Hormones are actually chemical messengers, which affect the way your organs and cells function. In fact, the levels of your hormones typically change at different times of your life, like before and during your period, during menopause or pregnancy. However, some health problems, medications, toxins or foods can also cause them to go up or down.
In addition, by avoiding hormone-disrupting chemicals or medications, and eating certain foods you can maintain healthy mood, proper digestive health, fast metabolism, high energy levels, proper hormonal balance, and glowing skin.
Here Is the Impact of Hormones on Your Skin Health
A serious endocrine imbalance can lead to hormonal acne. In addition, this type of acne usually occurs about mid-cycle when the women ovulate, and/or before their periods when testosterone and estrogen are at their highest points.
These hormonal peaks do not wreak havoc in those women who have healthy endocrine systems.
However, some women can experience a testosterone and estrogen accumulation that cannot be eliminated properly.
A great number of women experience breakouts before their period as a result of hormonal shifts. But, in case you suffer from deep, cystic acne, it may be triggered by androgens, i.e., male hormones like testosterone.
To explain you more deeply, testosterone induces excess sebum oil production that gets trapped underneath your skin, thus forming dead skin cells and acne-promoting bacteria. It can result in clogged pores, blemishes, and pimples. If you have a high level of testosterone, then you can experience worse breakouts.
In case you’re one of these women, then your body may not be able to perform the adequate detoxification. Also, in case you make poor lifestyle and dietary choices, your elimination organs, such as your skin may not be able to do its toxin elimination job properly.
It could result in estrogen dominance, thus leading to skin inflammation, as well as extra testosterone, thus stimulating your sebaceous glands to create a greater amount of oil.
As mentioned above, it can be more pronounced before your period since during this time, your blood comes closer to the surface of your skin, contributing to redness, inflammation, and acne. That’s not all, you may also be more susceptible to unwanted hair growth or loss during this period as the testosterone interferes with your follicles.
How to Improve Your Skin Health
It is a well-known fact that the skin is the largest organ in the human body that has an ability to get rid of toxins. This body organ works together with other organs responsible for toxin elimination such as the lymphatic system, liver, and colon.
So, once you understand how inextricably connected these body organs are to one another, then you will start understanding why applying some drying ointment on your pimple is ineffective. In short, the root cause of the problem actually starts much deeper.
This means that what you eat is what determines the outcome on your skin. What’s more, the food you consume, the cosmetic products you apply on your skin, and the cleaning products you use can interfere with your hormonal balance, thus resulting in skin breakouts.
Consequently, none of the prescription drugs you take or expensive creams you use can heal your acne. The only thing you should do is prevent the problem through proper food as well as personal-care choices.
Avoid Consuming the Following Foods to Prevent Hormonal Imbalance and Get Rid of Your Acne:
– Gluten: Gluten can lead to gut inflammation, thus increasing your risk of skin problems.
– Soy: In case you’re hormonally sensitive, the phytoestrogens present in soy could aggravate the problem and result in even more acne. Since soy is added to a wide array of foods and supplements, you should always read the nutrition labels.
– Dairy: Many dairy products contain synthetic hormones, which actually add to your body’s hormone excess. That’s not all, dairy is also the main culprit of leaky gut syndrome because it possesses inflammatory properties.
– Caffeine: Coffee and green or black tea can deplete your body of essential B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium. It has a negative impact on your skin’s immune response.
– Safflower, sunflower, canola, and vegetable oil: There is a greater amount of omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids in these cooking oils. It can cause inflamed skin during peak estrogen time.
– Peanuts: You may not be allergic to peanuts, but you can experience side effects after eating them, such as skin breakouts and inflammation.
Include These Foods in Your Diet and Make These Lifestyle Changes:
– Increase your intake of all essential nutrients: You should prepare the following juice recipe: 4 fresh or frozen strawberries, 2 celery stalks, ½ cup of cilantro, 4 romaine lettuce leaves, ½ green apple, juice of ½ lemon, and ½ cucumber. Also, you can add about ½ cup of coconut water.
– Consume probiotic foods or take probiotic supplements: Probiotics are responsible for optimal gut health. Additionally, proper digestion plays an important role in maintaining hormonal balance. So, you should consume fermented foods such as sauerkraut, yogurt, etc. since they are rich in naturally occurring probiotics. Moreover, you can also take high-quality probiotic supplements to increase the level of healthy bacteria in your gut.
– Use organic beauty products: Applying organic products on your skin plays a role in keeping optimal hormonal balance and good skin health.
Therefore, avoid using any products that contain:
- Endocrine-disrupting phthalates (DEHP and DBP)
- Petrolatum or petroleum jelly
- Sodium ether sulfates and lauryl sulfates (SLES and SLS)
- Anolamines (MEA, TEA, and DEA)
- Parabens (ethyl, butyl, propyl, and methyl)
Luckily, you can find numerous safer and healthier alternatives to products containing all these chemicals.
Source: theheartysoul.com