While there is no cure for rosacea, there are steps you can take to combat this disorder.

Nicholas Perricone

investigates

As a dermatologist, I have treated many patients suffering from rosacea over the years. Here are some basic facts about this condition:

• Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder that appears to be more common in women than in men. It usually appears in middle age or later and people who blush easily and/or have fair skin appear to be most at risk.

• Many skin conditions including acne and rosacea are systemic inflammatorydisease. which tends to run in families.

• It is characterized by dilated capillaries (tiny blood vessels connecting arteries to veins that carry oxygen and nutrients to individual cells) on the skin’s surface.

• Other symptoms include skin thickening, pimples, bumps, and persistent redness, primarily on the forehead, nose, cheekbones, and chin. It can also cause discomfort and burning in the eyes and on the eyelids.

• Although rosacea symptoms will come and go, unfortunately, rosacea is a lifetime problem.

While there is no cure for rosacea, there are steps you can take to combat this disorder. How can changes in diet can help minimize this form of imflammation?

Since rosacea is an inflammatory disease, I believe its recurrence is triggered by an inflammatory response. This inflammation is sub-clinical (invisible to the eye) and takes place on a cellular level. This inflammation may be caused by:

• Eating a pro-inflammatory diet (i.e., high glycemic carbohydrates such as sugary, starchy foods)

• Environmental stressors

• Weakened immune system

• Excess exposure to ultraviolet light (sun light)

• Hormonal changes

• Stress

• Alcohol

• Irritating skin products

To help combat rosacea, follow the anti-inflammatory diet by incorporating the following into your daily eating routine:

• high-quality protein, like that found in fish, shellfish, poultry and tofu;

• low-glycemic (will not provoke a glycemic response when consumed in moderation) carbohydrates including colorful fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains such as old-fashioned oatmeal, legumes such as beans and lentils;

• healthy fats, such as those found in cold water fish (especially wild Alaskan salmon, halibut, sardines, herring, anchovies, etc.), nuts, seeds, and olive oil

• 6 – 8 glasses of pure spring water per day

• antioxidant rich beverages such as green tea

• salmon, which is a wonderful source of omega 3 essential fatty acids which can help with rosacea (taking omega 3 fish oil capsules is also recommended)

Many experts also recommend avoiding hot spicy foods and hot beverages, taking hot baths, sun and wind exposure as all of these may be triggers for a rosacea outbreak.

There are other steps in addition to changes in diet that you can take to minimize aggravation.

1 Make sure to keep your skin very clean. Do not wash with plain water. Use a gentle but thorough cleanser, ideally a cleanser formulated with antioxidants which act as natural anti-inflammatories, such as alpha lipoic acid, vitamin C ester, olive oil antioxidants, etc. – morning and evening – to remove bacteria.

2 Incorporate nutritional supplements including a minimum of 100 milligrams a day of alpha lipoic acid and 60 milligrams a day of coenzyme Q-10 into your diet. Taken orally, these supplements can help reduce inflammation in rosacea sufferers.

3 Add treatments that include the ingredient alpha lipoic acid (ALA). Topical ALA can decrease the redness associated with rosacea, which is not lessened when treated by prescription medications such as Metronidazole.

What steps do you take

to minimize the effects

of rosacea?

Look to

the tea leaves for beautiful skin

I always encourage my patients to kick their coffee addictions and opt for green tea, a much healthier alternative. This beverage, whether served hot or cold, is key to not only healthy skin, but also to overall health in general. Green Tea contains compounds known as polyphenols which help to eliminate inflammation-producing free radicals. Recently, researchers have found that these polyphenols protect healthy cells from cancer causing DNA damage, while ushering cancer cells to their death. Another remarkable finding is the power of green tea polyphenols known as EGCG to reactivate dying skin cells. In fact, researchers consider this amazing energizing of dying skin cells to potential benefit skin diseases including rosacea, such as psoriasis, ulcers, wounds—and even wrinkles.