Did you know the leading cause of acne and breakouts is gluten/wheat?  It’s crazy that something you eat could cause that much trouble with your skin, but it’s absolutely true – and here’s why.

Breakouts are a generally stemming from blood sugar problems and accompanied by chronic inflammation. These trigger hormonal reactions that lead to excess sebum production, blocked pores and creating an overgrowth of nasty bacteria.

Gluten contributes to this in a couple of ways. First, it can cause issues in the small intestine, which could lead to your body not digesting properly – causing your body to not get the nutrients it needs.

The second link between gluten and acne is inflammation. People with gluten sensitivity cannot digest gluten effectively. As a result their bodies improperly absorb undigested pieces of gluten. The body treats these as invaders, and goes on the attack.  The white cells in the body release histamine, which increases inflammation. Inflammation increases insulin resistance in the nearby cells.

Insulin resistance leads to, which cause breakouts. Don’t forget to check my gluten-free recipe book below!

When this happens once in a great while, the body can deal with it. But most people are exposed to gluten 3 or more times a day. This, coupled with other inflammatory agents, spreads inflammation all over the body, and inflammation causes the aging in our skin to speed up and creates breakouts.

AND, an overabundance of sugar and carbs in turn increases your insulin levels and next thing you know, you’ve got too much testosterone in your system. And there is nothing that causes your skin to secrete excess oils like testosterone.

So, what can you do to stop this horrific cycle?

Reduce, or altogether eliminate gluten from your diet.  That may sound harsh, because gluten is literally everywhere.  The good news is, the number of products on the market that don’t contain gluten increase every single day.  You can find gluten-free wheat, tortillas, pita bread, juice and a million other things – you just have to know where to find them.

Just to back up what I’m saying, studies comparing teens in the US to teens in non-gluten cultures show that acne is virtually unknown in countries that don’t consume high amounts of gluten.

Get off the gluten-train and get your skin looking clearer and younger!

For more on how to get clearer, younger, more radiant skin all-naturally with what you eat, check out my “7 Weeks To Super Skin” Program at http://www.rosecole.com/programs/7weekstosuperskin

Chocolate (yeah!)

Women in a German study who downed a cocoa-rich drink daily – the equivalent of 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate – for 12 weeks experienced less dryness. Their skin also had better blood flow, which pinks your cheeks, and was more resistant to sun damage, thanks to all the antioxidants.

Juicing

It gets a bad rap for the sugar, but the fresh squeezed vegetable juices are antioxidant-packed kind, like fresh squeezed celery, spinach, kale, and chard, are filled with alkalizing minerals and vitamins that feed skin.

Oil-Rich Facial Cleansers

They can help oily skin. Cleansers that contain emulsifying oils, such as vitamin E, grape seed oil, or castor oil, breakdown and dissolve dirt and oil without over-drying it, like harsh cleansers can.

Sweat

I’ve seen women who try not to work up a sweat when they exercise because they think it will cause breakouts, which is a myth. Perspiration is great for skin: It opens up pores, releases dirt and helps your lymphatic system in your skin to remove toxic sludge from your body that could be coming out your pores… so bring it on!

French fries

OK, OK, they’re NOT exactly good for your skin – sorry – but contrary to popular belief, they (and other greasy foods) don’t cause pimples. Nice to know!