There is nothing like waking up ready to start a new day, only to behold what appears to be a gargantuan pimple on your face. Believe me, I’ve been there. Suddenly, what could have been a pleasant morning heads directly towards Awfulsville.  Instead of looking forward to running into a crush, the goal becomes to walk very quickly in the opposite direction….with your face buried behind your hair. Granted, I do realize that there are infinitely worse scenarios that can be inflicted upon a person, but at the same time us ladies should not have to face the awfulness of pimples amidst all the other chaos in our lives.

Simply put, the world would be a much better place if pimples did not exist.

So the question is: do these loathsome little suckers form haphazardly or can we control their formation?  It used to be that doctors claimed diet has nothing to do with acne. Well not anymore.  Upon doing some investigation, it turns out the medical research indicates that there is indeed much we can do to prevent zits – actions that don’t involve buying hoards of benzoyl peroxide creams and cover up.  In fact, what we eat largely determines how healthy our skin looks.

Welcome to my one-article class on eating your way to healthy skin. Nom nom.

Pimple prevention 101:

1)   The hormones inside our bodies are what cause pimples to appear on the outside.  In particular, the hormone insulin is to blame for breakouts.  Insulin is most commonly known as the hormone for regulating blood sugar and is associated with diabetes, yet, interestingly, it also produces the oils that appear on our skin. Who would have thought?  Insulin levels fluctuate based on what we eat.

2)   Processed foods made with white flour and sugar lead to blood sugar spikes, causing insulin levels to go into the hateful “pimple-producing zone.” Sugar and processed foods are n-o-t good for our skin.

3)   The peeps at Harvard say milk is not a skin friendly food. The Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study in which the diets of 6,084 teenage girls were analyzed.  Girls who drank two or more servings of milk per day were 20 percent more likely to have acne.  Milk contains bioactive molecules that act on the glands where blackheads are formed. William Danby MD, a dermatologist at Dartmouth, noted in an editorial accompanying the study that 70 to 90 percent of all milk comes from pregnant cows and that the milk contains hormones such as progesterone, testosterone precursors and insulin growth factor releasing hormones, all linked to acne.

4)   The foods you should eat for radiant skin? Green vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, seeds, avocadoes, starchy vegetables, and whole grains. These foods are loaded with antioxidants, substances that help our skin repair damage.  Plant foods also contain an array of phytochemicals.  In my opinion, phytochemicals are just kick ass. They are super foods for your body, not just your face.  They supercharge the immune system’s defensive capabilities and help prevent many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.  Many thousands of these chemicals are found in brightly colored plant foods.  So in regards to the health of our skin, the more phytochemicals that are present, the faster our skin can repair damage, and remove and detoxify waste products and toxic compounds.

So, in summary, consumption of natural plant foods leads to radiant, pimple free skin and processed foods and dairy are blackhead friendly. I know it might seem hard to give up or eat less candy, white bread or milk if you are used to eating them, but it’s really easy to still enjoy eating while on an anti-pimple or anti-acne diet.  I’m a huge fan of Silk soy milk, for example.  To me, it tastes better than milk.  Resisting ice cream becomes pie in the sky when I know I can have a delicious fruit smoothie instead.  Instead of poppin’ M&M’s, I choose to pop blueberries and cherries.

Great skin and tasty food? Check!

Salads = phytochemical wonderlands!

We treat our bodies pretty poorly in college. We stay up late, we put our livers to the test (daily), and we eat a whole lot of unhealthy treats. And we feel the effects on Monday morning when we’re trudging to class in pants that barely fit and a foggy, unhappy brain.

What if I told you making one small change could give your body a boost? No, I’m not going to tell you to stop drinking beer – that would be unrealistic – but I am gonna tell you to start indulging in phytochemicals.

Phyto-wha?
I know – when I first saw that word I had to Google it too. Allow me to break it down:

A recent study found that eating food containing phytochemicals at the beginning of a meal prevents oxidative stress, which can cause obesity, heart disease, joint disease, diabetes, and more.

So basically, You + Phytochemicals = Thin, Disease-Free You!

Understandably, I’m a HUGE fan. And I’m ready to hit up the phytochemical aisle at my campus grocery store.

So where can you find phytochemicals? Think healthy, plant-based foods like leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. You don’t need acai berry for this; stick with what you know! In fact, they say that wonder pills and even juices (apple juice, cranberry juice, etc.) aren’t as beneficial for you as fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables. The study specifically mentioned the great phytochemicals in garlic, tomatoes, soy, carrots, red wine, whole grains… Wait, red wine? You know we love any excuse to down a box of red…

In order to get the best health benefits from our food, we are encouraged to “…go back to the whole sources of food, the nonprocessed foods if we can help it.” So even swapping some raw almonds for your typical granola bar on the way to class, or drinking tea instead of coffee will help add more phytochemicals to your diet.

Order matters, as well.  Eating the healthy foods BEFORE the unhealthy foods is better. This is news to me, as I usually eat vegetables or fruit after the unhealthy stuff. Usually because eating that plate of cheese fries makes me feel fat, so I follow it up with a nice, hearty celery stick. But the key is to eat the celery before the cheese fries so I will fill up on more-nutrient dense/lower calorie foods first and take in fewer calories later.

Basically, to help you stay thin and disease-free:

* The more colorful your plate is, the better. (Natural colors from fruits & vegetables, not Skittles.)
* Swap any processed foods (even relatively healthy granola bars) for unprocessed fruits, vegetables, etc. whenever possible.
* Eat the healthy stuff before the unhealthy stuff. You’ll end up eating less calories and fat.

We’re in college so we all know we won’t be giving up on the cheese fries and pizza anytime soon, but if we just balance it out with more nutritious options when we can, we’ll feel it in our bodies. And in our jeans. When we sit down. And there’s no muffin top.