For those prone to acne, off-kilter levels of gut bacteria often lead to excess sebum (oil) production, which then causes breakouts on the face. When we can nip the bacterial imbalances in the bud with dietary changes, skin often improves. Below we’ve outlined five ways you can modify your diet and gut health to achieve clearer skin, as well as a few final lifestyle tips to help with acne!

Shift to a low-glycemic diet

 Glycemic refers to the rate at which food causes your blood sugar to rise. A high glycemic diet includes foods that spike your blood sugar, causing it to rise and crash quickly, while a low glycemic diet includes foods which promote sustained blood sugar regulation over time.

Common high glycemic foods include processed, sugary snacks as well as high-carb foods. Pretzels, cookies, and candies are all classic examples. Low glycemic foods, on the other hand, typically will be whole foods like apples, wild caught fish or protein, vegetables, and more. Shifting to a low-glycemic diet boosts overall health; one study even found a correlation between starting a low glycemic diet and improving acne.

Aim for an anti-inflammatory diet

 In the gut-skin connection mentioned above, inflammation is one of the key factors overloading the digestive system and contributing to its inability to process nutrients correctly, eventually leading to acne. Certain foods can contribute to inflammation; as you may have guessed, sugary, processed foods are major players here.

Thankfully, there are foods that are not just healthy, but also actively contribute to reducing inflammation in the body. Common examples are antioxidant rich foods like berries and dark leafy greens, wild caught fish, ginger and turmeric, and eggs. These can decrease the inflammation which causes acne over the long term!

Add probiotics to your supplement regimen

 As mentioned earlier, acne is often caused by mismanaged levels of good and not-so-good bacteria in the gut. Taking probiotics, or live microorganisms taken to improve the gut biome or bacteria levels in other parts of the body, can be immensely helpful in managing your acne.

Probiotics help neutralize unhealthy bacteria and replenish the levels of healthy bacteria in your gut. With more good bacteria, your digestive system can more effectively break down food, decrease inflammation, and move waste out of your system. When this process happens as it needs to, there is less overload on your system that would otherwise lead to breakouts.

If you’re looking to try out some probiotics for your gut, check out the Triple Therapy Probiotic Powder Sticks.

Improve your sleep

You probably know that stress plays a huge role in acne development. When we have increased stress levels, our body is swimming with excess hormones, and isn’t in a state for repair and rejuvenation. This stress often comes out on our skin!

Improving sleep quality and quantity is a key way to combat stress and improve your acne. Improved sleep helps decrease the inflammation which comes with stress and a highly processed diet; consequently, better sleep leads to better skin. To improve your sleep, consider the following:

• Meditating before bed
• Avoiding food / snacking 3 hours before bedtime
• Use an eye-mask at night to sleep in complete darkness
• Or keep your room dark at night with black-out curtains
• Avoid caffeine after lunchtime
• Incorporate exercise into your regular routine, but avoid exercising late at night

If you’re looking for a sleep meditation to get you started, try out this short meditation from Calm below: