What Causes Acne?
Most books and websites show this picture. Besides looking really nice and fancy it also has a purpose. It and the accompanying explanation are supposed to explain what causes acne. The stuff about bacteria, excessive sebum production and the whole nine yards you’ve heard so many times.
This is the standard, textbook explanation of acne.
Unfortunately when most people see this picture they just accept it, and never ask the obvious questions:
Why do the p. acnes bacteria grow out of control on my skin?
Why does my skin produce too much sebum?
What causes my skin cells to shed at faster speed so they block the pores?
So, what’s behind all these causes of my acne?
I’m sure you would agree that these things didn’t happen by accident. Since you weren’t born with acne so something must have caused it.
Unfortunately asking your dermatologist these questions most likely won’t get you anywhere. He or she would probably mumble something about genes or some other vague explanation they were given at the university and hope you won’t ask any further.
OK, let’s stop picking at derms and doctors. Most of them are really decent and smart people. They are just caught up in a dogmatic environment controlled by the vested interests of the pharmaceutical companies. But that’s a whole different story. Let’s get back to understanding acne.
Acne Engine
I’ve realized that nearly everything most people know about acne and what causes it is dead wrong. Because of that they look for solutions in the wrong places.
I would even go as far as to suggest this misunderstanding of the cause of acne keeps most people from getting clear.
As far as I understand acne is a result of evil twins: chronic, low?grade inflammation and blood sugar problems. Inflammation and blood sugar problems are not separate. They work together and reinforce each other. Some doctors have suggested they are like two sides of the same coin.
Remark: I understand there are different theories on what causes acne. This blood sugar and inflammation theory is just one of them. But as you are about to discover, it doesn’t matter which theory you follow. The human body is incredibly complex organism and nobody really understands what happens inside us. Luckily we don’t have to, as you learn in the next lesson.
Together they:
Lead to clogged pores
Weaken the immune system so acne?causing bacteria (p. acnes) can multiply
Inflame your pimples
This is what I call ‘acne engine’. Obviously it’s not a scientific term, just something I came up with.
As you can see you need both sides of the acne engine to develop acne. Unfortunately chronic, low intensity inflammation leads to blood sugar problems and vice versa.
If you have blood sugar problems it means your blood sugar levels swing too much (they rise too high and dip too low). After you eat your body cannot clear glucose from bloodstream quickly enough. That means your blood sugar levels rise too high.
By the way, your body uses glucose as fuel. Your cells need it to produce energy.
Glucose is a simple sugar and an inflammatory substance. Your cells need sugar, but too much of it in the bloodstream is dangerous ? some cases even fatal. On the flip side inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity, which is just a step away from blood sugar issues.
But let’s see how these buggers create acne.
Blood sugar and acne
I’m summarizing a study here by Dr. Loren Cordain called ‘Implications for the Role of Diet in Acne.’
I translate the study from medical jargon into common English, so you don’t need a PhD and a removal of the ability to speak clearly to understand it.
Dr. Cordain says swings in blood sugar level cause acne by:
Increasing sebum production
Causing skin cells to regenerate faster
Causing dead skin cells to stick together
Faster regeneration of skin cells means more dead skin cells have to be pushed through skin pores. By the way, it also means faster aging of skin. When dead skin cells stick together they have to be pushed through skin pores in big lumps instead of single cells. It’s like diverting heavy truck traffic through a narrow village road.
That can only mean traffic jams.
Throw in a good measure of sticky sebum and I’m sure you understand it can only mean one thing: clogged skin pores and acne.
