red and painful nodule can occur. Pitted scars can form when these reddened nodules remain for long periods of time.
To be continued…
