- Acne is not your fault.
You didn't do anything wrong to have it.
There's a big genetic predisposition that can be at play.
It also can come on in different times of your life
that have to do with hormones or stress.
(cheerful music)
Hi, my name is Dr. Sari Eitches.
I'm a dual board certified internist and holistic physician.
- Hi, my name is Mascha Davis
and I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist.
- Hey everyone, my name is Delilah Bisase
and I'm a holistic plant-based registered dietitian.
(cheerful music)
- Nutrition plays a huge role in skin health,
and it can affect our acne.
- When we're trying to think about foods
whether they're helping or hurting acne,
it's really important to think about the four processes
in the body that conspire to cause acne,
inflammation, sebum or oil production,
clogged pores, or really skin cells clogging the follicles,
and an increase in the bacteria that causes acne.
- One of the things that's been shown
to potentially increase breakouts
and cause acne to get worse are high glycemic foods.
- In general, the foods that are not so great
as far as acne would be processed foods
like refined carbs, white bread, white pasta.
- Junk food, fast food, sugary foods
can make a huge difference in your skin health.
It can really help to brighten up your skin
and to reduce breakouts.
- [Delilah] Dairy can also be pretty inflammatory
so try to cut out your dairy, little to none.
- In some people,
milk seems to potentially stimulate breakouts.
- Dairy increases IGF in the blood
and that in turn increases sebum oil production.
A lot of people have the impression
that eating greasy food
will increase the grease that the pores make,
and that will cause acne.
It's tempting, but it hasn't been shown to be true.
- [Delilah] Also, alcohol.
I know you probably don't want to hear that,
but yes alcohol in some cases can promote acne.
- When we're thinking about sebum production,
that is specifically modulated by hormones.
So someone with hormonal acne,
acne that occurs either around the jawline,
or in women if it occurs cyclically,
then we want to really target their hormone production,
and that will help decrease their sebum production.
- Now, another nutrient that you may want to start
incorporating into your diet to help with your skin health
is a mineral called zinc.
Zinc is one of the essential minerals that our body needs,
and it has both antimicrobial
and anti-inflammatory properties.
- You'd find that moreso in your cashews,
lentils, chick peas.
- Oysters, many different kinds of fish.
Beef is a good source of zinc, as is chicken.
The one other nutrient that I would
really, really encourage people to incorporate
to help with their skin health is antioxidants.
And the foods that are the highest in antioxidants
are fruits and vegetables.
- The other thing to think about it
is a lot of the over-the-counter
and prescription acne remedies have retinol in them.
Retinol is vitamin A, which we can get in a diet.
It's in a lot of orange colored food, so like
squash, cantaloupe, mango, apricot, sweet potato.
This works well because it's an antioxidant,
so it decreases that inflammation.
- While we know that diet is really, really
important to skin health,
there are a few other things that are also
equally important.
And these include exercise, sleep,
and your skin-care routine.
- Acne is not your fault.
You didn't do anything wrong to have it.
There's a big genetic predisposition that can be at play.
It also can come on in different times of your life
that have to do with hormones or stress.
- A way that you can tell that you're having
a lot of hormonal stress-related acne
is if you have acne around your chin
and your jawline.
- As much as things are in your control,
if you can decrease your stress,
that is the best thing you could do,
and we do that by sleeping well, protecting your sleep,
doing things that kind of let us down shift,
or wind down at the end of the day.
- Try and do something where you work up a sweat
at least every other day, if not daily.
That is one of the ways that our body
naturally detoxifies itself,
and that can actually help to
promote better circulation,
which brings oxygen and nutrients
to the surface of the skin
and it can help to even
clear up some of the breakouts.
- Drink plenty of water!
I forgot to mention that in the foods that prevent acne,
but water, water, water is paramount.
Stay hydrated.
Keep your pee clear.
- In terms of skincare, it's important to not overdo it.
That can actually,
a lot of people will start scrubbing at their skin,
trying to open up their pores,
and we need to be careful with that because
it can sometimes cause more inflammation.
So, I'd recommend a gentle cleanser with warm water,
probably once or twice a day.
- The other really essential thing
for skin health is sleep.
When we sleep, our body regenerates.
It is a really essential piece of overall health,
but can also really help with skin health.
- If you notice that your acne tends to flare
either at certain times of the month,
or certain times of stress or sleep,
that's worth noting.
Your body is telling you something there.
(cheerful music)
- If you are trying to figure out
the best diet for your skin health,
and the best types of foods
that can help you to get your glowing, summer skin
or to reduce acne breakouts,
I would really recommend to meet with
a registered dietitian nutritionist
to help figure out a personalized plan for your body type
that's going to help to optimize your skin health.
- Acne just sucks and even with all this great research
and knowledge and information and
I eat super healthy, I'm a dietitian,
but I still get acne like crazy!
Even though I a try my best to manage my stress every day,
I meditate, all that good stuff,
and I still break out.
(cheerful music)