Eat your way to a healthy complexion by reading this article on acne diets, helpful tips on what to try and avoid for clearer skin.

1. Acne Diets - Information For Acne Sufferers –
Improving Your Skin And Your Health!
Overview Of Acne Diets
Information available about acne diets, seems a bit sparse although it has not been proven
scientifically, there seems to be little doubt that there is some form of relationship between diet and
skin complaints, notably acne.
I have uncovered a book that may be of particular help to you, this is in hardback and is called The
Clear Skin Diet, this book is on the best-seller list and it really is packed with all the dietary
information you need to look after your skin, this is a must have for acne sufferers and is reasonably
priced too, has 39 five star reviews, see the link below for details.
It seems to be no coincidence that the foods that are considered bad for acne sufferers are generally
considered unhealthy by the medical world in general, as the health implications are far reaching
and go well beyond skin conditions, if the intake of certain foods is continued without any balance.
Modern living has a lot to answer for in this respect, very few people have the time or the
inclination to prepare proper meals and therefore buy more convenience foods that require little or
no preparation or use less than ideal cooking methods.
So with this in mind rather than try and follow some form of complicated acne dieting plan, which
can quickly be forgotten it will be a lot easier to just stop eating foods that are considered unhealthy
and to increase the intake of foods that are vital to a healthy complexion.
However, it will certainly take a conscious effort by a person to change their eating habits, and in
some cases it may require some strong willpower, but if you are really determined to clear your
acne then your diet is a no cost way to begin the fight.
Essential Dietary Ingredients
Let us start by looking at the vital elements required for healthy skin.
It is not my wish to blind the reader with the scientific whys and wherefores, vitamins are an
immensely complicated subject on their own so we will just concentrate on the foodstuffs that
contain the various elements.
If you want to read into the technical aspects of Vitamins you can use the links below.
First is Vitamin A, this vitamin is very important for the skin and it is important that you are getting
at least the recommended minimum daily amount, which varies according to your age and sex, the
following is a list of Vitamin A rich foods in order of vitamin content.
It can be seen from the list that carrots feature very high up, but do not make the mistake of thinking
that eating 9 pounds of carrots a day will clear your acne, this will not work, every diet must be
balanced.
It should also be noted, that cooking will considerably reduce the vitamin content of food,
especially if it is boiled, therefore it is far better to steam vegetables where necessary, and carrots
are best when eaten raw.

2. Vitamin A rich foods
liver (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish)
carrot
broccoli leaf
sweet potato
butter
kale
spinach
pumpkin
collard greens
Cheddar cheese
cantaloupe melon
egg
apricot
papaya
mango
peas
broccoli
milk
Vitamin C rich foods
Here is a list of fruit and vegetables that are naturally high in Vitamin C, some of these may not be
available in the West as many are tropical, but there is more than enough of our native species to
include in your diet, although they are quite high in the list, eating Chili peppers is not
recommended for acne sufferers or any other food that is hot and spicy as it may have an adverse
effect on your skin, see note below.
Kakadu plum
Camu Camu
Rose hip
Acerola
Seabuckthorn
Jujube
Indian gooseberry
Baobab
Chili pepper, green
Guava
Blackcurrant
Red pepper
Chili pepper, red
Parsley
Kiwifruit
Broccoli
Loganberry
Redcurrant
Brussels sprouts
Wolfberry
Lychee
Persimmon
Cloudberry
Elderberry

3. Papaya
Strawberry
Orange
Kale
Lemon
Melon, cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Garlic
Grapefruit
Raspberry
Tangerine
Mandarin orange
Passion fruit
Spinach
Cabbage raw green
Lime
Mango
Blackberry
Potato
Melon, honeydew
Cranberry
Tomato
Blueberry
Pineapple
Pawpaw
Plant source
Grape
Apricot
Plum
Watermelon
Banana
Carrot
Avocado
Crabapple
Persimmon
Cherry
Peach
Apple
Asparagus
Horned melon
Beetroot
Chokecherry
Pear
Lettuce
Cucumber
Eggplant
Raisin
Fig
Bilberry
Medlar
Vitamin B6

4. Good sources include meats, whole grain products, vegetables, nuts and bananas
If you would like to read more about the technical aspects of vitamins check out the the wikipedia
articles.
Acne Diets – Supplements
Many of the other essential vitamins that you need for health are already present in one form
another in much of the food you eat, and it is unlikely you will deficient in any, any good diet will
provide everything that the body needs for well being, there are also many vitamin supplements
available for those who for reason or another may need to take them, seek advice from a suitably
qualified person about these before taking them, excess vitamins are usually excreted from the body
in urine, so do not be surprised or alarmed if you urine changes color when taking some of these
supplements, Vitamin B6 supplements for example can turn urine bright green!
Well now you know, if you didn’t already what you should be eating, lets go to the other end of the
scale and see what type of foods and other things to to avoid, not just for acne but for your health in
general, most of what follows you are probably aware of already.
Foods To Avoid In Acne Dieting Plans
Heavily processed and junk food
Spicy or hot food
Salt
Refined sugar
Certain types of oil and fats
Carbonated drinks (cola etc)
Caffeine
Chocolates and candy
Potato chips/crisps
Cakes cookies donuts.
Full fat dairy produce.
I can here the groans of disapproval from here from some people, but let’s go through things one by
one and do a little analysis.
Salt and Sugar
Salt and Sugar has been the subject of much official medical research and guidelines have been set
for the RDA or recommended daily amount, this has been done for a reason, because the medical
profession has tons of patient data and extensive research has proven beyond all doubt that an
excess of salt and refined sugar is bad for you, would anyone care to argue with highly qualified
scientists? (citation requires)
Salt and sugar improves the taste of food. Who Says? Your parents, Celebrity Chefs, Processed food
manufacturers, that's who says. We, myself included, blindly followed along with this without a
second thought.
Now, suppose as a young child you were only given food that contained no salt or sugar, you would
not know any difference?, later if you tried eating sweet or salty food you would probably wretch.
Get my point? the only reason you eat salt and sugar is because your parents and the manufacturers
added it to food. We don’t actually need it.
If only life was that simple, unfortunately both salt and sugar are also natural food preservatives that
have been used for centuries, and at present there is nothing better, and until there is it will continue
to be used because it makes economic sense to do so.

5. The answer is to only eat preserved foods if you have no alternative, but it’s not that easy right? as it
has been added to almost everything that is not organic, so on the face of it that is the answer, only
eat organic food,
“Yes, right”, I hear you say, “have you seen the price of it”?
My answer is yes I have, but it compares quite favorably to fast junk food.
Junk Food
Why do you eat junk food?
If you were asked that question what would your reply be?
“I cannot be bothered to cook anything”
Yes, I have to agree everyone has days like this, but how many days like it do you have?
If it is more then one or two a month there is probably something amiss in your life, on the other
hand who says you have to cook, have a salad.
“I don’t have the time to cook a proper meal”
With the advent of modern appliances like microwave ovens, this excuse doesn’t work anymore,
there are hundreds of meals you can quickly make with a microwave, or better still have a salad.
“I only get a short lunch break”
When I worked for an employer I used to get twenty minutes - take your own lunch!
“I work at a place that makes it, and its free”
So what? Just make sure you only eat the salad ingredients.
“The kids pester me to take them to …?”
I wonder why? a child educated to the problems associated with fast food will quickly make their
own minds up about eating it.
“I go there with my friends after work/school”
Every day? eat at home first, meet up later.
“I like eating lots of salt, sugar, fat and chemicals”
Apathy is one of the biggest problems facing the people.
“I like the taste of it”
I love fried onions and cucumber but never eat them because they give me gastric problems, find
something healthy you like and eat that instead.
Caffeine
Is not that good for the skin, so try and cut down on your coffee and tea, or drink decaf instead, after
a while you will not notice the difference.
If you really want to keep your skin healthy as possible then it is very important that it is properly
hydrated, and this can be achieved by drinking plenty of water, two to three pints a day is what is
usually recommended, but it may be more if the weather is very hot, the water may be bottled or out
of a tap it makes no difference as long as you drink enough.
Soft Drinks (cola etc)
Some types of soft drink can contain massive amounts of sugar and caffeine, better to drink water
instead.
Chocolates and candy

6. Nope, these are out, too much sugar and fat, have some nuts or a piece of fruit instead.
Potato chips/crisps
Nope, these are out too, too much salt and fat, have some nuts or a piece of fruit instead.
Cakes, cookies, donuts
Nope, these are out, too much salt sugar and hydrogenated fat, have some nuts or a piece of fruit
instead.
Spicy or hot food
Now this is a tricky one, certain traditional native dishes are in themselves very healthy food, but
certain ingredients such as Chili’s or Curry powder may play havoc with your acne.
I will relate this story about my friend who is a native Thai that has lived in Hong Kong for many
years, if she eats Thai food now, which is very spicy, the next day she will have pimples, and this is
from someone who spent 25 years eating Thai food so what I am trying to relate here is that if you
are not used to hot and spicy you should be wary of it if you have acne, if you eat it regularly now,
just come off it for a few weeks to see if your acne improves, it may or may not make a difference
to you.
Certain types of oil and fats
There are certain types of natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic oils and fats used in food that are not
good you at all, whether you have acne or not, it would be best to avoid them and use alternatives
where you can for your long term well being as they can most certainly cause problems later in life.
Trans fatty acids, more commonly called trans fats, are made by heating liquid vegetable oils in the
presence of hydrogen gas, a process called hydrogenation.
Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils makes them more stable and less likely to spoil. It also
converts the oil into a solid, which makes transportation easier. Partially hydrogenated oils can also
withstand repeated heating without breaking down, making them ideal for frying fast foods. (Fully
hydrogenating a vegetable oil creates a fat that acts like a saturated fat.) It’s no wonder that partially
hydrogenated oils have been a mainstay in restaurants
and the food industry.
If you would like to read more about good and bad fats this see the link below to an article from
Harvard which will tell you all you need to know.
Full fat dairy produce
If you have oily skin then it would be wise to cut out most full fat dairy produce from your diet and
replace it with low fat varieties, you will notice little difference.
See the link below to learn all the constituent parts of a typical commercial milkshake, this
company is not being singled out, it could apply to any or all of these commercial products.
Drinking and smoking
No I am not going to tell you to give up, just be aware that alcohol has a dehydrating effect on the
body, especially spirits such as Gin, and smoking will do your skin no good at all.
Acne Diets – Summary
In summary then, and sorry to disappoint you if you were looking for a miracle acne diet, there isn’t
one, just eat a natural well-balanced diet, drink plenty of water and stop eating all the things
mentioned above that people have become addicted to in modern life that will do you no good at all,
and may affect your health later.

7. As a closing tip if you want an actual healthy diet to follow, take a look at Chinese and Japanese
cooking, if everyone ate this type of food the planet would likely be a healthier place.
Health is very important to the Chinese and it is reflected in their cooking, having said that one
popular fast food chain in Hong Kong are open 24 hours and they are quite popular, the difference
is that to the natives, eating there is an occasional treat not a way of life.
I hope I have managed to spur you into action with this article, once you get used to changing your
eating habits you will no doubt feel a lot better for it, as a proper diet will give you more energy and
vitality and will certainly be beneficial to your long term health.
For more useful and helpful information on treating acne and looking after your skin make sure you
pay a visit to the authors website at
http://acnetreatmentszoom.com/