( Picture from geekologie.com )
( My skin does have a habit of giving me scarred acne and it takes months for it to vanish completely from my skin. ) I was curious to know what can actually contribute to this great condition.
Some of you may know that I have been battling with constipation problem for months. In the month of October, I did a detox programme because I just feel I need to flush out all the toxins that are accumulated within me. ( Sorry for the gross explanation ) This is the 2nd time I did this programme and it never fails to do it's job well.
From that time until now, my skin is looking great and I feel fabulous. Even more so, I am happy to announce too that I have been able to go to the toilet almost everyday. Now, I am wondering, could the detox programmed have helped my skin to be clear of acne?
I did a little research over the net and I found this very interesting article that is related to this post. Here are some excerpts from it.
Acne is a very common skin disorder. Almost 95% of all people suffer from acne at some point in their life. The major cause of acne is because of hormonal fluctuation which every indivisual undergoes during puberty. The hormonal fluctuations can cause the sebaceous gland in the skin to produce excessive sebum which causes the skin to have acne. The other factors that could lead to acne are many these range from poor hygiene to excessive consumption of trans fat in the diet.
Research suggest that constipation can also accelerate and aggravate acne in certain individuals. This is because during constipation, excessive toxins are created in the body which leads to acne out breaks. Thus the people who suffer from constipation have a good chance to get acne.
And yes. This confirms my curiosity.. constipation can lead to acne.
Now, let's look at what I did to keep my skin clear:
1) Detoxification- I did a detox programme that lasts a week. I was following a diet of incorporating lots of vegetables and fruits ( fibers ) and only started to intake protein( chicken or fish ) in the last 4 days of the programme. Along with this, I have to take some fiber drinks from the programme too.
2) Water- Drinking lots of water is so essential and I think that contributed most to my constipation problem was my lack of intake of water. I am forcing myself to drink 2-3 litres of water per day.
3) Bring on the greens..and colours too- Even after the programme, I have been consuming a lot of vegetables and fruits. Not only does it improve my consistency , I know I am getting loads of vitamins and phyto nutrients too that are good for my skin and health.
4) Consume as much fresh food as possible-Eat more fresh veggies, fruits or white meat and eat less boxed, canned and bagged processed foods.
5) Taking probiotics- I personally find that taking yoghurt drinks helps a lot and I find that my bowel movement became more frequent! Research conducted has shown that probiotics is beneficial in treating constipation. The WHO defines probiotics as live micro-organisms that give health benefits. They are friendly and good bacteria that aid your digestive system when you take them.
6) Exercise- Accelerates circulation, which speeds up excretion of waste. My type of exercise is-doing housework like mopping the floor, cleaning the house.
7) Be less stressed- I am unable to go to the toilet when I am stressed out. This is as true as it gets! Every morning, I have to sit calmly down and just wait until nature calls....
8) Skincare regime- Maintain a good skincare regime by incorporating hydration into your skin.
I'm with you on constipation and acne or just plain bad skin. I do have problems going and I'm working on having more veggies than meat for my meals. I noticed my friend who does not eat meat at all has such good skin. And I'm sweating it out by going for spinning and zumba classes. In a nutshell, I want to get a daily BM and fit! :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely...speaking from experience too! If I don't go to the loo for a day, I'll feel rather edgy. I also find that probiotics is helping me.
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn! Veggies are a plus in the diet to help prevent constipation. Aww...you are better than me cos you go to gym. I am trying to..once a week perhaps..keke...all in all, I know working out more does speed up the circulation.
ReplyDeleteHi Sesame! Oh, you experience it too? I thought that I am always the odd one in my family. Yup, I totally agree with you on feeling edgy if we can't go cos we feel so bloated!
ReplyDeletea reader sent me the same inquiry before, and I do agree that constipation can indirectly cause acne.
ReplyDeleteoh man, detox programs! The memory of taking fiber drinks which result to painful monologues inside the toilet is one of my primary motivations in keeping a healthy diet and making sure I won't ever go constipated. I'm used to doing my business everyday, at a fixed schedule, so whenever I get constipated, I feel so disturbed and edgy that I would go for a detox right away.
It's funny, though, coz whenever I "miss" my schedule, I would usually really miss it and won't be able to do it any other time of the day... which would result to me being slightly constipated on the next day.
Gosh, the fiber drink must be pretty powerful.:P Is it a weekly or a once a month thing?
ReplyDeleteI am the same as you. If I were to miss a day,I can only go the next day or worse, the day after. So, you can imagine how irritated and bloated that result to.
Am looking into another alternative now which is taking natural supplements to aid in getting rid of toxin build ups.
the drink was made in malaysia, my mom gave it to me. forgot the name, but it's a phytofiber drink. it contains psyllium husk which is like a natural laxative... but every time i take it, i break bricks and tiles in my toilet (lol, due to the pain) so I always remind myself not to take it again. but i still go back to it during emergencies :D
ReplyDeletebut from experience, good diet rich in fiber and lots of water really works miracles without giving me pain. doc said that lots of fiber without enough water is the worst combo. this might be a bit too visual, but when i went for the blood type diet detox (i was categorized as vegetarian so had to take mostly veggies), i'd never seen the toilet bowl so, err, full every day. but i felt great!
and i also have to keep to a fixed sched (fixed sched of sleeping, most especially) or else my toilet schedule's affected too. really troublesome tummy. :S
Hmm...phytofiber drink? If I am not mistaken, think I saw it in pharmacies. I nearly bought a whole jar of another organic based phytofiber mix but was reluctant due to the price. Now, I am exploring supplements...
ReplyDeleteHaha...thanks for your description on your toilet agony. I can feel your pain already. I once took Ducolax and the pain is excruciating! I even had cold sweats in the toilet. Tot I was going to faint!
I've read your intro on your blood type diet detox, which is very interesting. Waiting for your continuation post. I am dreaming of having 'full toilet bowl' like yours too!:D
I have an interesting story about this. About a year and a half ago, I started getting ferociously bad acne. I couldn't figure out why. I tried thinking about what had changed. I spent hours on the internet nightly trying to figure out what I could have possibly done. I started thinking about what else had changed. Was there anything else that was different?
ReplyDeleteI started to try and make connections. Did I have any other health issues? I soon realized that I did. I was constipated. I had a really hard time having a bowel movement. I tried to think back to when I didn't have acne. There was one point in my life where skin seemed to practically glow. I had been eating bananas daily.
So, I made a few quick and easy changes. I stopped using chemicals on my skin and started putting lotion on everyday. I also started to eat bananas regularly again, and strangely enough, slowly but surely, my constipation went away and my acne along with it.
I still eat a banana almost everyday, and I haven't had a problem since.
Good for you that you address the problem and have since made a progressive changes!Keep it up. Sadly, many still think that it is more product related than internally.
DeleteHey guys! I just popped by to share with you my experience. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t have acne all the time. However, I tend to suffer from pimple outbursts once in a while. I noticed that whenever i have these pimples its usually on a hot afternoon when i’m extremely dehydrated after school and hence constipated. I also noticed that after pooping my pimples which were like extremely oily and swollen became much softer and drier. I feel cooler as well. It’s almost like a magical cure. I recommend those with pimples to hydrate themselves not just with water but also with fruits with both fiber and water such as papayas and pink dragon fruit. These fruits are awesome for bowel movement.
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for sharing. Totally agree with papayas and the pink dragon fruits. Those, I think, are much more excellent for bowel movements than bananas.
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