What Nutrition Can and Cannot Do for Your Skin Problems

Vitamin pioneers showed that too little vitamin A brought on a long list of symptoms. Among them were lumps of hard skin resembling the texture of fingernails, which would develop where soft skin was the norm.

As more vitamins were discovered, however, it became clear that deficiencies of vitamin A weren’t alone in their effects on the skin. Two other well known deficiency syndromes – scurry and pellagra – also made their presence known in the form of skin troubles. Vitamin C and niacin – the vitamins needed to correct these deficiencies – proved capable of correcting the ill effect on the skin.

Americans, however, usually get enough of these nutrients to avoid the skin troubles that accompany deficiency. Nevertheless, that’s no reason to close the book on nutrition as it affects the skin. Rather, it’s time to turn to a new chapter — one that focuses on nutritional approaches to skin problems other than those caused by low intakes of vitamins or minerals.

Psoriasis

Fish oils have won our hearts, but it is possible that their benefits extend beyond the health of our circulatory system. One of the most fascinating possibilities now being investigated is for the treatment of psoriasis. This skin disease has long been frustrating for its victims and doctors alike.

There’s another very important side to this fish oil story. Some psoriasis patients are treated with prescription drugs called etretinate or isotretinoin. These drugs can adversely affect the blood fat profile; increases in triglyceride and cholesterol levels and decreases in the level of good (HDL) cholesterol can occur. But researchers have reported that by using fish oil, psoriasis patients who take these drugs can minimize this effect.

Acne

We all know that old notions die hard, and beliefs that diet causes acne simply prove the point. We’ve had our own experience with this belief. Some years ago, it occurred to us that teens might adopt hear healthy eating habits more readily if doing so would also help rid them of acne. So we went to the library looking for documentation that high fat foods such as chocolate and French fries contribute to acne. To make a long story short, we didn’t find it.

We did learn that dermatologists were experimenting with another nutritional approach to acne – supplementation with very high doses of zinc. But the side effects made the treatment impractical; the large doses used caused digestive complaints such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

The most impressive results against acne have come from treatment with prescription drugs such as Retin-A and Accutane. Because both are chemical cousins of vitamin A, you could say that their success demonstrates that nutrition affects acne after all.