Teen Acne (& why you need to approach it from the Inside-Out)
More than skin deep: Teen Acne & why you need to approach it from the Inside-Out
Acne is estimated to affect 85% percent of Australian children and young adults aged 12 - 24 (but if you’re one of the unlucky ones, like me, you may experience the condition well into adulthood!). Approximately 5% will experience severe acne. It can be painful, embarrassing, and negatively affect a teen's self-esteem.
Conventional treatments generally focus on treating the topical symptoms of acne, but most have limited long-term effectiveness, & many have unwanted side effects. But there are some key processes and things happening inside the body that determine what’s happening on the skin. And we can address all of these through your teen’s diet.
What Does the Inside-Out Approach Mean?
Inside-Out is an approach I take in clinic, and it takes a holistic look at your teen’s acne, which means we look at what’s happening inside the body, rather than just focusing on the topical symptoms. We know that hormones, microbiome imbalance, dysregulated blood sugars and nutrient deficiencies all come into play when we’re addressing a teen's acne from the inside out, so when we’re looking to reduce teen acne, we’re looking at dietary changes that will support:
balanced hormone production
a healthy gut microbiome
stable blood sugar
daily bowel movements
Dietary Changes: reduce sugars & eliminate dairy
One of the biggest changes I usually make to a teen's diet is to take out the sugars - in the form of table sugar, & also in the form of processed white carbohydrates, and replace them with complex, high-fibre carbohydrates. This does three things:
it supports a healthy microbiome population in your teen’s gut
it stabilises their blood sugars
& it supports effective bowel movements.
Dairy food has also been shown in some studies to exacerbate acne in some people. Dairy with the protein A1 can cause increased levels of insulin, IGF-1 hormone, and mTOR, which is an enzyme. These, in turn, stimulate keratin, inflammation, and sebum production—all of which contribute to acne. I generally recommend teen’s remove all forms of dairy (apart from a little butter) for around 6 weeks & assess from there. (A bonus for teen girls who suffer period pain, eliminating dairy may also reduce their period pain!)
I also want to assess your teen’s diet to ensure they’re eating enough protein, especially for breakfast. Eating sufficient protein will help stabilise their blood sugars and protein will help build those hormones that we want to regulate and balance. Protein requirements vary according to a teen’s activity level, muscle mass & growth, but a general rule of thumb is to eat around a palm-sized piece of protein with each mail meal. This may look like 2-3 eggs, 2 lamb chops, 1 fillet of fish, half a block of tofu, 1 cup of yoghurt, 1 chicken thigh.
Other great foods for supporting hormone production & regulation include:
seeds like flax, hemp & pepita
cruciferous vegetables like kale & broccoli
healthy fats like oily fish & avocado
Micronutrients to Consider
Zinc (found in oysters & seafood, red meat)
Glutamine (found in bone broth,
essential fatty acids (found in oily fish & seafood, nuts & seeds, olive oil)
Probiotics (found in fermented foods like sauerkraut, yoghurt, kefir & kim chi)
Vitamin A (found in liver, oily fish, red & orange coloured vegetables)
Vitamin C (found in kiwi fruit, citrus & all our fruits & vegetables)
Microbiome Support
Our gut has an incredibly powerful influence on all aspects of our overall health, including our skin. Science has now been able to identify that there are particular
strains of bacteria that can support clearer skin. In clinic, I regularly prescribe a strain-specific probiotic formulated for acne.
Including fermented foods everyday is another great way to support the health of your teen’s gut & optimal microbiome. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir & yoghurt all encourage optimal gut microbiome and support a healthy gut-skin axis.
But our microbiome is a living organism, and like all living things, it needs food to survive. What food does it eat? Fibre. So eating a diet that’s low in processed food and high in high-fibre foods, like wholegrains, vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds promotes a healthy gut because the fibre provides food for our microbiome.
