You Experience Frequent Sinus Congestion Or Post Nasal Drip
I used to wake up each morning sniffling and sneezing for the first hour of my day, and I was always clearing my throat repeatedly after each meal. I thought I had environmental allergies, perhaps to dust, because I experienced these symptoms daily no matter what I seemed to eat!
Years later while training to become a Naturopathic Doctor I did blood testing for food sensitivities and I also completed an elimination diet. I was AMAZED when only a week or two after starting the elimination phase of the program my sinuses were entirely clear!
The immune reaction that is elicited when you experience a sensitivity to particular foods causes your body to release histamine. Histamine causes the dilation of blood vessels and leads to local swelling within your sinuses, causing you to experience a plugged nose. This inflammatory reaction often also leads to excess mucous production, which I see especially in patients who are sensitive to dairy products like milk or cheese.
Can Allergies Cause Acne Breakouts Everything You Need To Know
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Many people think that acne is a teenage problem only, but as a grown adult, acne is a real, chronic issue.
The main difference is that as we age, we are more susceptible to changing hormones and can become acne-prone at any age.
There are also lots of other things than hormones that can cause acne. One of the less-known causes of acne is a food allergy.
So, the important question, can allergies cause acne breakouts?
Refined Grains And Sugars
People with acne tend to consume more refined carbohydrates than people with little or no acne (
Foods rich in refined carbohydrates include:
- Bread, crackers, cereal or desserts made with white flour
- Pasta made with white flour
- White rice and rice noodles
- Sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages
- Sweeteners like cane sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave
One study found that people who frequently consumed added sugars had a 30% greater risk of developing acne, while those who regularly ate pastries and cakes had a 20% greater risk .
This increased risk may be explained by the effects refined carbohydrates have on blood sugar and insulin levels.
Refined carbohydrates are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream, which rapidly raises blood sugar levels. When blood sugars rise, insulin levels also rise to help shuttle the blood sugars out of the bloodstream and into your cells.
However, high levels of insulin are not good for those with acne.
Insulin makes androgen hormones more active and increases insulin-like growth factor 1 . This contributes to acne development by making skin cells grow more quickly and by boosting sebum production (
26 ).
Fast food items, such as burgers, nuggets, hot dogs, french fries, sodas and milkshakes, are mainstays of a typical Western diet and may increase acne risk.
A separate study of 2,300 Turkish men found that frequently eating burgers or sausages was linked to a 24% increased risk of developing acne .
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Can Food Intolerances Cause Acne
Acne can be an embarrassing and confidence shattering experience for people, and its often put down to hormones and overeating refined sugary foods. However, this is not always the case, particularly where adult acne is concerned. Food intolerances can be a significant contributing factor in the development and continuation of all types of Acne, due to the inflammation and toxicity that they cause within the body. One of the main functions of the skin is elimination. So the presence of Acne can be due to the body trying to expel what it sees as toxins from consuming foods you are intolerant too. Lets take a more in-depth look at how food intolerances can perpetuate your acne issues.
Firstly its important to understand the difference between food intolerances and food allergies. We have covered this extensively in previous articles HERE and HERE. In a nutshell, food allergies are life-threatening immune system reactions to proteins found in foods. They cause the body to have huge histamine reactions, with swelling, difficulty breathing and other severe reactions that can culminate in death if not quickly treated.
Food intolerances, on the other hand, are not generally immune system reactions, but rather a response to digestive irritation, or a lack of certain enzymes needed to digest specific foods. They are not life-threatening like allergies, but they can undoubtedly degrade your quality of life.
Food Allergies And Acne: What Your Face Is Trying To Tell You
From genetics and stress to the overuse of harsh beauty products, there are a number of reasons why people suffer from embarrassing acne breakouts. Youre probably well aware of these factors, and despite your best efforts, you still cannot seem to find a solution for your recurring acne. If youve exhausted all possibilities and are tired of spending hours at the dermatologist, there is one more culprit you might want to investigate: food allergies. Aside from causing intestinal upset or even flu-like symptoms, food allergies can also cause acne.
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The Problem One Faces With Dry Skin
While discussing the topic, can allergies cause acne; there is a concept that acne has a close relation to oily skin. But thats not always true. The fact is that dry skin can be responsible for causing wrinkles and premature aging. At the same time, it is also responsible for causing pimples caused by allergies.
Whenever you do not have enough natural oils and the skin, it starts overcompensating by more Sebum production. The right amount of Sebum in the skin helps in protecting the skin. But when you are having too much oil or less oil, your skin may be vulnerable to pimples, blackheads, whiteheads, and cysts.
Can allergy shots cause acne? Yes, they do! There are numerous contributing factors.
What To Eat Instead
While the foods discussed above may contribute to the development of acne, there are other foods and nutrients that may help keep your skin clear. These include:
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory, and regular consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of developing acne (
- 81 ).
Summary Consuming a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, green tea, fruits and vegetables may be protective against the development of acne. Vitamins A, D and E, as well as zinc, may also help prevent acne.
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What You Can Do
Eliminate food from your diet that exposes you to the allergen or offending protein for a few months. This includes anything that contains the food as an ingredient. See if your cystic acne improves. If not, its likely that other triggers are responsible for your acne breakouts. Some of these triggers include stress or being overweight both of which can disrupt hormone levels in your body.
- Eliminate food from your diet that exposes you to the allergen or offending protein for a few months.
You Get Sick With Every Cold Or Flu That Goes Around The Office
If your immune system is constantly utilizing all of its resources to fight the inflammation caused by food sensitivities, you may find yourself feeling depleted and run down. I see this time and time again in my patients, and I have also experienced this personally prior to identifying my own food intolerances. In addition to my chronic sinus congestion, I would get sick with a cold several times per year and I often experienced low energy and brain fog. ;
Food plays an incredible role in our health and it forms the foundation for each and every treatment plan that I create for my patients.; Do you know whether the foods in your diet are fueling, or fooling, your body?
How many of the above symptoms of food sensitivities do you experience on a day-to-day basis? ;
Identifying my own food sensitivities enabled me to transform my health and Im on a mission to help you do the same! Please make sure to download my free guide, A Naturopathic Guide to Identifying your Food Sensitivities to learn how to personalize your diet and transform your health. I also have an online program, the Elimination Diet Meal Plan, that provides you with all of the recipes, meal plans, ingredient guides and information that you need to get started on your own elimination diet today! ;
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What To Do If My Acne Are Caused By Food Allergies
The first thing you should do is immediately take an allergic test as fast as you can. Then you should remove all the foods you are allergic to from your food menu.
Usually, people are allergic to multiple foods, and most commonly nuts, fish, shellfish, dairy, and others. But not only that food allergies are also separated in grades depending on the level of allergic reaction you have to said food. They are graded one star for the lowest allergic reaction, and three stars for the most severe ones.
How to remove acne caused by food allergies
As we mentioned the relationship between food allergy and acne is just a reaction of your immune system, and to fix this you have to get this allergen out of your system. Removing the foods you are allergic to is only the first step. Next, you have to stay away from these foods for a few months in order to fully clean your system of them. Then you should slowly introduce these foods to your body one by one in order to find out which one of them is causing acne and which are not. This is a long process that requires a lot of patience but it is worthwhile because, in the end, you could just stay away from the one food causing your acne and not the other ones.
Food Sensitivity Refers To Difficulty In Digesting Certain Foods
Almost everyone has experienced digestive upset because of something eaten.
And though annoying and uncomfortable, food sensitivity is not an immune system response. It happens when something you consume irritates your digestive system or youre unable to properly digest the food. It may also take consuming a larger quantity of the food or greater frequency before you experience symptoms.
Typical symptoms include bloating, stomach cramps, nausea, gas, diarrhea, vomiting, headache and heartburn along with frequent illness, eczema and psoriasis, joint pain and autoimmune disorders.
There are several common causes including:
- Absence of an enzyme needed to fully digest a food. For example, without lactase, youll have difficulty digesting lactose, the main sugar in dairy products. When you consume dairy, you can end up with bloating, cramping, diarrhea and excess gas.
- Preservatives and additives. Sometimes its not the food you have a problem with but how its made. For instance, processed foods have many stabilizers and preservatives which could trigger symptoms.
- Food enhancers like MSG. Watch out, MSG isnt just in Chinese food! Its in many processed foods like chips, cold cuts, frozen dinners, snacks, soy sauce, cookies, fast food and more. It is often called natural flavors on an ingredient label.
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How Can Your Diet Improve Acne
Vitamin A, zinc andOmega 3s are vitamins and minerals that are known to contribute to good skinhealth.
Vitamin A isbeneficial for all of our organs and helps your skin self-exfoliate. You canfind Vitamin A in foods like; cod liver oil, eggs, carrots, broccoli and evenspinach.
Zinc is especiallyhelpful for people with naturally dry skin. Its used to help keep your skinmoist and prevent your body from overcompensating the dryness with extrasebum.;
Dry skin quite acommon cause of acne, so keep yourself hydrated and enjoy a well-balanced dietwith zinc-rich foods to help prevent it from getting worse . You can find plenty of zinc in most meat cuts as well as lentils,chickpeas and beans.;
Omega 3s can alsobe effective in battling acne. Not only do they possess anti-inflammatoryproperties, but they help with hormone production too. You can get an abundanceof omega 3s from a portion of fish, but the vegetarians among you can alsofind these fatty acids in Flax seeds, Chia seeds and walnuts.
How Food Allergy Testing Can Prevent Acne
For years, parents have been warning their children that certain foods such as pizza, chocolate, greasy foods, and junk food are not only bad for their overall health but could also be giving them acne.
In truth, these foods dont cause;acne;or make it worse. However, there is evidence that dairy products and high-glycemic foods including sugar, gluten, wheat, yeast, nuts, corn, and alcohol do.
If youre allergic or intolerant to these or other foods, you may experience certain symptoms such as hives, bloating, gas, or vomiting after you eat them. Thats because the food is causing a toxic reaction in your body.
Your immune system perceives the food as an invading organism or unfriendly substance, and this can lead to inflammation of the skin and, thus, acne.
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The Gut & Acid Reflux
Id like to start with acid reflux because this is often the start of issues further down the digestive tract.
The first stage of the digestion process happens in the braincalled the cephalic response. This is what happens when you see or smell tasty food and begin salivating. Its the bodys way of kickstarting the digestive process by telling the digestive organs to begin secreting enzymes in preparation for the food were about to eat.
Believe it or not, most people with acid reflux, ;experience low stomach acid secretion.
There are many potential causes for low stomach acid, including:
- Diets high in processed foods
- Eating on the run
- Side-effects of medications
- Age
Low stomach acid will often lead to gastric refluxwhich most people mistake as the opposite issuehaving too much stomach acid.
The obvious solution is to take an antacidbut this is a mistake for most, as it only lowers stomach acidity even further, making the problem worse.
Youre probably wondering; how could low stomach acid cause reflux?
Let me explain.
Theres an opening at the top of the stomach controlled by specialized musclescalled the pyloric sphincter. It works similarly to the aperture on a camera, increasing or decreasing the size of the opening as needed.
When we eat food, the pyloric sphincter is open wide to allow the contents to enter the stomach. Once weve finished eating, the abundance of stomach acid triggers the muscle to close up, sealing the contents inside the stomach.
Get Rid Of Acne Pimples And Other Skin Problems
This article was originally published on www.drhyman.com.
In a 1971 article published in American Family Physician we see a quote, Patients are deluded into thinking that their health can somehow be mysteriously harmed by something in their diet. Thats not all.
The major textbook of dermatology for acne published in 1975 claimed that parents and doctors used the threat of depriving teens of tempting delights like candy and junk food only as a way to keep these imminent sinners in check, not because diet had any connection to acne.
In fact, most of us tend to believe that pimples are for kids! Not true. The average age of acne patients has now increased from 20 to 26 years old.
Millions of adults are experiencing acne for the first time. And acne rates are rising contradicting the belief that this condition is caused by genes.
Eight million people see the dermatologist every year for acne and millions more rely on infomercial products hawked by celebrities or over-the-counter products that total $100 million in sales every year.
And healthcare costs for prescription acne treatment exceed $1 billion a year.
Clearly, this problem, like so many chronic diseases in the 21st century, is increasing.
Why?
Let me tell you about a book that I just finished reading.
Its called The Clear Skin Diet. Its written by renowned dermatologist Val Trelor, MD and Alan Logan, ND, a naturopath.
This book gives us real answers to why pimples are popping up all over!
I never had it.
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Can Environmental Allergies Cause Acne
Environmental pollution is responsible for allergies and acne. It can also invite acne. For example, breathing in air pollutants and smog can result in the build-up leading to acne. The reason behind this is that pollution is responsible for weakening the skins immune system.
As a result, the ability to fight the free radicals for keeping the skin clean reduces. Environmental pollution is also responsible for the production of antibodies for attacking the allergen and this, in turn, leads to common allergic symptoms like itching, watery eyes, and red skin.
Womens Health Care Center In Broward County
If youre experiencing acne that you think may be due to a food allergy, our;medical staff;can help. Not only is it important to pinpoint which foods may be contributing to your acne, but so is educating you on which foods are beneficial for your skin health.
If youre dealing with acne and are looking for a solution, contact Ladys Care Center right here in Miramar, Florida, to schedule an appointment.;Contact us today;by calling; 538-1700; wed love to help you look and feel beautiful.
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