Acne - Facial

Acne occurs when the oil that is produced by the sebaceous glands, which are located in each hair follicle, becomes trapped, encouraging the growth of bacteria that in turn multiply and cause the surrounding skin to become inflamed.

Acne tends to affect young males more than females as the male hormones stimulate the production of keratin and sebum, which lead to the pores clogging. Many other factors can also contribute to the occurrence of acne and when it comes to treating any acne condition I'm afraid correcting the diet comes first. It is important to avoid all added sugars, white breads, fast foods, all soft drinks, especially coke, and keep up the fresh fruit and juices as well as more fresh vegetables, brown rice, wholemeal breads etc. Try and buy organic foods to increase mineral levels.

In most cases of severe acne the best results are obtained when improvement of function is made to the digestion (so that foods are properly broken down), to the liver (so that toxins are eliminated from the blood stream) and to the bowel (so that all toxins are removed from the body).

To improve the digestion take food enzymes with each meal or eat paw paw (papaya) or organic kiwifruit 20 minutes prior to meals. (I recommend 'NESS' enzyme products which are entirely plant derived, contain an effective dosage of digestive enzymes and are extremely well tolerated).
See page on  'Ezymes - facts'

Herbal liver tonics containing St Mary's Thistle, Globe Artichoke, Greater Celandine and Dandelion root support liver detoxification and also can improve bowel function. Turmeric is another good herb to use and can be added to food.

Blood cleansing herbals that contain herbs such as Clivers, Burdock, Yellow dock and Sarsaparilla are also often used with good effect.

If bowel function is still sluggish (less than to two good motions daily), add 1 - 2 tsp of psyllium, flaxseed fibre or slippery elm to the diet to add bulk and a little aloe vera or raw beetroot juice to further promote peristalsis. See page on  'Bowel - improving action'
 
Also, many people with acne need not only to move the bowel more effectively but also improve the bowel flora and immunoglobulin status.  Lactobacillus acidophilus will help (eat lots of good quality yoghurt) but often better results are obtained if specific strains ( see page on 'Probiotics')are used and often in combination with Colostrum.
Be sure to use it in conjunction with food enzymes as it is a high protein product.

Increasing dietary intake of Vitamin A helps immensely. This can be achieved by eating a lot more oily fish (sardines!) or taking a cod liver or halibut oil capsule daily.

Lastly, or may be this should have been first, greatly increase mineral levels, especially Zinc.  The easiest way of doing this is to supplement with Colloidal Minerals - at least 1 tablespoon daily. In some cases extra Zinc in liquid form may need to be added to these. See pages on  'Zinc', '  Minerals-Facts' and '  Minerals-Why we need to supplement'

Do all this and I'm sure your acne will clear. However, this regime needs to be kept up over time, results often do not fully show fully for 6 - 8 weeks and will digress if the effort is slackened.

As far as applying healing creams and so forth are concerned one of the best I have come across is one based on rye grass extract which is a wonderfull healing agent. 
Click here for product information.  However the internal reigme still need to be followed.

If improvement does not come about as expected then there may be a problem with hormonal imbalance, which would need to be corrected. Other reasons could be very high stress levels or allergy to certain foods.

NOTE: While the information on these pages can be extremely helpful to many, each of you are individuals and as such may require more specific assessment. Please use the Contact page to request an appointment, or alternatively, to request personal advice. Be sure to send as many details as possible.  I may be able to help further.
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All information on this page has been compiled by Alison Odey from personal research and from results seen and experienced over 20 years in private practice. It is not intended to diagnose or to be construed as medical advice, but to inform the reader of alternative options that may be available to them. Any remedy mentioned in the text can be obtained by contacting the writer:
Contacts: Phone -64 7 5721147   Website www.alisonodey.com
(Permission to copy this page in any form must be obtained from the said person).

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