Acne Information

Don’t listen when they tell you, “You’ll grow out of it.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology your typical acne sufferer is now 26 years old. Why is that? You could blame it on hormones. But there is another covert explanation.

Acne is not a simple, skin condition. Multiple factors can contribute to one case of acne. Yet one issue has long been overlooked in the mounting cases adults with hormonal acne, and that factor is the environment.

Take for example an entire city in Italy that one-day found itself crowded with citizens battling acne.

It was a calm Saturday in the summer of 1976 that turned into a toxic inferno for the people of Seveso, Italy. The cause- a failing chemical blew a cloud of white poison called trichlorophenol into the air.

Heat from the reaction transformed the trichlorophenol into a one of the most deadly chemicals know at that time: TCDD or dioxin.

Dioxin is an oily powder that sticks to the skin. This poison is spread by the wind and rain. Only the sun can break this poison down over a span of several years.

Months after the explosion locals suffered from damaged internal tissue and farm animals would drop dead in fields. People also developed bumps, blisters and chloracne- a form of acne caused by chemical poisoning. Moreover, locals developed blackheads and other acne lesions because the dioxin forced the body to produce excessive amounts of keratin, the protein found in hair, fingernails and skin. This buildup of keratin clogged the pores and caused pimples and blackheads.

Ironically, we, as consumers could be making dioxins every day in our own home.

Almost every home has a product that contains triclosan. This anti-bacterial agent is used to make cosmetics, anti-microbial creams, lotions, hand soaps, dish soaps and even acne treatments. Nevertheless, researchers from the University of Minnesota demonstrated that triclosan could be producing dioxins in the presence of sunlight.

Dioxins do not degrade over time and they can accumulate in body tissues and can eventually to lead to health problems. Even low levels of dioxin are a problem because of their tendency to accumulate along the food chain. For instance, since dioxin accumulates in the fats tissues, and so dioxin may be found in fish, eggs, milk, chicken and beef.

Thus, the link between acne and milk may not be only a hormonal issue, but a result of environmental pollution.

Dioxin is not only linked to acne, but to other rising health conditions like asthma and attention deficit disorder.

Making a substantial reduction in environmental dioxin levels is a nationwide effort. However you can limit your exposure to dioxins right now by avoiding the use of pesticides, drinking filtered water and by eating less meat products.

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