We have all heard,” You are what you eat!” which leads me to believe that what you consume in food is critical to how your body functions and how it looks. You don’t want your food to be fast, easy and cheap because those meals will do nothing for your body and performance. There has been studies done to prove that what you put into your body directly corresponds to how you look on the outside. Adult acne can become an issue but it can be directly related to your diet. However there are some major tips that you can incorporate into your meals that can help you to avoid breakouts and help your body run more effectively !
Choose low-glycemic, unprocessed foods. The glycemic index measures how fast your blood sugar rises after eating a certain food. The more rapidly a food is converted into glucose, the more insulin is secreted into the blood. Eating lower glycemic foods will help reduce the number and severity of acne breakouts by helping hormones to stay balanced and reducing inflammation.
Add omega-3 into your diet. Especially as an athlete, you will want this healthy fat incorporated into your diet. You can take a supplement or find it in flax, chia seed, salmon, and avocado. If you are supplementing you should aim for 2000 milligrams a day. You can also add in zinc to your supplementation. By adding 15-30 milligrams of zinc daily may help reduce acne. Be careful not to take too much, as zinc can displace iron and copper from the body. Zinc also reduces inflammation and in some studies proved to be as effective as oral antibiotics.
Try to avoid a lot of dairy in your diet. Dairy products tend to cause inflammation and throw off hormone balance. Good substitutes are almond, coconut and flax milk. Choose the unsweetened varieties which have about 30 calories per 8 oz servings. Some people can tolerate small amounts of dairy or in different varieties such as cottage cheese or plain greek yogurt.
Drink enough water so that your urine is clear. Water flushes out toxins and hydrates your skin from the inside out.
Control your stress ! As hard as this might be, avoiding stressful situations can help you reduce acne. Your body reacts to the stress whether it’s physical or mental stress it responds the same as in flight or fight. If you can’t change your situation, you can always choose to change how you perceive and handle it. Positive thinking, deep breathing and getting a minimum of seven hours of sleep nightly is essential. Stress causes the adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids, which can cause acne.
By keeping these tips in mind, you will be able to see changes in your skin as well as how well your body is starting to function. You will be giving the body the essential elements it needs and you will feel better from the inside out !