Snack foods such as chips and cookies have earned a bad reputation because they are high in calories, fat, and sugar.
However, not all snacks are a disaster for your diet.
Yogurt, in particular, is a nutritious snack with numerous health benefits.
But is it really an effective treatment for acne?
More and more people are looking into yogurt for treating acne.
This is not surprising when you consider that yogurt is cheaper than most acne creams and medications.
And it is regarded, by many nutritional experts, as one of the healthiest foods on the market today.(1,2,3)
Most of them say that there is not enough evidence to prove its effectiveness or lack of effectiveness in treating acne.
However, they all agree that yogurt contains large doses of beneficial bacteria – especially one type called Lactobacillus acidophilus.(4)
Most people just call it acidophilus.
Acidophilus has been proven to help re-establish beneficial bacteria in the gut, which helps to treat a wide variety of digestive problems – diarrhea, colic, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), etc.(5)
In addition, acidophilus has proven useful in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, lung infections, and eczema (in children).(5)
Integrative medicine doctors would say that they are closely related. These doctors look at the body as an interdependent organism.
One set of problems, in one part of the body, can cause problems in another part of the body.
Problems manifest themselves differently in different people.
According to this way of thinking, a bad gut, that lacks beneficial bacteria, could manifest itself as acne.(6,7)
All evidence seems to support the fact that a person will not make his or her acne worse by eating yogurt.
On the contrary, yogurt might actually improve the condition in a roundabout way.
It is a good idea to avoid any flavored yogurts that contain sugar and extra ingredients; the bad usually outweighs the good.
Lactose intolerant people could have problems digesting yogurt, and some people claim that dairy products cause acne flare-ups.
There is an answer for these folks. The beneficial bacteria, acidophilus, is available in pill or powder form (dairy free).(check on amazon.com)
It is readily available in grocery stores, department stores, vitamin shops, health food stores, and drug stores.
Another way that people use yogurt, to treat acne, is by putting it directly on their skin.
They usually mix it with other healthy ingredients such as honey, lemon, and avocado.
This mixture is refrigerated for a couple of hours and then spread on any problem skin areas.
After 15 to 45 minutes, the mixture can be washed off the skin.
Many people report that the regular use of this recipe has lessened the severity of their acne breakouts, and increased the duration between breakouts.
A 2013 study in Nutrition Research found that people who consumed more yogurt had lower levels of artery-clogging triglycerides and lower systolic blood pressure.(8)
A second study, published in 2009 in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, found that yogurt improved certain risk factors for heart disease.(9)
Results showed that a probiotic-rich yogurt lowered total cholesterol levels while increasing levels of healthy HDL cholesterol.
Furthermore, both a probiotic yogurt and a conventional yogurt were successful in reducing levels of dangerous LDL cholesterol, per the study.
» Snacking on yogurt might reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Eating yogurt as a snack may keep you at a healthy weight.
A 2014 study in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases found that people who consumed high amounts of yogurt were less likely to become overweight or obese during a period of 6.6 years.(10)
A 2005 study in the International Journal of Obesity found that yogurt was associated with fat loss.(11)
Participants on a diet that included yogurt lost significantly more body fat during a 12-week period than did those on a control diet.
» Yogurt should be a part of your weight loss diet
A 2013 study in the journal PLos ONE found that consuming 50 grams of yogurt per day decreased the risk of diabetes by 9 percent.(12)
A study in a 2011 edition of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found an even greater benefit associated with yogurt consumption.(13)
According to study results, yogurt lowered the risk of type 2 diabetes by 17 percent.
» You can lower your risk of diabetes as you snack on yogurt
Researchers for a 2009 edition of Food & Agricultural Immunology analyzed two types of yogurt: one containing immune-boosting strains of bacteria and another prepared with bacteria without immune-boosting characteristics.(14)
Study results showed that both types of yogurt provided resistance against pneumonia, but the yogurt with immune-boosting bacteria strains was more successful.
A second study, published in 2006 in the Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism, also found that yogurt could provide protection from illness.(15)
Study results indicated that both probiotic and conventional yogurts stimulated the immune system.
» Adding yogurt to your daily diet could also keep you from getting sick
Consuming yogurt, especially varieties containing certain kinds of healthy bacteria, can strengthen your immune system and protect you from illnesses.
If you snack on yogurt regularly, you could enjoy other benefits, including a healthier weight and a reduced risk of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
It has the capacity to heal the gut, which is responsible for the healthy functioning of many bodily processes.
These processes may not have a direct influence on the treatment of acne, but there is little doubt that they have an indirect influence.
Applying yogurt directly to the skin may or may not help in the treatment of acne, but it probably won’t hurt.
It is a cheap alternative to try when compared to expensive creams and medications.
Be sure to select a yogurt with live and active bacteria cultures, and avoid yogurts that are packed with added sugars.
References
(1)http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410302,00.html
(2)http://www.webmd.com/diet/best-foods-you-are-not-eating?page=3
(3)http://www.eatthis.com/healthiest-foods-on-planet
(4)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16022746
(5)http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/lactobacillus-acidophilus
(6)http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/21/simple-acne-treatment-works-by-helping-your-gut-brain-connection.aspx
(7)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3038963/
(8)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23351406
(9)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19229114
(10)http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13668-014-0076-4
(11)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15672113
(12)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24086304
(13)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21559046
(14)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215658649_Influence_of_yogurt_consumption_on_the_respiratory_immune_response
(15)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16508257
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