The Clear Skin Diet

While acne has long been a problem for adolescents, in recent decades - the last fifty years specifically - acne has been on the rise among adults as well, particularly among women. Many scientists have traced his upsurge to changes in the dietary habits of North Americans.

The Clear Skin Diet is designed to help those who suffer from acne to understand:

• What it is
• Why they have it
• What it has to do with their eating habits
• And what they can do to prevent it or lessen its impact

Modern research shows:

• That there is a strong causal connection between certain kinds of foods and acne.
• That certain fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, protect against acne, while others, saturated or trans fats, can promote acne by increasing the level of inflammation and oxidative stress in the skin.
• Culinary herbs like ginger and turmeric are known to dampen acne breakouts.
• These same dietary stresses also influence the level of the hormones that cause acne. While fruits and vegetables, green tea, soy, fish, berries, and fiber-rich whole foods lessen these androgens, meat and milk promote these acne-related hormones, as do sugar and low-fiber carbohydrates.
• There also is a strong causal connection between the brain and the skin. When a person experiences anxiety and depression, acne-producing hormones are released, which can lead to poor dietary choices high in saturated fats and sugars.

The Clear Skin Diet introduces the acne diet and lifestyle. Dietary requirements for protecting the skin are listed - along with suggested food supplements when they cannot be easily met - and summarized, as well as mind-body medical interventions that can influence acne hormones and lessen their impact. Also included are 50 acne-preventive recipes, along with information on how one can locate the ingredients that are not readily available in most grocery stores.

Alan C. Logan, ND, FRSH is a board-certified naturopathic physician licensed in Connecticut. He graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York at Purchase, and as valedictorian from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. As an invited faculty member of Harvard's School of Continuing Medical Education, he lectures in the mind-body medicine courses offered at Harvard. Co-author of Your Skin, Younger (Sourcebooks, 2010), he is the only naturopathic doctor to have his commentaries published in the four leading dermatology journals – Archives of Dermatology, the International Journal of Dermatology, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and the British Journal of Dermatology. Widely regarded as one of North America's leading cosmetic nutritionists, he has been featured in health and beauty magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Elle, W, Life & Style, as well as CTV and Global National Canadian television.