No one really knows what causes acne, although there are many legitimate theories. Diet, skincare regime and stress are all thought to play a part, but the main culprits are hormones and the elimination of toxins through the lymphatic system. In order to be effective, free acne treatments mainly need to address the production of hormones, but they can also alleviate some of the symptoms of acne.
Controlling hormones is the key to controlling acne; therefore, the best free acne treatments affect hormonal production. This can be accomplished by changing the diet, which is likely what led to the widespread belief that diet is a causal agent of acne. In fact, it is not a direct cause, but it does affect the hormones produced by the body.
The first thing to do is cut down on sugar. A high-sugar diet leads to an increase in cortisol and estrogen, two hormones that are connected to acne. Fried foods should also be eliminated or cut down, as frying requires high temperatures that then cause the fats in the food to become oxidized. Oxidized fats turn into xenoestrogens, a substance that mimics estrogen but is difficult for the body to eliminate. The consumption of the brassica family of vegetables, which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage, is important, as one of the compounds they contain aids in the capture and removal of estrogen from the bloodstream.
A fiber-rich diet is another one of the free acne treatments that benefit the body in more ways than one. The lack of fiber in most modern diets leads to many health problems. After excess hormones have been detoxed via the liver, they wait in the intestines until they are eliminated. When there is not enough fiber in the intestine for the hormones to bind with, they may be reabsorbed by the body, and one of the effects of this is acne.
Another hormone important in the fight against acne is vitamin D. It has long been known that vitamin D aids healthy skin, but new research indicates that it is actually a hormone as well. This is can be one of the more useful free acne treatments. The body is capable of producing adequate levels of the hormone using food as the source. The hormone is manufactured by the skin after exposure to the sun. Too much sun exposure, however, should be avoided, as it can lead to skin cancer.