Is Gluten Causing Your Acne?

What is gluten and what does it have to with my acne?

Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in rye, wheat, and barley. Therefore, it is found in most types of cereals and in many types of bread. Not all foods from the grain family, however, contain gluten. Examples of grains that do not have gluten include wild rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, oats, soybeans, and sunflower seeds.

Does it feel like nothing helps with your acne? You eat healthy, you live healthy and you’ve tried everything, but nothing helps. Your acne just won’t budge. You may suffer from gluten sensitivity and it may prevent you from curing acne.  In extreme cases, some people suffer from a disease called celiac disease, which impedes the digestion of gluten. Individuals with celiac disease must eat foods that do not contain gluten in order to prevent illness. If improperly treated, celiac disease can be fatal.

Gluten sensitivity is one of those hidden and hard to detect causes behind many health problems. And something you might not think of in a million years. It also happens to be the reason many acne victims struggle to get clear skin.

If you are badly sensitive to gluten, you could have a perfect diet and live the healthiest life but won’t get clear because of regular exposure to gluten.  To make matters worse, gluten is everywhere. You can find gluten in nearly all processed foods. And even in items you wouldn’t think of, such as lipsticks, shampoos and vitamins.

Gluten - Acne Connection

Acne is a result of blood sugar problems and chronic inflammation. These trigger hormonal reactions that lead to increased sebum production, blocked pores and overgrowth of acne-causing bacteria. For a more detailed explanation, please see: what causes adult acne.

Gluten contributes to acne in two ways.

First, it causes damage to the small intestine, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies and an increased toxic body load (through leaky gut syndrome).

The second link between gluten and acne is inflammation. People with gluten sensitivity cannot digest gluten effectively. As a result they absorb incompletely digested protein molecules. The immune system treats these as invaders. As it attacks these ‘invaders’ the white cells release histamine, which increases inflammation. Inflammation increases insulin resistance in the nearby cells.

Insulin resistance leads to blood sugar problems, which is linked to acne.

As this happens once in a while, the body can deal with it. But most people are exposed to gluten 3 or more times a day. This, coupled with other inflammatory agents, spreads inflammation all over the body. Suddenly cells all over the body start becoming insulin resistant.

First, most people are not aware of their gluten sensitivity. Even fewer are aware of its link to acne and other skin problems. Since gluten lurks in many foods and it’s very easy to get exposed to it — even if you try to avoid it.

For many medical professionals, the dangers of gluten extend to celiac disease and not much further. Celiac disease is clear-cut allergic reaction and as such, is easy to diagnose. Subclinical gluten sensitivity is entirely different. First, most people show no outward signs that could be linked to gluten. Second, the immune system doesn’t produce standard antibodies after gluten exposure. So gluten doesn’t show up in standard allergy tests. Doctors specializing in gluten sensitivities can detect it with special tests [1].

Gluten sensitivity could be the most common food allergy as it is estimated that around 40% of the population is sensitive to gluten. With most food allergies, it’s reasonably easy to avoid exposure. Usually you just have to read the labels carefully. Not so with gluten. Thanks to modern food processing you can find gluten in most processed foods.

Avoid the obvious, such as breads, pastas and pastries, and you’ve cut out the biggest sources. But did you know there can be gluten also in cheese, butter and teriyaki sauce? Many processed foods contain vegetable starches and other additives that may contain gluten. So gluten could be lurking in close to 90% of the items in your local supermarket. Outside of grains, most food products contain only small amounts of gluten, but for people with severe sensitivities even these can make it difficult to cure acne.

As a rule, don’t assume anything. If the food is not raw and fresh fruit or vegetables or does not clearly state gluten-free (wheat-free is not enough), it may contain gluten.

Also be aware that it’s not just the food items that contain gluten. Your toothpaste may contain gluten. Same with your shampoo. And what about that new lipstick you (or your girlfriend) have. That also may contain gluten. Finally even the capsules of your nutritional supplements may contain gluten.

Gluten is one more reason to avoid both processed foods and chemical-based personal care products.

Coping with Gluten Sensitivity and Curing Acne

There are two parts to getting over gluten sensitivity and eventually curing acne. First is to avoid gluten. When you stay away from gluten you avoid triggering the immune system and inflammatory response. Study the resources at the bottom of this page for sources of gluten and see how you can cut them out of your life.

Second is to bring your body back to a state where it’s not so sensitive to gluten anymore. Gluten causes problems because of two reasons:

1) Undigested protein molecules leak from the digestive track into the bloodstream

2) The immune system is ‘on the edge’ because of chronic inflammation

As you heal the digestive tract and bring down the inflammation levels you become less sensitive to gluten. You may never fully get over the gluten sensitivity, but at least it doesn’t trigger such a strong reaction anymore.

Reducing inflammation is the second part in coping with gluten sensitivity and curing acne. A healthy diet and lifestyle are the only viable solutions. Antioxidant supplements may help, but they cannot overcome the harmful effects of an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.

Fighting inflammation is not just about diet. Proper sleep, maintaining a positive attitude (or at least avoiding stress) and steering clear of chemicals and pollutants are equally important. Regular exposure to sunlight also has an anti-inflammatory effect. So if you’ve been struggling with persistent acne that, despite all your efforts to eat and live a healthy life, hasn’t budged, gluten might be the missing piece.

Try a gluten-free diet and the other suggestions in this article for at least one month and see how your skin reacts.

Links for more information on sources of gluten:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten…)

(http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/…)

(http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/…)

(http://www.celiac.com/articles/183/…)

(http://gfcf-diet.talkaboutcuringaut…)