Gluten and acne

Have you ever wondered if gluten and acne were linked?

There is a connection between gluten and acne

Gluten may very well be the cause of your constant acne flare-ups that seem like they will never go away. This could be stopping you from having the creamy, smooth skin you deserve.

I suffered with acne most of my life and didn’t know why

I write this particular page on more of a personal note because my whole entire life I have suffered with acne. I didn’t have the little occasional breakout pimple; I had acne on most of my face that left me with very little confidence throughout most of my life, especially in high school.

I used to take the frequent trip to the dermatologist, get my prescription for some kind of antibiotic, and take it. The acne would go away after a couple of weeks on the prescription, but I wanted to know what was causing it. I didn’t want to band aid up the problem with drugs; I wanted to cure it from within.

I had heard that greasy foods and chocolate could cause acne so I asked my doctor. He just laughed at me and said “of course not, food can't cause acne breakouts, it’s because you are not cleaning the oil out of your skin”. I was very confident that my hygiene was excellent and could not accept this as an answer and wondered why still at age 30 am I still having these awful breakouts.

A few months had passed and one day I was talking to a good friend of mine about her diet. She told me briefly about the gluten free diet and how if I eliminated gluten from my diet I would be able to have more energy, lose my acne and maybe even lose the excess weight I carried.

I gave gluten free a try and not only did I lose weight, but my energy level soared and my skin cleared up completely! I could not believe it!

My acne does return when I “cheat” and eat food with gluten in it so naturally I try to live a life without gluten. I could of never imagined that gluten and acne were related.

How does gluten cause acne?

Gluten can cause acne only if the person has an intolerance or allergy to gluten. A person who is gluten intolerant can not digest gluten so the body will not recognize it when it is eaten and therefore treats it as a foreign body when trying to digest it.

Because the body of a gluten intolerant person can not process gluten properly the small intestines become damaged slowly over time causing digestive issues. The gluten intolerance can produce other symptoms and push the toxins through the skin such as acne.

How do I know if my acne is the result of gluten?

The only way would be to go on a gluten free diet for at least one month and see if the problem is cured. Usually with a person who has to deal with acne because of a gluten allergy or intolerance they develop breakouts very soon after eating foods with gluten. People who have acne as the result of gluten should avoid gluten completely.

There are so many foods containing gluten today that you need to be very careful when dining out or food shopping. Read labels carefully and print out your gluten free food list and list of foods containing gluten so that you can always be confident you are making a gluten free choice when eating.

Check with your doctor before making any dietary changes and discuss any possible gluten allergy symptoms you may be experiencing.

Return from gluten and acne to what is gluten

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