How To Prevent Oily Skin

Trying to figure out how to prevent oily skin requires that you look at a multiple amount of factors. From a basic level, there are a number of common factors which affect everybody. These are commonly

  • Your genetic make up
  • Your age
  • The hormones in your body
  • Your personal hygiene habits

There are of course many other factors which contribute to your oily skin, however apart from hereditary and your own personal hygiene habits, diet plays a key role in indirectly influencing the health and condition of your skin. Although no specific dietary change has been shown to conclusively cure oily skin, your skin is one of the biggest organs on your body.

Consequently, certain dietary changes that are good for your body will also be good for your skin. By avoiding certain food types and emphasizing certain healthy ones you can prevent or minimize skin conditions. For very specific advice, it is always best to talk to your dietician or a dermatologist.

Foods To Avoid While Looking For How To Prevent Oily Skin

The rule of thumb is to eat healthy, this means eating less refined foods and sticking to raw and unprocessed foods. Preventing oily skin by changing your diet can start by watching out for the following foods.

Fatty meats

Almost all animal meats such as beef, bacon and lamb contain lots of saturated fat. Saturated fat is known to be a major factor in contributing to obesity which in itself is a major factor in heart disease. According to some dieticians, high amounts of saturated fat can be classed as an inflammatory food. Non-inflammatory foods such as fish, for example tuna and salmon are good replacements for fatty meats which can help to normalize your skin. To really get the most out of eating fish you should stick to healthy cooking methods such as grilling, baking or simply boiling.

Salt

The amount of salt your body really needs is no less than 1 teaspoon of table salt a day. This is really a very small amount; based on the foods we eat the average western human person eats more than two to four times this amount. A diet which is too high in salt can even damage your skin. Salty snack foods such as eating chips and french fries make things worse as they also contain unhealthy fats. You are much better choosing an air popped popcorn, fresh vegetables and of course fruit as a snack alternative.

How To Prevent Oily Skin – Avoid High GI Foods

Refined sugars

Almost anything we get out of the shops contains added sugars. Added sugars come in a variety of flavours such as corn syrup, dextrose, maltose and sugarcane. The sugars that are added to foods to sweeten them only add extra empty calories to your diet. These refined sugars have a high glycaemic index, which means they get absorbed and broken down by your body very quickly which adds to your blood sugar which in turn can affect hormone levels. Hormones are known to have an effect on skin oil production.

The most common foods to watch out for our desserts, all the baked cookies and cakes you see in shops, candy and of course sugary soft drinks. By eating fresh fruit and vegetables, you swap out these empty calories for food that actually gives your body nutrients and vitamins which is the first step in finding how to prevent oily skin. This is one of the best ways on how to get rid of oily skin forever.

Enriched flour

One of the modern marvels of our society is how much our food gets processed. Enriched flour is made from processed whole-grain. Unfortunately, the processing of nutrient rich whole-grain strips much of this nutrients and fibre out. Enriched flour is commonly used in bread, pasta, cereals and baked goods.

Enriched flour has been thoroughly processed and when you eat it has a very high glycaemic index which means it gets absorbed and turned into blood sugar very quickly. Although research is currently being undertaken, there has been suggestions that a low glycemic diet can actually help to reduce acne. Although research is yet to show this conclusively, by avoiding highly GI foods your hormone levels may consequently improve which may in turn be your best bet on how to prevent oily skin. The best ways to avoid enriched flour is to go for whole grains such as barley, brown rice and oats.