Acne can affect a person’s life more profoundly than a lot of people realize. It can be embarrassing, painful, and even cause a person to become depressed and isolated. Those who suffer from serious acne have likely tried virtually every cream, pill, and pad on the market. And others can’t really afford to go through a trial and error process. This can be frustrating to say the least.

But here is what most people don’t really realize, or at least they don’t give it the serious consideration it deserves: Acne is not a skin problem. Acne is a health problem. This distinction makes all the difference. Trying to treat acne symptoms with astringents and medicated creams is like trying to bring a wilting, dying flower back to life by spray painting it! All the flower needs is some water and maybe better quality soil. All you need to treat your acne is a better quality diet and lifestyle.

The following is a list of some lifestyle changes you can make immediately to get your acne under control:

1. Go as organic as possible. Go as natural as possible. The mainstream world of food processing and manufacturing does not have your best interests in mind. Most of the foods we buy on the shelves, in the frozen food sections, and at fast food restaurants are pumped full of chemicals that our bodies simply aren’t equipped to deal with. As a result, our bodies try pushing all these toxins and foreign invaders out as fast as possible… through the breath, the elimination systems, and yes… the SKIN!

Eating natural foods like fresh, organic vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds, nuts, herbs, and sprouts will clean up the toxins in your body, undoing the damage that’s been done and preventing new damage from occurring. And take in lots of antioxidants. The best source of antioxidants is berries. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, and grapes, especially when organic, can work absolute miracles on your skin.

2. Consume lots of yogurt with live, active cultures. We’re talking about the real stuff here, not the sugary kids stuff. The goal here is to clean out the digestive system so that your body is free to repair itself. Did you know that digestion requires more of the body’s energy than any other function? Free up some of that energy and your body becomes a self-healing, self-repairing machine!

3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Water eliminates toxic build-up. It keeps the blood cells moving and not sticking together. Purified water keeps your body working efficiently, so that it can heal your skin naturally.

4. Steer clear of too many animal products. Generally speaking, excess meat and dairy clog you up and throw your hormones out of whack. In fact, they dump a whole bunch of hormones into your body that aren’t even yours… they were the animal’s! As if that’s not disturbing enough, these “foods” are full of trans fats that absolutely overwhelm the system. They also create an acidic environment in the blood stream, leading to a whole host of health problems, acne being one.

Ideally, the only kind of animal product you would be consuming is fresh fish, although egg whites do have some important health benefits. Try natural substitutes for meat and dairy. And if you’re craving something with substance, but don’t want to eat meat or a meat substitute, one of the healthiest and most satisfying foods you can put in your body is the magnificent avocado!

Does food really affect acne? Many people tend to believe it does, and the truth is, they’re right. However, it usually isn’t for the same reasons that people think it is. For example, foods high in fat will not single-handedly put zits on your face. Foods high in TRANS fat, on the other hand, very well may. On the flip side of the equation, there are actually a number of foods which can actually reduce acne breakouts and potentially even eliminate them! We will discuss a few of these foods throughout the course of this article.

Understanding which foods lead to acne and which foods help to eliminate and prevent acne is the name of the game here. And there are real, common-sense answers that can help you along. For instance, did you know that most animal products can acidify your blood, pump you full of trans fats, and give you pimples? But fresh cold-water fish, full of essential fatty acids and healthy omegas can actually relax and soothe your skin from the inside out, making zits less likely to occur!

And what about the whole chocolate causing acne thing? Is this real science, or just an urban legend? Well, a direct correlation between chocolate and pimples has not been scientifically proven, although consuming large quantities of refined sugar and processing chemicals can create an acidic environment in your blood, which as mentioned above, can wreak havoc on your skin.

Foods rich in zinc and vitamin A have been known to fix acne problems for many individuals. Foods with the highest zinc content include oysters, toasted wheat germ, sesame seeds, and peanuts. You can find plenty of vitamin A in Cayenne pepper, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, and dark leafy greens. Want something sweet? Try dried apricots and cantaloupe, both of which are quite rich in vitamin A.

To combat acne-causing acids and hormones, antioxidants are an essential weapon and you should consume them liberally. Drinking green tea throughout the day is very wise for a number of health reasons, and certainly to enjoy nicer, clearer looking skin. Other powerful antioxidants you may wish to consider include wheat grass juice, dark berries (7 of the top 10 antioxidants in the world are berries!), raisins and red grapes, prunes and plums, and oranges.

Though not an entirely substantiated claim, it may be worth mentioning that iodine has been blamed for acne breakouts more than once. Foods high in iodized salt, especially potato chips, have been highly vilified for this reason. Whether there is a direct correlation between chips and zits or not, it is obvious to most of us that chips are far from being the healthiest food on the block, and it may be worth cutting back on them anyway, just to see what happens!

The list of foods you should absolutely avoid if you are ever going to clear up your skin is a long one, indeed. Essentially, any food that produces excess acidity in your body is a great food to walk away from. Foods high in yeast, chemical additives, preservatives, and trans fats should be considered public enemy number one. Alcohol and drugs, including nicotine and caffeine, are looked at as poisons by your body. And when your body thinks it’s being poisoned, it does everything it can to remove these toxins as quickly as possible… and one of the ways it does this is by forcing toxins out through the skin!