For those who don’t know if there is a relationship between your acne condition and the foods you eat, let me tell you that there is. You might have heard that oily foods cause acne, but this isn’t entirely true. Oily foods have caused internal changes including high cholesterol levels, but they don’t really have a huge impact on the skin condition. When does oil affect skin conditions such as acne? The only time oil would affect your acne condition, is when you use cosmetic products that have animal fats, oils and additives. Most of the makeup products and skin care products on the market today have oils added to them.

One thing you should begin doing is purchase herbal skin care products that contain no oils or preservative chemicals. These additional chemicals and oils will only cause harm to your skin condition. For those who have acne, it is never a good idea to use tons of makeup. Makeup may seem like a great way to hide your acne, but it surely does not make things any better. The types of food you eat will affect your overall acne condition. The following are some of the foods you should and shouldn’t limit on a daily basis, if you intend on controlling your acne.

The calcium rich fluid we all love drinking could be bad for your acne condition. Milk has been a great addition to any breakfast meal, but it could lead to your acne getting worse than it already is. Since milk originally comes from cows, there is a significant amount of fat and hormones which could cause an imbalance in your acne condition. I am not saying that you should stop drinking milk, but it would help if you could limit your daily intake. If you are someone who drinks milk several times a day, it could be a problem for your acne.

The one type of oil that is considered to be a helper in your acne condition is Omega 3 fat oils. All types of fishes have this fish oil in them, and they have been known to prevent acne and keep skin looking fresh. Whether you are cooking the fish or simply having some sushi, it is considered to be great for your skin and overall health. Apart from the acne benefits of fish, you would also be taking in some much needed proteins.

Oranges and berries are two amazing types of fruits you should eat at least once a day. When I say berries, I mean all sorts of berries; whether it is strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries. Berries and oranges have high antioxidant content along with nutrients that help with skin development and acne prevention. By eating such fruits, you’ll be able to get rid of the bad skin cells, which allows for new skin development. During skin development, one thing you should do is drink lots of fluids. Water and concentrated juices are the best, as they give your body the hydration, vitamins and energy.

I hope this you can incorporate parts of this acne diet into your everyday meals, so that you can get rid of all the acne and live a young and healthy life.

Before there were packaged goods, processed foods, GMOs and an ongoing debate between organic or not, there was dirt, seeds, water and roaming animals. It may be hard to consider now, but the dawn of man produced hunters and gatherers and humans had to get their own food – not by heading to the supermarket.

There were no sprays to kill insects, no chemicals or genes added or modified. No extra-large tomatoes or vibrant yellow bananas. Food was simple. It was either found, picked or hunted. And although there weren’t doctors or research scientists to confirm the benefits of such eating, it seems that when it comes to dietary habits, eating like our ancestors has some merit.

Diets come and diets go, but one in particular seems to have staying power and for good reasons as well. It’s based on eating similar to that of prehistoric man and it’s being touted as one of the best way to eat. It’s called the Paleo diet.

What is the Paleo diet?
The Paleo diet was created by Loren Cordain, a now-famous author, speaker and professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, who specializes in disease and diet. The Paleo diet itself reflects food items and methods of eating similar to our Stone Age ancestors – that’s right, this diet is framed around eating like cavemen. Through scientific research and peer-reviewed studies, Cordain has uncovered many health benefits to eating the Stone Age way.

There are seven premise on which the Paleo diet guidelines are based:

High protein
Low carbohydrates and low glycemic index
High fiber
Moderate to high fat intake – monosaturated and polysaturated fats with omega-3s and 6s

High potassium, low sodium
Net dietary alkaline balances dietary acid – some foods produce acid (meat) and others are alkaline (fruits and vegetables). Eating a balance of both alkaline and acid foods can have positive health effects.

High intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant phytochemicals.

Lose weight easily. Anyone who feels fat and flabby yearns for an easy weight loss solution. And actually the very acknowledgment that you are fat may indeed be the key which unlocks the door to weight loss.

People don’t like to be called fat. There is a definite stigma attached to being called fat. Somehow we have learned as a society that we should remove the label “fat” from our day to day vocabulary. We have been trained to know that it is OK to be called “obese” but not to be called “fat”. But does this ultimately help us to lose weight, or does it in fact provide a mental barrier to weight loss?

What I mean is that the word obese or obesity conjures up the concept of a medical condition, one which you cannot control but rather you are subjected to; it follows that the word obesity implies that it’s not your fault, and that you can do nothing about your excess weight. The obesity label can in fact make you feel even more out of control of your eating habits than you were before, thereby making you feel that you just cannot lose weight, that you haven’t got the power to lose weight. You feel helpless.

Fat, on the other hand, is just fat. The “fat” word implies that it is your fault, your eating habits which are to blame. Thus this is why I mentioned before that to acknowledge that you are fat may just be the thing which motivates you to start losing weight. You no longer feel that you are subjected to a disease which you can do nothing about; rather you are admitting to yourself that you have the power to control your eating habits and your weight. By acknowledging that you are fat as opposed to obese you empower yourself to take control and set about losing weight.

The fat versus obesity distinction is similar to that between having a cold and suffering from the flu. How often do you hear someone say that they have the flu when in fact all they have is the common cold? Why do so many of us prefer to feel helpless and powerless instead of feeling in control? Why do we prefer to suffer from something dramatic instead of something common and mundane?

I suspect that there are a few reasons. Perhaps we don’t want to take responsibility for how we are; we don’t like to feel that we are at fault or have caused our own issues, be they being over-weight or having caught a cold. Perhaps we choose to seek the easiest solution than to have to work at something; it’s easier to go to the doctor and take a pill (be it diet pill or anti-biotic) than it is to exert our own effort in getting better or losing weight. Or maybe we just follow the crowd and use these terms of obesity or flu because that’s what we are used to hearing, and we do not really think about their hidden implications.

Whatever the underlying reasons are, fat is fat. I have to second what our UK minister of public health was quoted as saying in a recent edition of the Sunday Times. Anne Milton said that calling people fat instead of obese was more likely to motivate them to lose weight.

Yes, some people do suffer from a medical condition which results in obesity and prevents them from losing weight. But I am sure that this does not apply to all of the nearly 25% of adults and 14% of children in the UK who are labeled “obese”.

If you want to lose weight then it does help to acknowledge to yourself that you are fat. When you feel fat and flabby and acknowledge that this weighty issue is due to your own eating habits and lifestyle choices as opposed to a metabolic issue or disease you then realize that you can do something about it. You can take control and adjust your eating so as to lose weight, be it in terms of eating different types of food, choosing smaller portions or exercising so as to burn calories more quickly. The first step to losing weight easily lies in getting your mind around the matter.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in weight loss hypnosis mp3s which help you program your mind for success.