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In order to understand the link between acne, sugar and insulin it is first necessary to
understand at least a little about how sugar and insulin work together within the body.
Your body processes the food you eat for the purpose of converting that food into usable
energy. That energy takes the form of a specialized sugar within the body called glucose. The
glucose is mainly produced in the liver and when it is needed by the body the liver releases
the glucose into the bloodstream for distribution to the muscles and organs of the body. If
too much glucose is produced it is converted into another product called glycogen. Glycogen
can be stored in both the liver and muscle tissue for later use when the body needs it.
If there is too much glycogen being stored the body converts the glycogen into fat. When
the body is working hard it first uses the available glucose in the bloodstream, then
when that starts to run low the stored glycogen is sent back to the liver, converted back
into glucose then released into the bloodstream. If the demand for energy continues then the
body starts to break down the stored fat turning that back into glucose and sending it out
into the body. The question is how does the liver “know” when to release glucose,
when to re-convert glycogen and when to start hitting the storage areas for fat? What happens
when there is too much sugar? The answer to that is quite complex but simply put, it is
through the actions of what is called the endocrine system. The endocrine system monitors
nearly every function of the body and it does this through the use of hormones. Hormones
are like sensors and triggers, they sense what is happening and they trigger action.
For our purposes regarding the acne, sugar insulin connection we are only interested
in the energy, glucose, glycogen, fat relationship. Let's imagine the endocrine system senses
that the glucose levels in the body are dropping during exercise. It sends a message to the
liver to pump out more glucose, so the liver does what it is told. The liver blindly keeps
doing what it was last told until it is told to stop. It keeps pumping out glucose until
the endocrine system now senses that there is an excess of sugar. Now, in order to lower
the glucose levels to normal it tells the liver to stop producing glucose and at the
same time tells the pancreas to start producing INSULIN. Insulin breaks down the excess glucose
in the bloodstream and the pancreas keeps doing what it was last told by the endocrine
system until it is told to stop. By now the glucose levels will be dropping again so the
liver is told to start and the pancreas is told to stop. This whole system is very delicately
balanced and it's parts are in a constant state of starting and stopping through the
use of hormones. On an ongoing basis it achieves an overall balance by being in a continual
state of adjustment and re-adjustment and this is the normal functioning state of your
body. Studies have clearly shown that a connection exists between the consumption of sugar and
the aggravation of acne. Why? Well take a look at what you just read and think about
it. There is a perfectly balanced natural system that is constantly monitoring your
blood glucose levels using insulin and other hormones in normal amounts. What do you think
happens to that system when the body is fed pure sugar… not food, sugar? CHAOS! There
is no digestion process for pure sugar that requires your body to expend energy in order
to gain energy. There is no conversion process to the body’s natural form of sugar, glucose.
It is simply an instant hit of sugar directly into the bloodstream bypassing the entire
system designed to monitor and control that activity. It sets alarm bells going off in
all directions! And Here Lies the Problem. There are many forms of sugar: sucrose from
sugar cane, fructose from various fruits, lactose from cows milk and on and on. To the
body they are all just sugar and as such are sent directly into the bloodstream. Also,
when you eat any type of refined carbohydrates (white bread, white flour, white rice) it
almost instantly sends your blood sugar levels up unnaturally high as well. Your body has
to try to get those levels down again so of course it begins to produce huge amounts of
insulin to counter the sugar. This is the source of insulin resistance due to the extreme
high and low sugar levels being produced. While all this is going on the extreme levels
of insulin trigger the production of other male hormones called androgens. Their role
is to control the insulin. The main side effect of these elevated levels of androgens is that
the skin responds by going into an overproduction of sebum within the pores. Unable to get rid
of this excess oil the pores become blocked providing an ideal environment for bacteria
to reproduce, inflammation occurs... and you have acne. Simply cutting out sugar, milk
and refined white flour will certainly increase you chances of shaking acne but sadly it is
not that simple. The average acne sufferer will have a number of reasons why the acne
is occurring and the situation described here may only be one of many. The REAL solution
to acne is to find and follow an acne treatment program that can guide you through a range
of diet, lifestyle and nutritional changes to get clear once and for all. Go to www.youracnepro.com
to take a look at some of the best acne treatment programs available today.