Acne Magazine

Acne, as we all know by now if you’ve been reading this blog for some time, is primarily an inflammatory skin condition that is caused, and aggravated, by flareups of certain hormones in the body which cause inflammation and clogging in the skin’s pores, which leads to those lovely blackheads, whiteheads and various other acne lesions that we end up with on our skin, not to mention that rough texture that many of us with acne are cursed with.

So, what about all these detox diets that are out now, like the Master Cleanser, which originated in the seventies and enjoyed a resurgence starting about three years ago amongst celebrites and the super health conscious, or the Fat Smash diet, popularized by the hit show Celebrity Fit Club’s Dr. Ian Smith, which incorporates detoxing into the first few weeks of the diet, requiring no meat and tons of fruits and veggies and other anti inflammtory types of foods and drink. 

There’s also the multitude of juice detox diets, which use solely juiced nutrients as their staple.  All these diets are based in something that can ultimately be nothing but beneficial to acne sufferers, and that is eliminating free radical circulation, or maybe just dramatically reducing it, and reducing the agents in our body that cause inflammation, which means only bad things for acne and other skin conditions. 

Basically, a high antioxidant, detox diet can be considered a temporary alternative acne treatment, but the principles taught in the diet should be carried beyond the diet’s duration and into every day life, which can be a challenge in today’s processed world of foods with little real nutrition or acne fighting abilities.

By going on a detox diet, which is often very challenging, you are getting the benefits of cleansing the whole body, including the bowel system, which may also be of benefit to the skin, as in ancient chinese medicine it is believed that some problems that are started in the bowels and colon ultimately lead to skin disorders and additional inflammation - hence, acne.

The bottom line on detox diets is, that although they are incredibly challenging for most people, they ultimately can be nothing but beneficial, since they mostly incorporate foods that are heavy in things like omega 3’s and antioxidants (which is what the popular acne herbal supplement called acnezine is based on), which are extremely helpful in eliminating acne.