Adult facial acne has been reported to affect 25-50% of men and women over the age of 25, some persisting into middle age. Triggered by hormones (primarily DHT), stress, lack of exercise and clean diet, acne involves over stimulation of the sebaceous oil glands and inflammation of the dermis that results in pustules or eruptions under skin, aka zits.
Long held beliefs that chocolate, fatty foods and not washing your face (or wherever acne is prominent) enough are the causes of acne, have been largely disproved. Diets low in zinc with a lack of B-vitamins and insufficient amount of vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids coupled with a chronic over consumption of high sugar foods most likely may be igniting inflammation and acne flare-ups.
Good Nutrition and Key Players
Key Player #1: Omega-3 fatty acids are great for suppressing inflammation in the body. Healthy, fatty sources of fish such as salmon are a great choice to get these into your diet here!
Key Player #2: A couple of the B-vitamins that stand out to help the skin most are niacin and pantothenic acid, but all of them work together and even support keeping stress levels under control as well.
Turkey, chicken and avocados are a few nice selections to up your intake here. The dark meat of turkey tends to contain more vitamins and minerals, but also has more fat and calories. Avoid deli meats here and go for the real stuff.
Key Player #3: Zinc is great for natural resistance and in the case of acne, also may help to heal blemishes faster from old acne that has diminished, especially when applied topically. A product I personally recommend here is a topical cream called “zinc cream” by Margarite Labs.
Key Player #4: We should also give probiotics an honorable mention here too because having enough “good” bacteria in the gut is vitally important for your body’s defense systems and keeping bad bacteria (a contributor to acne) at bay and away.
One of my favorite sources of getting some of these healthy bacteria is drinking kombucha! Other solid options are kefir, miso soup (good stuff!) and sauerkraut.
It may not be wise however, to over indulge in yogurts. Although most of us know this to be a source of healthy bacteria and probiotics, it comes at the cost of a very high sugar intake. Not a great “win” when you’re attempting to clear up any skin conditions.
On that note, monitoring sugar intake is vitally crucial in having healthy looking skin. It is equally important to say in the same breath; you need to control blood glucose levels if you are striving to get a bad case of acne under control.
The herbal extract Cinnamon, the mineral Chromium are both thought to be very supportive of helping to control blood glucose levels and may be very helpful! The great thing with cinnamon is that you can purchase it on the cheap in your local grocery store's spice isle and sprinkle on all kinds of things like oats or even add it to protein shakes and more. And, in my opinion it makes everything taste better!
Fight the Cause of Acne
Another major contributor and arguably the largest, is the hormone DHT. This testosterone derivative DHT, which stands for Dihydrotestosterone (5α-Dihydrotestosterone), is a male sex hormone and androgen.
Your skin and more specifically, your sebaceous oil glands in it, have androgen receptors. Unfortunately for people like myself, some of us have a bit too many which leads to over stimulation of these glands leading to excessive oil production which combines with dead skin cells to block the pores up which then mix with bacteria to create an inflamed eruption under the skin.
Now, we could speak about DHT reducing compounds such as oral drugs like finasteride or even herbal extracts that have gotten attention here such as large amounts of saw palmetto that are thought to bind to and reduce the activity of 5-alpha reductase enzymes (which “converts” testosterone into DHT) or even talk about strategies to reduce testosterone and androgens in general. For any smart man and his wise doctor, non-of these are great options though.
Key Player #5: Addressing the problem at the scene of the crime is the better way to go. What do I mean by this? Topical approaches that fight DHT at the receptor sites under the skin. A good natural topical product that does just this and helps to diminish bacteria on site is some low dose 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to put directly on acne before applying any oil free moisturizer and then zinc cream (only on acne spots) and you have a solid topical approach.
Balance Is Key
If you are currently or considering, engaging in a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) program and you have a history or current concern with acne, it is wise to consider having the most balanced approach as possible. What is meant by saying this is, to do your best to avoid the sharp up and down “see-saw” patterns in your testosterone levels week in and week out.
When there are large spikes here, there is often more opportunity for correlated hormones to see spikes as well. Although this will not happen with everyone as we are all different with our body chemistries, it may increase the odds. Stability and balance are key.
This is one of a few areas where having a more consistent level of testosterone day to day is often more beneficial to many men on TRT. A nice “manly” dose of testosterone cream applied at the same time(s) each day help tremendously with many, including myself versus weekly injections with the up and down patterns in T levels.
Of course, smart and calculated measures such as the suggestions given here in this article should be considered to increase one’s odds of success. Be sure to consume enough of the healthy food choices, eat the rainbow (lots of veggies and some fruits) and you should ensure a sufficient amount of the mentioned vitamins and nutrients that acne sufferers are commonly deficient in. Also, don’t forget to avoid excessive intake of sugars and “junk foods” and you are well on your way to having more clear and great looking skin!
Summary
If you have a concern with acne that may be holding you up from pursuing a program to alleviate your low testosterone and its nagging symptoms, engaging in a properly built TRT program with the right guidance based off your concerns, goals and medical history is something that our doctors and team here at YOUTH-RX are here to help you with.
If you are an existing client and have questions or concerns here and would like some help and insight, let us know your concerns and a time to talk as we are here to continue helping you look and feel your best.
Or, maybe you have been on the fence for a while on whether you should embrace a hormone optimizing program to turn up your status in health, energy and confidence to be your best.
Or, maybe you would like to know and explore more of our other programs. If so, simply fill out our medical history form below and one of experienced consultants will schedule a complimentary consultation to explain the processes, programs and more to you.
Submit the on-line form: www.youth-rx.com/form
Best wishes towards healthy skin,
Roger Bowman
