Minor
changes in your eating habits can lead to major changes in your health.
What you eat not only affects your day-to-day health but also helps to
determine the quality of your life and even how long you will live.
At some time or other during their teens, 85 percent of young people suffer from acne, bane of growing up. Until recently it was a popular belief – though never proven – that it was the high sugar and fat content in a diet of chips, burgers, chocolates and soft drinks that caused acne.
Although junk food is still thought to be linked to the problem, the fault may lie less with the prime suspects – sugar and saturated fat – than with iodine-containing chemicals. These are often added to the salt that is used liberally on the chips, crisps and many other convenience foods. And a diet based on fast food, sweets, snacks and alcohol will be low in several vital minerals and vitamins.
Acne starts when the sebaceous glands overproduce oil, or sebum, secreted through the pores. Sebum carries dead cell debris away with it, but its overproduction blocks the pores with a sticky mass of oil and dead cells. When this happens, the bacteria normally present in skin convert the mass into compounds that irritate and rupture small glands, causing inflammation and unattractive pustules.
Some people are
genetically predisposed to acne, but the most common cause are emotional
stress and the increased activity of sex hormones stimulate the oil
glands, typically active during puberty. Boys are more prone to acne than
girls because they have a higher androgen levels, but many girls also
suffer, usually in the week before their period.
Research has suggested that many acne sufferers are deficient in zinc.
While burgers and chicken nuggets contain plenty of this mineral,
healthier sources include shellfish, nuts, lean meat and skinless poultry.
Yogurt and skimmed milk supply zinc in smaller amounts.
Vitamin A, which helps to maintain a healthy skin, is abundant in liver and eggs, while beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, is found in dark green or orange vegetables such as spinach and carrots, and in orange fruits, including apricots and mangoes.
People with acne should ensure that their diet contains plenty of polyunsaturated fats, which have also been claimed to counteract acne. Several of the B vitamins, normally supplied by a well-balanced diet, are believed to prevent blackheads and leave the skin less greasy, while a lack of vitamin C is known to make people more vulnerable to infection. Vitamin E, found in wheat germ, eggs, and cold-pressed vegetable oils, help to heal the skin.