Typically, acne is treated with skin creams and gels designed to dry it out. These creams can be both uncomfortable to the point of peeling a layer of your skin off, and also embarrassing as they usually give the face a ‘red raw’ appearance, which is tricky to camouflage. Alongside pharmaceutical skin creams, often antibiotics are prescribed by GP’s. These medications are rarely a success at keeping acne at bay on a long term basis. This is because unfortunately acne is usually treated by targeting the symptoms rather than the root cause.
The fact is your skin is your window of well being. If it is breaking out and inflamed it is trying to alert you that something isn’t quite right inside, and by simply treating the spots on a superficial level you are just not going to solve the problem once and for all.
Here are a few acne- clearing nutrition tips
Avoid Dairy – There are a number of reasons why dairy is linked so strongly to acne. Many people find dairy hard to digest and an unsettled digestive system is a common acne trigger. Dairy is an acid- forming, inflammatory food, and your body and skin function best in an alkaline environment. Dairy is also swimming with hormones which only burden your liver and can cause or contribute to a hormonal imbalance which is often expressed by inflammation on the skin.
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Avoid wheat – Wheat products (bread, flour, pasta etc) can aggravate acne due to its gluten content. Many people struggle to digest gluten even if they do not have a diagnosed wheat or gluten intolerance. Wheat products have a ‘sticky’ nature which can further lead to irritation of the digestive system which can aggravate acne. The gluten- free food market is growing steadily and there are many bread alternatives to wheat now. Also rice pasta is worth a try for all you Italian food romantics.
FEED YOUR SKIN: Here are a few food examples to send your skin exactly what it needs to clear and cheer up:
Watercress – A pure skin cocktail of a plant, watercress contains vitamins A, C and E as well as B vitamins, sulphur, iron and iodine. Its antibacterial agents zoom in and out of the pores to cleanse and purify.
Pumpkin seeds – These tiny pods are pumped with zinc and super fats needed to keep the skin clear and glowing. Pumpkin seed oil is also delicious and heroically nutritious poured over salads, soups and veg.
Green leafy vegetables – These include skin saints kale, cabbage and spinach, which are the most alkalinising angels around, and also packed full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants– that’s pure radiance in a bite.
Garlic – Not only antioxidant rich but antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory. All those anti’s equate to one big anti-acne campaign led by this powerfully persuasive little clove. Garlic, onions, shallots and leeks all belong to the same family which is famous for its wealth of sulphur – an essential skin ingredient.
The skin is an incredibly complicated organ of the body. When there are imbalances which are expressed through acne breakouts, triggers are likely to be unique to you, which is why what works for your friend may not work for you.
Rachel Henderson is a qualified nutritionist and founder and director of Food Fairy Nutrition Ltd. If you’re interested in benefiting from a unique and individually tailored online nutritional consultation service, or you’d simply like more information, please go ahead and click one of the links above!
A stability ball is a great piece of exercise equipment for working out the lower abs, meaning the deeper abs. Work out the abdominal and oblique muscles withhelp from a celebrity nutrition and fitness expert in this free video on stability ball exercises for the abdominal muscles. Expert: JJ Virgin Contact: www.JJVirgin.com Bio: JJ Virgin is one of the nation’s foremost health & nutrition experts, a public speaker and a media personality. Filmmaker: Steve Geffner Series Description: Being fit and healthy requires a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise. Get tips on nutrition and work outs for better health and strong abdominal muscles in this free video series on wellness and fitness. Video Rating: 4 / 5
Many moons ago I suffered a rather punishing bout of insomnia. Days melted into one, as my mind managed to escape my brain and occupy a hazy cloud above my head. Sound familiar?
We’ve had many a nutrition consultation focused on sleep problems. Most people experience difficulty nodding off at some point in their life… Some people find sleep a constant struggle. Everyone’s sleep patterns vary. Take Winston Churchill for example – he famously needed only 4 hours sleep and swore by his power nap in the afternoon. Other people would be a quivering mess if they missed their eighth hour.
But it’s important to note that a ‘normal’ cycle is when you feel tired in the evening and wake up refreshed, rather than coming alive at night-time and waking up at midday.
We produce our own natural sleeping pills called melatonin from amino acids in proteins called tryptophan which the brain uses to build sleep-inducing substances (relaxing neurotransmitters) which promote that desirable deep, restorative sleep.
The types of foods that we eat in the evening have a profound effect on the quality of our shut-eye. You want to focus on calming the mind rather than stimulating it.
Eating carbohydrate with tryptophan rich foods makes this calming amino acid more available for the brain to scoop up and feed our sleepiness. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin which herds up all of the amino acids competing with tryptophan, allowing more of the natural sedative to trickle into your brain. Eating a high protein meal without the carbohydrate may keep you awake since protein-rich foods often contain tyrosine, which alerts the brain – leading to that signature feeling of not being able to switch off.
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Before bedtime, eat foods rich in the natural sedative Tryptophan. Try chicken, fish or turkey with a small portion of fast-releasing carbohydrate (like potato,) and transport sleepiness to your brain at concorde speed.
Sesame seeds are high in tryptophan, making the delicious Halva a perfect after-dinner treat. Other foods high in tryptophan which should be combined with healthy carbohydrates to become natural sleep remedies include lentils, chickpeas, beans, eggs, sunflower seeds and miso. As always, nicotine, caffeine and soda is best avoided in the evening.
Now you won’t find me recommending dairy very often, but the old wife (whoever she was?) was on to something when she advised warm milk before bedtime. The juice of a cow contains high levels of Tryptophan and calcium. Mix some honey into your milk – the natural sugars will help to stimulate yawns faster!
Magnesium rich green leafy vegetables like kale, cabbage and broccoli help to soothe the mind and muscles. Try taking a bath with Epsom salts – they are rich in calcium and magnesium and literally seep into your pores, treating your muscles to a soothing massage.
The Food Fairies still find it difficult to switch off sometimes. Hey, we’re only human (well… sort of) and we love cherry juice which is naturally rich in melatonin and can help regulate your sleep cycle. It doesn’t act like a sleeping pill so don’t expect a quick sleep-fast fix, rather it helps to regulate your daily cycle – promoting an alert mind during daylight and zzzzz’s during moonlight.
Foods that interfere with sleep are the usual culprits. Caffeine artificially alerts us, so avoid stimulant containing foods pre-pillow time. This applies not only to coffee but all caffeine containing foods like black tea, chocolate and also many soft drinks, including diet soda. For all you chocoholics, an ounce of chocolate can contain between 10 and 60 mg of caffeine, and a soft drink will usually fall into a similar range. Brewed coffee can contain over 100mg per cup, depending on the grind and brewing time. Who knows why after dinner espresso became such a hit!?
Chilli, ginger and sugar are all stimulants, so best to avoid them after 4pm.
Aubergine, tomatoes, courgettes and bacon contain tyramine – a natural adrenalin shot, so best to minimize these foods if sleep is a problem.
Alcohol also disturbs rather than aids sleep. Swap your wine with a dreamy Camomile, and awake with a glow not a groan.
Look for herbal remedies with the following ingredients such as Passionflower (ooo!), valerian (aaah), skullcap (eek!)
OR start to think of insomnia in a different light, like this man once did:
“Sleep – those little slices of death, how I loathe them” ~ Edgar Allen Poe
Rachel Henderson is a qualified nutritionist and founder and director of Food Fairy Nutrition Ltd. If you’re interested in benefiting from a unique and individually tailored online nutritional consultation service, or you’d simply like more information, please go ahead and click one of the links above!
Flawless skin, glossy hair and neat nails are three features that are conducive to our impression of ‘beauty.’ We spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds every year on keeping our manes thick and shiny and our nails shaped and polished. Simply keeping our skin cleansed, exfoliated, toned and moisturised as well as anti-aged is becoming an expensive full time job!
When you dash to your local beauty counter and reach for the latest miracle serum, stop for a moment and consider what you are putting inside your body… After all, our skin, hair and nails are the windows of our wellbeing. They reflect how happy our body is inside. If skin is dull, blemished or ageing prematurely, if hair is lifeless and if nails are brittle – perhaps it is your local food market that should receive an emergency visit, not the beauty department!
Our skin, hair and nails reflect how well we are nourished and common deficiencies can lead to blemishes, thinning hair and broken nails – no matter how much you spend on your manicure!
Despite the commonly held view that those white flecks on your nails are due to a calcium deficiency, it is in fact a lack of zinc which sprinkles unsightly white spots on your talons! Zinc is a significant beauty mineral. Not only is it important for strong nails but also for skin repair and maintenance. Foods rich in zinc include oysters, liver, eggs, pumpkin seeds and mushrooms.
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Thinning hair is a common beauty complaint, especially given the current ‘big’ hair trends! Protein is an essential hair nutrient, as it contains amino acids – important components of keratin which helps make up the hair’s matrix. Keratin is also an important feature of the skin and nail structure. Good beauty-boosting proteins include eggs, lean poultry, fish, legumes and seeds.
Blemishes on the skin are an expression of inflammation. Whether this is due to hormonal imbalance, nutritional deficiencies or stress – the anti-inflammatory pathways in the body require support. Reducing red meat and dairy intake is advisable as these are pro-inflammatory foods. Support your body’s anti-inflammatory pathways with plenty of omega-3 rich foods like oily fish, nuts and seeds, as well as fresh garlic, ginger and turmeric. Omega 3 is also a nutrient celebrated for its anti-ageing properties.
A poorly functioning liver often chooses to express its struggle on your face. Drinking plenty of fluids is the first step to supporting your detoxification organ. 2-3 litres of fluid a day is recommended. The trick here is variety, who wants to be sipping plain water all day long?! Get your liquid from fruits and vegetables, (especially watermelon, pineapple and other juicy delights) dilute fresh fruit juices and choose from delicious herbal teas like rooibos, green and ginger varieties. Staying well hydrated is shown to help keep hair naturally shiny and complexion lines less visible.
A high level of toxicity in the body puts strain on the skin as it is an organ of detoxification. Getting plenty of high fibre foods in your diet is important for the removal of toxins from the system. Include beans, lentils, pulses, oat bran and prunes in your diet as well as plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit. Always wash your fresh produce thoroughly and go for organic choices where possible.
A wide range of factors influence the appearance of our skin, hair and nails. Poor digestion, constipation, sun exposure, weakened immunity and hormonal imbalance are just some examples of why you may not be looking your best. A nutritional consultation could help to identify the underlying reasons as to why your external features are exhibiting weakness. A nutritional programme would then be designed to meet your unique requirements and help develop an inner harmony that makes your nails strong, your hair shine and your skin glow.
Rachel Henderson is a qualified nutritionist and founder and director of Food Fairy Nutrition Ltd. If you’re interested in benefiting from a unique and individually tailored online nutrition consultation service, or you’d simply like more information, please go ahead and click one of the links above!
We are all so busy – in our work life, our family life, our social life… Do you ever feel like you might just forget to breathe…?
If you are somebody who writes long lists each morning of all the tasks that you need to complete – you will require energy levels that are bursting at the seams in order to achieve that deeply satisfying final tick!
We all know that our food is our fuel and therefore keeps us going. But did you know that your nutrition choices may in fact be sapping you of vital drops of energy?
Here is a typically stressed gal-about-town’s day on a plate:
Leaves house still applying mascara in compact mirror, with an empty growling tummy, or if lucky – a grabbed-on-the-go slice of toast which is competing for hand-clutch-space with a large skinny latte. Lunch is a wilting sandwich or salad ordered from the take-out place next door, or maybe just an apple and chocolate bar wolfed down in between meetings… By the time dinner comes around, gal-about-town is now gal-trying-to-peel-self-off-floor. Hunger is drumming inside her tummy and demanding bites of carb-rich, sugary treats… ‘Oooh and why not finish off that bottle of Pinot chilling in the fridge to ease away the worries of the day?!’
How do you think gal-about-town will feel when the alarm shrills at her at 6am the next morning? As fresh as a daisy or wilting like a weed?
*Weed!*
Here’s how gal-about-town might manage to conduct her day if she had a Food Fairy online nutritional consultation…
Leaves house with a tummy full of scrummy, perfectly balanced breakfast which has been enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table whilst reading the morning papers, and washed down with a peppermint tea. Power walks to work, catches reflection in a passing window and admires freshly washed and styled hair and immaculately applied make-up! Having breezed through morning at work and encountered all stressful hurdles with poise, gal’ excitedly unwraps her alluring lunch designed for her unique nutritional requirements by the Food Fairy nutritionists. By the time she has floated home for the evening, gal is still energised enough to put together some delicious ingredients for a dashing dinner date and change into her favourite ‘flirt-skirt’ and heels. As she lights some candles and blots her lip gloss, gal’ considers how terribly productive she has become since she landed on the Food Fairy’s website all those weeks ago! Not to mention the flatter stomach, brighter complexion and sudden discovery of all those extra hours in the day that used to be spent snoozing under her desk at work…
Interested in our gal’s life transformation? A Food Fairy nutritional consultation may be for you…
Rachel Henderson is co-founder and director of Food Fairy Nutrition Ltd. The Food Fairies are a team of dynamic, passionate and fully qualifed nutritionists who created www.foodfairynutrition.com.
They offer a range of unique online nutritional consultations from a functional medicine perspective. The Food Fairies specialise in weight loss, fertility enhancement, IBS, acne, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and MUCH more.
Browse our site, read our blog and check out our range of packages and E-books available.
