Rosacea is an inflammatory condition and can easily be triggered by food. Blushing or flushing, flares can look like redness in the skin and even small, pus-filled bumps. It’s hard to deal with and totally understandable that even the thought of dealing with a flare-up (that can go on for weeks to months) is super stressful. Switching up nutritional choices is one solution to give your skin back its calm.
(Don’t) Pull the Trigger
Foods that work against rosacea by their very nature are often fiery, and they cause flare-ups due to their hot and spicy ingredients: think chilli-laced hot sauce, curries and anything dosed with cayenne pepper. Even ginger and cinnamon (warming spices) may cause a reaction. Other no-nos include processed food, fried food and artificial sweeteners. Instead, stick with nutritional choices that incorporate clean eating. For instance, while you may love adding peri-peri to your chicken salad, resist the urge. Your taste buds may be able to tolerate hot and spicy, but it’s scientifically proven that these types of ingredients aggravate the symptoms of rosacea.
Anti-Inflammatory All-Stars
Clean eating will do more for you than just help with your skin’s condition. It’ll also improve your health as you’ll up your veggie and fruit intake and get more of the good stuff in. Take cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower; they’re wonderfully calming! Also, look to anti-oxidant-rich fruit like berries, avocados, grapes, mangoes and melon to help soothe your skin. And up your protein intake of healthy fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna. These are all winning inflammation fighters. Not into fish or living a plant-based lifestyle? Nuts like almonds and walnuts will help, as well as green tea. In fact, the latter needs to be a go-to as part of your rosacea treatment plan. Here’s something you might not know: as well as antioxidants, green tea is loaded with a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). And some more science for you: this means it can prevent inflammation by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Smart huh?
Add a Supplement (or Two)
Apart from eating for healthier, happier skin, good work can come from investing in the proper supplementation. Meriva has anti-inflammatory properties and is a powerful antioxidant to help renew your skin without any caffeine highs for rosacea sufferers. Add Omega 3 fatty acids to the mix, which forms part of a balanced and healthy nutrition for resilient skin.
Feeling less flushed on the inside? Well, that’s an excellent first step. Now, to get your skin calm and healthy. The Skin Renewal expert team is here to help with every step of your skin journey – we wish you a beautiful one!