Acne Program - Step 4: Adding Essential Fatty Acids To Your Diet

Getting sufficient essential fatty acids is importance in clearing acne. It's these fatty acids that help control the production of androgens - the hormones that surge during the teen-age times, which causes excess sebum oil to clog your hair follicle and contribute to creating your acne.

The three fatty acids you need daily are omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9. You need more omega 6, olive oil, than omega 3.

When you are deficient in the essential fatty acids, you will have,

§ A weaken immune system
§ Inflammatory disorders
§ Poor skin
§ Skin eruptions that won't heal
§ Increase sebum production causing acne
§ Sebaceous glands size increase

Eating essential oils is necessary to provide the right oils that are used in the sebaceous glands. These oils can come from straight vegetable oils or from oils in specific foods such as nuts and seeds.

Use flax seed oil (omega-3 oil) and olive oil (omega-6 oil) in your salad. These are the best oils to eat and are called polyunsaturated fatty acids. The other oil that is even better for you is called monounsaturated fatty acid, omega-9. This oil is found in avocados.

Most diets people have contain an excess of omega-6 oils, so mostly likely you need to concentrate on getting more omega-3 oils into your diet.

You can get omega-3 oil from,

§ avocados
§ sesame seeds
§ pumpkin seeds
§ walnuts
§ dark leafy green vegetables (spinach, mustard greens, kale)
§ wheat germ oil
§ salmon
§ sardines
§ albacore tuna

Or, you can take one to 4 tablespoon of flax seed oil, omega-3 oil, each day. This will give you the amount of omega-3 oil that your body needs to reduce or eliminate acne blemishes. You can add this oil to your morning cereal, soups, smoothies, salads and other liquid foods. Each tablespoon of flax seed oil contains about 100 calories.

You can get omega-6 oil from,

§ Flaxseed oil
§ Flaxseeds
§ grape seed oil
§ pistachio nuts
§ olives
§ olive oil
§ sunflower seeds
§ evening primrose oil
§ pumpkin seeds

Taking 2-3 tablespoons of omega-6 oil a day will give you the amount of this oil that you body needs. You can add olive oil and other oils into your salad with the flax seed oil.

You can get omega-9 oil from,

§ Olive oil
§ Avocados
§ Cashews
§ Almonds
§ Olives
§ sesame oil
§ pecans
§ pistachio nuts

Taking around 1 ½ tablespoon of olive oil per day will give you the omega-9 oil that your body needs.

Fish Oils

In addition to supplying your diet with omega-3 and omega-6 oils, you need to supplement your diet with fish oils. Fish oil contains EPA and DHA fatty acids.

Normally, enzymes in your body break down omega-6 into EPA and DHA fatty acids.

Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA)
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

These two fatty acids eventually change into prostaglandins.

What are prostaglandins?

Prostaglandins are chemical hormones that come from omega-3 and omega-6 oils and that help,

regulate every function in your cells and organs.

Postaglandins also keep androgen hormones in control so that excess sebum is not produce in the hair follicle, which results in acne.

However, eating plenty essential fatty acids may not insure that you produce enough EPA and DHA, which produce the essential prostaglandins.

It is critical for acne and more importantly for your health that you get enough EPA and DHA in your cells and organs so they can produce the required prostaglandins.

To increase the prostaglandins in your cell walls, it is necessary for you to take a fish supplement, which contains both the EPA and DHA.

Of course eating salmon, halibut, and mackerel twice a week will be a plus in providing your body with more EPA and DHA.

Include at least 20% of your diet calories as good fats - omega oils and fish oil. This is essential for controlling the excess activity of your hormones and reducing the inflammation of your acne.