Dietary Habits Affecting Your Skin

Does your skin seem dull or dehydrated? Even worse, are you experiencing acne breakouts? These common side effects may very well be a direct result of the food you consume. For residents in Essex County and the surrounding area, a poor diet can hinder your success in achieving radiant skin. When confronted with stress and anxiety, it is not uncommon to indulge in unhealthy foods, thereby forming poor dietary habits. The experts at Short Hills Dermatology recommend accessing your diet and making healthy changes in order to foster healthy skin.

Reduce The Amount of Sugar in Your Diet

Consuming excessive amounts of sugar can negatively impact your skin, resulting in acne breakouts, inflammation, and redness. An effective way to improve your skin is to eat in a manner that keeps your blood sugar steady. Experts suggest consuming foods with a low glycemic index because these cause smaller increases in your blood sugar. Food such as whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables all have a low glycemic index; so be sure to include them in your diet!

Conversely, try avoiding or limiting certain foods known to have high glycemic index such as potatoes, white rice, white bread, candy, cookies, cakes, and sweet drinks. Begin incorporating these practices into your diet, and you can expect to see a positive change in your skin!

Limit Your Alcohol Intake

A cocktail is fine when consumed in moderation; however, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that consuming alcohol more than three times a week can negatively impact your skin. Excessive alcohol consumption can weaken your immune system and cause irreversible liver damage. A weak immune system allows bacteria to easily build up in your pores while a severely damaged liver cannot detoxify chemicals in your body. If the liver cannot breakdown these chemicals, inflammation and acne breakouts will occur over time. Alcohol also lowers your body’s water content, which hinders your body’s ability to remove inflammatory toxins. These inflammatory toxins can cause pores to shrink and make them susceptible to clogging. To combat alcohol-induced dehydration, dermatologists recommend drinking plenty of water to hydrate your body.

Avoid Fried Foods

Consuming too much fried foods can cause disastrous results to your skin. When heated, oils and fats oxidize; this causes healthy oils to convert into unhealthy hydrogenated fats. As a result, common cooking oils such as vegetable, canola, and olive oil all lose their nutritional value when heated to fry foods like chicken. Hydrogenated fats also contribute to heart disease, poor blood circulation and a weak metabolism. Furthermore, hydrogenated oils can reduce collagen and elastin in the skin. If you want to maintain healthy skin, consider reducing or eliminating fried foods from your diet.

Beware of Artificial Sweeteners

If you’re attempting to lower your sugar intake, don’t substitute artificial sweetener such as Splenda in its place! Sucralose is the main ingredient in Splenda; reports indicate that Sucralose destroys up to nearly 50 percent of healthy intestinal bacteria that help regulate your digestive system.  The body does not use artificial sweeteners for biological purposes, so it eliminates them through urine or sweat. Artificial sweeteners expelled through sweat can cause inflammation, pimples, acne breakouts or blocked pores. For patients with health condition such as diabetes or are simply looking for a healthier alternative, stick to natural sugars such as honey.

Manage Your Diet to Achieve Your Desire Skin

Maintaining healthy skin requires a conscious healthy diet. While you don’t have to eliminate every unhealthy food from your diet, remain thoughtful of what you consume and the effects it can have on your body. The specialists can assess the condition of your skin and select the best skin care treatment. Contact Short Hills Dermatology to schedule an appointment today!

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