Many think that they won’t have to worry about pimples or zits when they reach their twenties but acne is definitely not just a teen issue; adults can get acne even if their already in their forties or fifties.

The Skin Matters 2008 survey found that acne can negatively impact the physical, social, academic and professional aspects of a person’s life. Participants of the survey agreed that having acne as an adult is more stressful than when they had it as a teen. They also said that they found having acne as more unappealing than having wrinkles or grey hair.

One in five women between the ages of 25 and 40 suffer from acne, which often causes them to get depressed, suffer from stress, or experience social withdrawal and intimacy problems – emotions that can trigger or worsen pimple breakouts.

Though this condition is very treatable, the lack of knowledge may also prevent or hinder the proper treatment of acne.

Antibiotics are the typical acne treatment recommended by dermatologists, like tetracycline-type derivatives designed to kill acne infections. Topical application of benzyl peroxide is another conventional acne treatment method.

Special gadgets, like the hand-held Zeno acne blemish device, have also been developed as quick fixes to fight acne. The Zeno device works by heating the skin for up to 120 degrees to kill the acne-causing bacteria and cause an influx of heat-shock proteins that also help kill the bacteria and reduce inflammation in the pores.

There are many other acne treatment methods available but Dr. Mercola warns against the use of Accutane (isotretinoin), a powerful drug prescribed for a severe type of acne known as nodular acne, which is also used as a chemotherapy agent to help prevent and treat certain skin cancers.

Accutane is the only drug classified as category X, which means it is guaranteed to cause birth defects. Other isotretinoin side effects include depression, psychosis, aggression and suicide.

Treating the Root Cause of Acne

Dr. Mercola explains that while conventional acne treatments typically do work, they DO NOT treat the UNDERLYING cause of acne in any way, shape or form.

There are 4 factors that cause acne:

• Plugging of the hair follicle
• Excess sebum production
• Inflammation in the pore
• Presence and activity of Propioniform bacteria (acne-causing bacteria)

While most skin experts will say that diet has nothing to do with acne, Mercola believes that nothing could be further from the truth.

If you are predisposed to developing these acne lesions, you will have acne if you are eating a diet that is causing your insulin levels and associated insulin growth factors to rise.

That is because when you eat refined carbohydrates and sugar, it causes a surge of insulin and an insulin-like growth factor called IGF-1 in your body. This causes an overproduction of male hormones, which cause your pores to secrete sebum, a greasy substance that attracts the acne-causing propioniform bacteria.

IGF-1 also causes skin cells known as keratinocytes to multiply. This process is also associated with acne.

Now that you know the underlying cause of acne, here are …

Dr. Mercola’s 3 Simple Steps to Prevent Acne:

1. Reduce your consumption of grains and sugars – including bread, cereal, pasta, rice, potatoes and corn to radically reduce your insulin production. You can replace the carbohydrates you get from sugars and grain carbohydrates with vegetable carbohydrates according to your Nutritional Type.
2. Take a good probiotic supplement – If you’re using antibiotics to treat acne, it’s very important to take a probiotic supplement. Antibiotics do kill the propioniform bacteria that causes acne but they also wipe out the good bacteria in your gut.
3. Optimize your vitamin D levels – Go out and get a healthy dose of sunlight to create natural vitamin D in your body. You produce over 200 antimicrobial peptides when you’re getting enough vitamin D. If you can’t get regular sun exposure or don’t have a safe tanning bed, you can supplement with oral vitamin D. You have to monitor your vitamin D levels with a blood test at regular intervals if you decide to take vitamin D supplements

At first glance, Vitaminwater looks like a “healthy” product, as it comes in beautiful and colorful bottles with catchy flavor names like “endurance,” “energy,” and “essential.” Glacéau, the maker of Smartwater, Fruitwater and Vitaminwater, acquired by the Coca-Cola Company in 2007, claims that Vitaminwater can reduce your risk of chronic disease and eye disease, promote healthy joints and support immune function.

Really now? Don’t be fooled because the truth is… Vitaminwater is nothing more than water laced with sugar!

What’s In Vitamin Water?

If you go to the Glacéau website, you won’t find the nutritional information on Vitaminwater, which isn’t surprising.

One bottle of Vitaminwater contains 125 calories and 33 grams of sugar. And they still call it “water,” though I’m not sure why. That means that Vitaminwater contains more calories and sugar than a 12 ounce serving of Coke (110 calories and 30 grams of sugar). So if you’re thinking you’re taking in less sugar if you drink Vitaminwater instead of Coke, think again. Thirty-three grams of sugar is over SIX teaspoons of sugar!

Vitaminwater’s sweetener of choice is crystalline fructose, which is produced when fructose is crystallized from a fructose-enriched corn syrup.

Fructose is a man-made sweetener and metabolizes to triglycerides and adipose tissue, not blood glucose. It does not stimulate insulin secretion, nor enhance the production of leptin, the hormone involved in regulating your appetite. Insulin and leptin are key indicators in regulating how much you eat as well as your body weight, suggesting that dietary fructose may contribute to increased food intake and weight gain.

A study on fructose showed that fructose is very quickly made into fat in your body and once your body starts the process of fat synthesis from fructose, it’s hard to slow it down. Fructose is also known to increase your triglyceride levels, putting you at an increased risk of heart disease.

Forget about Vitaminwater and Go Back to Basics

Sure, Vitaminwater does contain vitamin C, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin B5 and zinc but these nutrients are chemically synthesized. The vitamin content of Vitaminwater is just neutralized by the amount of sugar and other additives it contains.

In fact, a class-action suit has been filed by concerned parties including the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) against Coca-Cola for “illegally marketing” Vitaminwater as a healthy product. According to CSPI nutritionists, the 33 grams of sugar contained in each bottle of Vitaminwater “do more to promote obesity, diabetes and other health problems than the vitamins in the drinks do to perform the advertised benefits listed on the bottles.”

There is no harm in adding vitamins to a drink but it confuses consumers into thinking that the beverage is healthy when it actually isn’t. Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals is now known as Diet Coke Plus but can it call itself healthy?

Beverage companies like Coca-Cola aren’t really concerned about your health; they just want to make more money. Coca-Cola bought Glacéau for $4.1 billion to get the rights to market products like Vitaminwater and capitalize on the increasing number of people drinking lesser soda and switching to other beverages.

You can’t judge a food by its cover so make sure to read labels carefully to avoid being fooled by deceptive marketing from products like Vitaminwater.

Pure water is still the best beverage and is one of the most important elements of your diet.

If you really want to get vitamins into your system, the best way to do so is still by eating food – nutritious food, that is. Proper nutrition is the key because no miracle water or food supplement can provide you with all the nutrients that you need in order to stay healthy.

For Dr. Mercola, a multivitamin can be beneficial for your health but only those that come in a non-synthetic natural whole food form and not the synthetic types found in most energy drinks, flavored beverages and vitamin pills on the market.