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Better Health Update #45 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Skin Problems

Skin problems can be a source of constant torture for their victim. Unlike many health problems, skin problems show - making them a constant reminder to ourselves and those who see us. But are skin problems just a matter of cruel fate, or are there reasons for them and solutions? After all, not everyone has skin problems, and not everyone who has skin problems has always had them. Be assured - your skin problems didn't just happen!

THE NUMBER ONE TREATMENT ERROR

Conventional medicine, like with most other problems, has this one backwards . . . and they've successfully spread their confusion to most people. Skin problems are invariably treated externally by conventional medicine and by most people on their own. The question is "What can I put on this [acne, psoriasis, eczema, etc.] to make it go away?" The true answer to that question is, "Probably nothing!"

Skin problems are not problems with the skin! The skin problem is just the symptom of the real problems that are internal. The skin is not only the body's largest organ of elimination, but it's also the body's outward most organ of elimination. Therefore, what's going on with the skin is typically reflective of what's going on inside the body.

HERING'S LAW OF CURE

Constantine Hering is regarding as the second greatest name in homeopathic medicine (after its founder, Samuel Hahnemann). Hering established the first homeopathic medical school in the U.S. in 1835, wrote a ten volume Materia Medica that is still in use, and discovered many medications, including nitroglycerin. Hering is perhaps most famous among natural medicine practitioners for his description of how the healing process works - Hering's Law of Cure:

All cure starts from within out and from the head down and in the reverse order as the symptoms have appeared.

Hering's Law of Cure is the key to understanding and approaching skin problems. It tells us that what's going on within precedes what we see on the skin. Our healing approach must focus on the internal problems if we expect the skin to change.

However, let me add that when you work on the internal causes of skin or other problems, the skin may get worse. In fact, you may develop skin problems when you previously had none. Changes in the skin reflect inner detoxification and healing. As the body's outermost organ of elimination, the skin will often worsen as part of the healing process.

RECKEWEG'S THEORY

Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg, M.D. developed what is called the Theory of Homotoxicology (study of toxins in man). He taught that toxins were at the root of our health problems, and that our bodies can go through six possible phases in their attempt to get rid of toxins. We can either encourage the body's toxin elimination process or suppress it with symptom-treating drugs. When you suppress toxicity (like rubbing goop on your skin problem) you drive the toxins deeper, creating more serious health problems down the road.

One example Reckeweg gives concerns someone treating psoriasis with coal tar, an accepted conventional medicine treatment. Six months after being treated with carcinogenic coal tar, this person didn't have psoriasis anymore - they had cancer. Bad trade!

By contrast when you help the body detoxify, the skin problem may get worse before it gets better. Toxin elimination isn't always pretty. When the problem seems to get worse, most uninformed people bail out and go back to drugs. But if you're really going to solve your skin problem, you have to understand this process and be patient.

SPECIFIC SKIN PROBLEMS

1. Acne Vulgaris - This is the common acne associated especially with teenagers. Androgen hormones (particularly testosterone) stimulate increased oil (sebum) secretions resulting in formation of blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples. Since women have one-tenth the testosterone of men, they experience less acne.

2. Acne Rosacea - In this form of acne the blood vessels in the face open up causing the center of the face to become deep red and acne-like cysts to develop. Rosacea produces a W.C. Fields appearance. Rosacea affects one in 500 adults who, more often, are fair-skinned and blush more easily. Three times as many women get rosacea as men, but men get it more severely. Although alcohol can make it worse, people who never drink alcohol still develop rosacea. The conventional medicine view is that it runs in families, is more common in light-skinned people, it can't be cured, but it can be treated (translation: they can suppress your symptoms and create other health problems).

3. Dermatitis/Eczema - Dermatitis refers to a recurring inflammatory skin reaction caused either a food or environmental irritant. Eczema is the most common symptom of dermatitis, being characterized by small blisters that weep and crust, scaling, flaking, itching, plus thickening and color changes to the skin. Non-eczema type dermatitis includes seborrheic dermatitis (which includes dandruff), contact dermatitis, and photodermatitis. In the United Kingdom up to one-fifth of all school age children have eczema, and about one in twelve in the adult population.

4. Psoriasis - Psoriasis most often appears as inflamed skin lesions covered with a silvery white scale (plaque psoriasis). Other types of psoriasis may involve pus-like blisters (pustular psoriasis), severe sloughing of the skin (erythrodermic psoriasis), drop-like dots (guttate psoriasis), and smooth inflamed lesions (inverse psoriasis). Psoriasis affects 6.4 million Americans, about 400 of whom die annually from psoriasis. The all too predictable conventional medicine view is that the cause is unknown, it's an autoimmune disorder, and it's probably at least partly genetic. Conventional medicine does acknowledge some "triggering factors" such as systemic infections, injury to the skin, vaccinations, prescription medication reactions, including steroid medications.

CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE APPROACHES

Regardless of the specific labeling of the skin problem, the most common conventional medical approach is drugs. In the case of acne and rosacea that usually means antibiotics. In the case of eczema and psoriasis, corticosteroid ointments are likely. Unfortunately both antibiotics and corticosteroids produce Candida albicans yeast overgrowth, and that candidiasis often produces more . . . you guessed it - skin problems! So, are the doctors who perpetrate this idiocy just plain ignorant, or are they trying to generate future business? Probably the former. But, God bless 'em-if they weren't out there destroying people's health with antibiotics, half of my practice would disappear!

ROOT CAUSES

It's always seemed to me that conventional medicine spends about a millisecond thinking about what causes a problem (other that chanting a mantra that genetics is to blame), only to rush to the prescription pad and give you something to suppress the symptom. As if that wasn't bad enough, your M.D. (mighty deity) will also tell you that diet and nutritional supplements have no effect whatsoever on your skin problem. [Pause to suppress gag reflex]

Back to reality, here are some of the more common causes of skin problems. Understand that it's not necessarily just one thing, but more often a combination of causes that's involved:

1. Overall Toxicity - As a result of poor diet, poor digestion, chemical exposure, stress, and a host of other causes, most people are pretty toxic. The skin as your largest organ of elimination tends to reflect that.

2. Junk Food Diet - The Modern American Diet (M.A.D. for short) is a primary cause of skin problems. Refined sugar and flours, fried foods, chocolate, chemical food additives and the like are all highly toxic and often aggravate skin problems.

3. Food Sensitivities - I seldom see someone with skin problems that doesn't have a lot of common food sensitivities. Milk, wheat, yeast, citrus and others are common.

4. Nutrient Deficiencies - A whole host of nutrient deficiencies have been linked with skin problems. Vitamin A, the B-Complex, and zinc are perhaps the most significant. Vitamin B-2 deficiency appears to be a key factor with rosacea. B-6 and biotin deficiency in rats produces symptoms like seborrheic dermatitis. Free fatty acid levels have been found to be abnormal in psoriasis sufferers.

5. Digestive Deficiencies - Low hydrochloric acid has been linked with rosacea, as has low lipase (fat digesting) enzyme.

6. Candidiasis - Systemic overgrowth of the Candida albicans yeast organism is observed with various skin problems. Ironically, candidiasis often results from the antibiotics you were given for skin problems!

NATURAL MEDICINE APPROACHES

1. Natural Food Diet - The general diet we recommend for everyone applies with skin problems. Avoiding refined sugar, refined flour, fried foods, uncultured cow's milk, caffeine, chocolate, colas, and chemical food additives is essential.

2. Specific Problem Foods - Other foods to avoid with certain skin problems may include cheese, eggs, animal fats (arachidonic acid produces inflammation), tomatoes, spinach, rhubarb, nuts, or any food you happen to be sensitive to. Individual testing at our clinic is recommended. In the case of rosacea foods that cause flushing should be avoided: hot drinks, spicy foods, or alcohol.

3. B-Complex - A hypoallergenic B-Complex, or at least a multi with a high amount of B is essential. Extra individual B-2, B-6, Biotin, or other B vitamins may also be appropriate.

4. Emulsified Vitamin A - Higher doses are tolerated in this form, with some practitioners recommending 100,000 i.u.'s per day for up to three months. Unless you can be tested and monitored, I wouldn't go above 50,000 i.u.'s per day, though.

5. Zinc Picolinate - This is probably the best form of zinc. The amount in a multi-mineral may be enough, though sometimes a separate supplement will be indicated by testing.

6. GLA - Gamma-Linoleic Acid, an omega-6 fatty acid is a natural anti-inflammatory that produces the beneficial effects of steroid drugs without the side effects. It's also useful for hormonal balancing, which may be involved in certain skin problems. Borage oil, flax oil, or primrose oil may be helpful. EPA fish oil type supplements (a different fatty acid) may also be appropriate.

7. Acidophilus - A good acidophilus supplement (not "acidophilus milk") is usually appropriate, especially if candidiasis is indicated by testing. Restoring the digestive tract is essential to dealing with skin problems.

8. Psyllium/Fiber - A psyllium fiber supplement to cleanse the colon is basic to body detoxification. Less than two good bowel movements per day may adversely affect the skin from toxic back-up.

9. Vitamin C - In addition to fighting infections, Vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine and thus can reduce allergic reactions.

10. Quercetin - This bioflavonoid also reduces histamine release and may be useful in some skin problems.

11. Chromium - This may be helpful particularly with acne.

12. Vitamin E - Good antioxidant, generally good for skin.

13. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) - Otherwise known as biological sulfur, this helps collagen synthesis.

14. Homeopathic Skin Remedies - Various possibilities exist, with individual testing being necessary.

You don't need all of the above-testing will tell which.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.