Sugar Can Give You Greasy Skin

Did you know that sugar and high carbohydrate foods increase the amount of oil produced on your face? The name of this oil is sebum. People with acne usually produce too much sebum and this is a problem because it can clog pores and cause breakouts. Many people think greasy skin is genetic. You may be surprised to learn that your diet largely influences how much sebum your body produces.

What is sebum?

Sebum is your skin’s natural, oily, waxy substance produced by sebaceous glands. Its purpose is to moisturize, protect, and waterproof your skin. It forms a barrier against dryness, bacteria, and fungi. Sebum is made of fats, including triglycerides, fatty acids, squalene, and cholesterol. It gets released through hair follicles, and is most concentrated on your face, scalp, back and chest. Producing too much can lead to oily skin and acne.

Sugar and high glycemic foods increase sebum production

This raises the risk of both acne vulgaris and acne rosacea. Eating sugar, grains and foods high in starch promotes a rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. This can promote greasy skin in the following ways:

• Blood Sugar Spikes: Eating sugar and high carb foods causes rapid increases in blood glucose.
• Excess insulin Release: Your pancreas releases insulin to manage this blood sugar rise.
• Hormone production: Elevated blood insulin triggers the production of more male hormones such as testosterone (androgens) as well as Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1).
• Stimulation  of sebum production: Androgens and IGF-1 directly stimulate the sebaceous (oil) glands of your face, scalp, back and chest to produce more sebum.
• Pores become clogged: Excess sebum mixes with dead skin cells, clogging pores and creating a breeding ground for the specific bacteria that can cause acne.
• Excess inflammation: Sugar raises inflammation throughout the body, which can intensify acne. It can cause dysbiosis, small intestinal bacterial and fungal overgrowth in the gut, raising the risk of leaky gut. Gut toxicity places a burden on the liver and impairs its detox abilities.
• Insulin stimulates cell growth: Having abnormally high Insulin in the bloodstream can make skin cells grow and stick together faster, further blocking pores.

Natural ways to achieve clear and healthy skin

Reduce the carbs in your diet

Bread, pasta, rice, sugar and foods that contain flour are all common acne culprits. This is because these foods are rapidly digested into sugar in your body and consequently result in a rapid rise in blood sugar. A quality protein powder smoothie can serve as a filling meal or snack and the protein content will help slow blood sugar spikes.

Overproducing insulin and IGF-1 can also promote weight gain and raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. High carb foods can be addictive and difficult to quit. It’s important to eat adequate protein and fat at each meal, to stabilize blood sugar. There is a low glycemic load eating plan in the book I Can’t Lose Weight and I Don’t Know Why. The herbs and nutrients in Glicemic Balance capsules help to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce excess hunger and cravings.

Improve the detox abilities of your liver

Your liver acts as a filter. It literally cleanses your bloodstream of the toxins you are exposed to each day, and the waste products of metabolism that your body generates each day. If your liver is not able to detoxify your bloodstream adequately, toxins must find an alternative route of excretion. Typically this is the skin.

Acne is very common in people with a sluggish liver and lazy bowel. The good news is this is usually easy to remedy. My liver tonic called Livatone helps to improve the ability of your liver to detoxify and reduces inflammation inside liver cells.

Have thorough bowel motions each day

Your liver dumps toxins into the bile, which is transported into the gallbladder and then into the intestines. If your intestines are eliminating wastes effectively, you will excrete them via bowel motions. Ideally you would have between one and three bowel motions each day. Many people do not achieve this, or their bowel actions are not thorough.

If this is the case for you, a great number of toxins will be allowed to recirculate through your body. Consuming plenty of fiber in your diet will help to trap the toxins as they travel through your bowel and carry them out of your body. The insoluble fiber in fruit and vegetables helps to soften the stool and allow an easier passage out of your body. Nuts and seeds, particularly flaxseed and chia seeds are also helpful.

Reference

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.