Acne sufferers have increased every decade since porting started in the 50s. This just happens to coincide with an increased intake of sugar and unhealthy fats. The average person living in the Western world consumes about 125 pounds of refined table sugar every year. That is 125 pounds more then is needed by the human body.

Sugar and too many carbohydrates are very non-essential to human health since meats, eggs and healthy fats contain all the necessary nutrients needed in order to be completely fit and healthy. Your body converts sugar, carbohydrates into glucose – glucose is necessary for healthy function. Your body also converts 60% of protein and 10% of fat into glucose, making sugar very non-essential! Too much sugar in your diet WILL cause problems with your skin.

• Sugar can suppress the immune system and it contributes to the reduction in the body's defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases) inside your body and on your skin. Scientists have proven that too much sugar is the death of the immune system.
• Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body. It also interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium. All vitamins and minerals work together in the body and all contribute to the health of your skin.
• Sugar produces a low oxygen environment which leads to candida and acne.
• Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function making the skin less supple and healthy looking
• Sugar can cause and/or lead to a far range of health concerns beyond acne.
• Sugar causes indigestion and constipation. Sugar is the number one enemy of the bowel movement. Healthy bowel movements are necessary for healthy skin.
• Sugar can cause depression, the last thing an acne sufferer needs to deal with!
• Sugar feeds superfluous fungus and bad bacteria in the body and on the skin
• Sugar is an addictive substance, and it can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.

The fact that sugar greatly depresses the immune system has been known for many years, mainly because of Linus Pauling. He is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes — for Chemistry (1954) and for Peace (1962). He concluded that white blood cells need a high dose of vitamin C, and so he developed his theory that high doses of vitamin C were needed to combat the common cold, the flu, and even cancer.

Did you know that vitamin C and sugar have similar chemical structures so that means they compete with one another for entry into the cells? New research confirms Dr. John Ely's 30-year theory that sugar (glucose) competes with ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) for insulin-mediated uptake into cells.

Vitamin C is directly related to skin elasticity and collagen. This is why there have been numerous studies showing sugar leading to premature aging. Sugar also allows for an inflammatory environment which is far from optimal for healthy, acne free skin.

Consuming sugar can effectively crowd out the ascorbate (vitamin C). The effect of the Pauling Therapy [high doses of vitamin C] is reportedly much more pronounced and immediate when sugar is eliminated. Your skin will heal and improve much faster when sugar is eliminated from the diet!

If there is more sugar around less vitamin C is allowed into the cell, and vice versa. It is interesting that taking vitamin C also helps curb cravings for sugar, alcohol and carbohydrates. Since our bodies cannot make vitamin C on its own, it must be obtained from foods or supplements on a daily basis.

In his book Sugar Blues, Bill Dufty points out numerous examples of physical diseases and psychological disorders, such as acne, that can be traced back to diets that are deficient in whole unprocessed foods, and dominated by highly processed fats and sugars.

The problem with sugar consumption is not just limited to refined table sugar. Other types of sugars are just as damaging, i.e. corn syrup and sweeteners, honey, maple syrup, molasses, glucose, fructose (fruits), and all artificial sugar substitutes and sweeteners, i.e. NutraSweet, aspartame, saccharin, etc.

Names for Sugars and Sweeteners (partial list)

George McCumiskey, ND