So, what is the effect of excessive sodium intake on your blood (I am talking about negative effects on your blood)... arteries and veins in your body and in the face... is there a website I can look into? I know the sodium concentration in my blood will increase, but what are the EFFECTS of that on my body, blood... how does it harm me? Also, will drinking a lot more water neutralize the concentration of sodium in my body, even it out - it should shouldn't it?
KEY WORD FOR SEARCH IS>>>>Sodium Effect on Blood Sodium: Are you getting too much? http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sodium/NU00284 Sodium (Na) in Blood http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/Sodium-Na-in-Blood Effect of Dietary Sodium Intake on Blood Lipids http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/43/2/393
What I am trying to get at is: Can excessive sodium intake cause Acne? I take in a lot of sodium in my diet - A LOT, I am only supposed to have 1,500 mg but I think I have above 3,000 mg of sodium a day. Now, I have tried quitting everything else, but nothing has worked and now I am thinking it's the sodium intake I take. Why do I think that? Well, on days that I have A LOT of water, my acne is always good, on days when my water is only limited to 8 glasses, my acne is not so good, so is this because of the sodium? I can't find any information to back up my hypothesis
Well my only suggestion to you is drinking at least 100oz of water when you know your taking in a lot of sodium would be best. Also if your a active person doing things like running, playing sports or just doing anything that will make you sweat should help. I am not completely sure about sodium and acne. I know drinking to much soda makes acne bad. Putting heavy lotions or grease on your face or not properly cleaning your face. Lastly if you feel like sodium is making your acne worst just cut back on the things that will increase your sodium intake.
If this is normal teenage acne vulgaris, diet is not likely to be a big factor either in causation or treatment. Don't go crazy buying stuff from the pharmacy and trying it for 2 days and switching to something else, you'll only make things worse. Acne is caused by the overactivity of the sebaceous glands that secrete oily substances onto the skin. The sebaceous glands of people with acne are especially sensitive to normal blood levels of a hormone called testosterone, found naturally in both men and women. In adolescence, these levels can vary wildly. Testosterone in people prone to acne triggers the sebaceous glands to produce an excess of sebum. At the same time, the dead skin cells lining the openings of the hair follicles (the tubes that hold the hair) are not shed properly and clog up the follicles. These two effects combined cause a build-up of oil in the hair follicles. This causes blackheads and whiteheads to form. For some people, their acne does not progress beyond this stage. However in other people, the build-up of oil in the hair follicles creates an ideal environment for a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes to grow. These bacteria normally live harmlessly on your skin but when this ideal environment is created, they grow. They feed off the sebum and produce substances that cause a response from your body's immune system. This inflames the skin and creates the redness associated with spots. In more severe 'inflammatory acne', cysts develop beneath the skin's surface. These acne cysts can rupture, spreading the infection into nearby skin tissue. This can result in scarring. Acne myths Contrary to popular belief acne is not caused by: * eating fatty food or chocolate * dirt - blackheads get their dark colour through excess skin pigment - not dirt so washing more does not help, although if you do not wash your skin at all, bacteria will be able to multiply Acne is not contagious, so you cannot catch it. What makes acne worse? There are a number of things that can make your acne worse. These include the following: * picking and squeezing the spots may cause further inflammation and scarring * stress can make acne worse in some people, although it is not clear why * in women, outbreaks may be affected by the hormonal changes that occur during the menstrual cycle * excessive production of male hormones such as testosterone from conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome may be another cause. * some contraceptive pills may make acne worse. This is due to the type of progestogen hormone in some pills whereas some other types of contraceptive pills can improve acne Your doctor will advise you which contraceptive pill to take. * some medicines can make acne worse. For example, some medicines taken for epilepsy, and steroid creams and ointments that are used for eczema. Do not stop a prescribed medicine if you suspect it is making your acne worse, but tell your doctor. An alternative may be an option * steroids can cause acne as a side-effect Diagnosing acne Acne is easily recognised by the appearance of the spots, and by their distribution on the body. There are several varieties of acne and your doctor will be able to tell you which type you have after examining your skin. Treatment Acne may cause you considerable emotional distress but there is a range of treatment options to help you tackle the problem. No treatment will completely 'cure' your acne. The aims of treatment are to prevent new spots forming, to improve those already present, and to prevent scarring. Home treatment It is important to keep spot-prone areas clean, so wash the affected area twice a day with an unperfumed cleanser. The skin needs a certain amount of oil to maintain its natural condition, so avoid aggressive washing with strong soaps. There are a number of over-the-counter remedies available from pharmacies to treat mild acne. These usually contain antibacterial agents such as benzoyl peroxide (eg Oxy and Clearasil Max). As well as its antibacterial effects, benzoyl peroxide can dry out the skin and encourage it to shed the surface layer of dead skin. Together, these effects make it harder for pores to become blocked and for infection to develop. Benzoyl peroxide can cause redness and peeling, especially to start with. This tends to settle down if you reduce the number of times you use it. You can then build up your use gradually. No home treatments for acne will work immediately. It can take weeks, if not months, for significant effects to be noticeable. If home treatments have not worked after two months, or you have severe acne, you should visit your GP. Prescription medicines Your GP may start your treatment by prescribing a preparation containing benzoyl peroxide. If this does not work, or if you have more severe acne, there are a range of other treatment options that you can either rub onto your skin (topical) or take in tablet form (oral). Topical treatments There are several topical treatments you may be prescribed including those listed below: * azelaic acid (Skinoren) is an alternative to benzoyl peroxide and may not make your skin as sore as benzoyl peroxide * topical retinoids (eg Adapalene) are medicines based on vitamin A, which are rubbed into the skin once or twice a day. They work by encouraging the outer layer of skin to flake off * a topical antibiotic lotion applied to the skin can be used to control the P. acnes bacteria (eg Dalacin T). Treatment needs to continue for at least six months. Preparations that combine an antibiotic with other acne medication are available (eg Benzamycin which combines an antibiotic with benzoyl peroxide) Oral treatments There are several oral treatments you may be prescribed including those listed below: * oral antibiotics (tablets), such as tetracycline, can be prescribed for inflammatory acne. They should be taken daily for around three months, although it might take four to six months for the benefits to be seen. The success of this treatment can be limited because the strains of bacteria are often resistant to the common antibiotics. Antibiotics do not prevent pores from becoming blocked so treatment to prevent blackheads, such as benzoyl peroxide, is often also prescribed at the same time * some types of oral contraceptive tablets help women who have acne. A combination of the usual pill hormone called ethinylestradiol with cyproterone acetate (eg Dianette) suppresses male hormone activity so is often used in women with acne. * isotretinoin (eg Roaccutane) is a medicine known as an oral retinoid, which also exists in a topical form (see above). Isotretinoin works by drying up oily secretions. It tends to be prescribed to people with severe forms of acne that have proved resistant to other treatments. There a number of serious side-effects of this drug, such as liver disorders and depresssion. You should not take isotretinoin if you are pregnant, as it is very dangerous to an unborn baby. For safety reasons, isotretinoin is only prescribed under the supervision of dermatology specialists.
@indochine...that was really quite interesting. I always thought that chocolate and oily food contributed but I guess not. I'm going to copy & paste your response to my youngest nephew who is having quite a problem. The initial question was also interesting and I'd like to have an answer to that myself...if one doesn't have a high blood pressure problem or renal problem, is salt harmful? I'm going to as Garmoon; he's quite knowledgable of such matters.
Salt is essential to a healthy diet. We need about 1 g of salt a day. However, many of us consume about 10 g a day, ten times as much as we really need. A single dose of ten times that amount could be fatal! There is evidence that, for some people, too much salt can be a contributory factor to high blood pressure. Just how much is 'too much' varies from person to person. Prudent advice would be to reduce consumption to around 5 g per day. I have personally stopped purchasing salt for the table. I still sometimes use a little if I go out to eat in a restaurant, but that's only about once a month. That 5 grams should include all the salt contained in processed and packaged food. Read those labels!
so how much salt do you think we should intake - 5 g? I saw a TV documentary on the news that showed that my age group should only have 1.5 g of salt a day MAX! Now, too much salt affecting your blood... could this cause acne? Also, I know there is no research to prove that chocolate or oil or fatty foods have an effect on acne but I do believe there is. When I used to eat a lot of chocolate, or sugar or fat, I used to have larger breakouts (very bad), now I have cut that down a lot and my acne is a little better, still have big pores on my face though. Now this is not for emotional distress, but sometimes the big acne pimples really hurt your face, and than it makes you want to scratch but you can't... and then there are pus filled acne pimples. Also, I am 99% sure that what you eat contributes to how you look - because if you eat unhealthy crap than you in turn harm your immune system thus affecting the acne... also, if you eat bad stuff, you might have stomach problems (can't go to the washroom)... and that may build up heat inside of you, causing the acne. Now, I have oily skin, not dry skin and there might be no research to prove that diet has an effect on your acne - I am pretty sure it does in my experience.
The chocolate thing is a myth, according to doctors. Maybe if you know better, you should put them right. But you better have some figures ready. I think the myth came about because many people use chocolate as a comfort food in times of stress, and there definitely is evidence that stress can make some people's acne worse. As for salt, I personally think that it is sensible to (a) not sprinkle it on your meals (b) look carefully at food labels and any declarations in restaurants, fast food outlets etc and, as you say try to get it down to around 1 gramme per day. I do so agree with you that what you eat can affect how you look. I know this next comment will be controversial, but (not just in America) so many people seem to be eating junk food out of fast food outlets, manufactured burgers, pizzas, fried chicken, etc that it is no wonder you see so many pasty looking lard @sses around. I have been eating mainly organic food for about 5 years now and I definitely feel better in every way, including that going to the bathroom thing you mentioned. Also I will never eat GM "Frankenstein food". Thank God that the country I live in has labelling laws so i can see what's in my food.
Indochine, I completely agree with most of what you have said. A lot of people including myself at times don't think about what we order when we want fast foods, junk foods, process foods and the whole nine yards.. Organic foods is a great way to clean your system out. You will feel better about your self and your body will do more for you. I still really haven't found much anything on salt being a cause for acne. But it doesn't hurt cutting down on how much you take in. Water will help your skin because it flushes your body of toxins in your body. You just have to make sure your getting enough in. Oily skin does affect how much acne will develop on your face. Soap does too. Especially the ones with various scents made into them. The kinds of washing liquids because of the perfumes they use to make them smell good. Its just so much to pay attention to. Last thing if your younger then 20 then acne will be present and its all a matter of how good you take care of your face. Buying various products from the stores a lot of times don't work and makes things worst. I recommend talking to your Dermatologist and finding out what other alternatives there are so you don't damage your skin.
Don't get me wrong, I love junk food! i especially like what I think Americans call "kebobs". (Why?) But I know that stuff is bad for me so I try to stay away.
