Is Acne an Essential Fatty Acid deficiency?

When we look at the physiology of the skin, you will find the tiny glands of the hair follicles producing a mixture of wax and oil to protect our skin. One of the many roles of omega-3 Essential Fatty Acid (EFA) is to prevent this mixture from "caking up". 

By now, you may have heard one or two things about omega-3 EFA having an anti-inflammatory effect. In fact, there are hundreds of studies looking at omega-3 EFA in inflammatory diseases, like arthritis. Acne too, is an inflammatory condition. When the glands at the base of the hair follicle get blocked, bacteria can start to thrive, causing inflammation. 

There is recently a study showing positive result in the use of omega-3 EFA in the treatment of moderate to severe acne. The dose used was relatively high, about 3-4 caspules of the concentrated omega-3 EFA. 

Burns-Whitmore, Bonny and Khayef, Golandam, et al. Effects of fish oil supplementation on inflammatory acne. Lipids in Health and Disease 2012,11:165

Tips in maintaining healthy skin in winter

Healthy Skin in Winter

Winter weather can be harsh on your skin. In winter the skin produces less oil and with the drying effects of heaters being on in the home, long hot showers and the cold air outside, the skin can be further depleted of its natural moisture. This can cause the skin to feel tight and dry and even create a flaky appearance. See below for five tips on maintaining healthy skin once the temperature starts to drop:

1.       Get enough sleep

Getting plenty of sleep aids healthy skin. During the deepest stages of sleep, cell and tissue repair is at its peak. Limited or disrupted sleep patterns can dramatically affect the effectiveness of this restorative process.

2.       Moisturise

Be mindful that the skin can dry out very quickly indoors. Use a quality skincare moisturiser such as McArthur Complete Skincare Cream, regularly during colder months to prevent problems associated with dry skin.

3.       Avoid very hot baths and showers

It’s very enticing to indulge in a hot shower or bath on a cold day, but beware that the hot water can rob the skin of moisture leading to dry skin. Keep showers and baths lukewarm or alternatively if you like it hot, try and cut down the duration.

4.       Exfoliate

By exfoliating frequently you are stripping the skin of dead cells which allows the skin to retain extra moisture. Any moisturiser applied after exfoliation will therefore be more successful in maintaining healthy skin. 

5.       Take advantage of the power of natural ingredients

Natural ingredient such as pawpaw is high in vitamins A, C and E, antioxidants and enzymes which are essential for healthy skin. Try a combination of eating the raw fruit, plus applying products such as McArthur Natural Products.

Your Skin is a Reflection of your Overall Health, how does yours look?

Your skin is a reflection of your overall health. How you take care of your internal organs, will reflect on your skin. We all have our odd acne every now and again. However, if you're constantly battling with skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, acne and rosacea, there is probably some inflammatory processes happening inside  your body. Ask anyone with chronic skin conditions, and they would probably tell you that they have other ongoing conditions as well for example, eczema and asthma or rosacea and digestive problems, and the list 
goes on. 

What may cause bad skin?

If our body is not functioning optimally, it can result to poor skin. Just to name a few, these may include:

• Bad eating habits
• Poor clearance of toxins or wastes through the digestive and/or the liver
• Poor nutritional status
• Poor personal hygiene
• Hormonal fluctuations
• Weak immune system 
• Poor stress management

Nutrients that help
There are specific nutrients involved in keeping skin healthy, and addressing nutritional deficiencies is a good place to start in any skin condition.

Fish oil, really? Yes, really!
Fish oil contains Essential Omega 3 Fatty Acid. Ever thought of why it is called "Essential Fatty Acids" or "EFAs"? There are two reasons:

1) We cannot make them, we have to ingest them.
2) EFAs are essential for life and we cannot function without them.

There are two main groups of EFAs - Omega 3 and Omega 6. They are both equally important for our health. However, our diet is terribly skewed towards an Omega 6 diet. Instead of the ideal ratio of 1:1; we now have a ratio of 1:15 Omega 3 to Omega 6!!!

At the base of our hair follicles are tiny glands that produce a mixture of wax and oil called sebum that protects our skin. If these glands are blocked, then acne and other inflammatory skin conditions will follow. EFAs are required to keep the sebum in a fluid state. A high ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 favours inflammation.

EFAs help to regulate healthy cellular function, and maintain elasticity and suppleness of the skin. Taking a potent, high quality fish oil can improve your skin health by improving hydration, elasticity and reducing inflammation. 

Zinc, your  24/7 skin mechanic 
Zinc is in fact involved in over 230 enzymatic pathways in our body! Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Zinc repairs damaged tissues and helps to heal wounds. As a result, if you don’t have enough zinc, then your ability to repair damaged skin becomes impaired. Zinc deficiency can also result in your immune system having poor control over the maintenance of your skin. 
Want to check your Zinc status? Depending on whether you have other health conditions or not, we have different tests to look at your Zinc status. Most of you would probably use our simple, easy screening taste test to do so. If it is low, we can provide you with a high quality zinc supplement to take. Why can't I eat food that is high in Zinc rather than take a supplement? Most people who are low in Zinc, have probably consumed diets for years and years that do not meet the daily recommended intake. Therefore, supplementing with this mineral is going to be useful to help calm the inflammation and help with healing. 

Time to change?

There are changes you can make in your daily diet and lifestyle to help you on your way to better skin:

1. Time to add more unprocessed food to your diet. Packaged or processed food contains various amounts of  chemicals which "stress" your body out. Your body needs to spend precious resources to get rid of those toxins, and besides they’re devoid of nutrients. These nutrients are needed by your skin to maintain its luster and healthy glow. 

2. Be active: Exercise helps increase blood flow to the skin, and encourages the removal of toxins through sweat; so make daily exercise a part of your skin health program today!

3. Better manage your stress: Don’t get me wrong, stress is good for you, to a certain degree, but when it gets overwhelming, your skin is one of the organs which could suffer. Stress can increase inflammation and affect digestive and immune function, all of which are contributing factors to poor skin health.

4. Wash your skin with pH-controlled gels: Humans are covered in a diverse wardrobe of skin microbes, many of which promote skin health. Washing too frequently or using alkalising soaps can remove some of these beneficial microbes from the surface of your skin, allowing pathogenic organisms to cause infection.

5. Support yourself with supplements: We can recommend a personalised supplement regimen to boost your health status and address the causes of your skin ailment.

6. Treat yourself topically: Whilst a healthy body is essential for achieving the healthiest skin possible, topical treatments may help to provide rapid, symptomatic relief.