Buzzle: Healing Acne with Whole Foods

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http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-3-2006-85341.asp

 

Acne - Healing With Whole Foods

Healing diets can help us in indirect ways. Learn the basis of why a

healing diet can work, and how it specifically relates to acne.

Covered are what foods you should avoid, and some surprising factors

that can aggravate things.

 

Annemarie Colbin, in her book " Food and Healing " , makes the

interesting point that diets themselves, even healing diets, are not

a cure per se. They do often work, but their route to health is

actually a product of supporting the body's own healing processes.

 

Her view on skin conditions like acne is interesting. She sees acne

as a result of the regular organs of elimination, the kidneys and

lungs, being unable to eliminate all the toxic waster matter that we

ingest into our bodies. She sees certain foods, like those that make

up what she calls the Standard American Diet, as placing too great a

stress on our body's ability to process them, at least if symptoms

of ill health are appearing like acne. She has found from her own

observations that a change in diet often clears up even the large,

purplish types of acne. She found this with her own experiences with

acne. Annemarie says it takes about ten days to three months to

work.

 

Annemarie describes acne as falling into two main causes in her

approach. The first is associated with fat, protein and excess

sugar. Here she recommends eliminating foods like milk, cheese, ice

cream, fatty meats, nuts and peanut butter. The second category is

associated with what she calls mineral-water excess, which is s term

she uses to describe all substances taken out of their natural

context. She mentions iodized salt, or even multi vitamins or

supplements like kelp. This is very much a personal relationship as

what negatively affects one person may not do so for another.

 

The link between excess minerals or vitamin supplements relates to

Colbin's idea of balance, which is that a living system always seeks

to return to balance. Anatomy and physiology textbooks even define

the processes of the body that way, and it is certainly a common

idea in natural health systems, especially traditional Chinese

medicine (TCM). Colbin writes that excess minerals and vitamin

supplements lead to an increased need for the macro nutrients

protein, fat and carbohydrates. Salt is also in this category. The

idea is that these vitamins and minerals, taken out of the context

of the food itself, will lead to the body craving actual food to

create a sense of balance. If we have a multi vitamin at mealtimes,

within the RDA, I don't believe this is going to present a problem.

Especially given that our foods are often depleted of the range of

essential nutrients that they would normally have if they were grown

organically and in nutrient dense soils. But it is certainly an

argument in favor of approaching nutritional supplements in a

balanced way also. Some people mistakenly think more is better. This

clearly illustrates it is not.

 

References: Annemarie Colbin, Food As Healing (Ballantine Books, New

York)

Simon Mills, The Essential Book Of Herbal Medicine (Penguin

Arkana) By Rebecca Prescott

Published: 1/8/2006