Anti-inflammatory GLA helps clear your skin and can even help relieve PMS.
Do you blush easily? Have small, red bumps on your face? Or irritated, crusty eyes? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have rosacea.
Up to 100 million people worldwide do, says the International Rosacea Foundation. Most at risk are people with fair skin, light-colored hair and eyes, particularly women between 30 and 60—especially if you’re undergoing perimenopause or menopause. It’s no wonder that rosacea is one of the leading topics on dermatology websites.
A chronic condition, rosacea occurs when hundreds of tiny dilated blood vessels become inflamed. Commonly undiagnosed, this inflammatory condition is easily mistaken for acne or eczema.
Sadly, rosacea has no cure. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat it—rosacea won’t clear up on its own and may eventually require surgery.
First off, use only gentle, natural cleansing agents on your skin—no cosmetics or facial care with alcohol.
Next, pay attention to when your face starts to flush. Stress, nutrient deficiencies, lack of sleep, anxiety, and infections are common triggers, as is simply eating a heavy meal. But I’m sorry to say that what brings on rosacea in one person may be very different for others.
Food Sensitivities?
While the underlying cause of this inflammatory facial condition eludes scientific research, I strongly suspect food allergies and sensitivities.
Certainly, experts have linked both high-glycemic carbohydrates—white bread, pasta, and sugary foods, as well as other recognized allergens in chocolate, citrus, fermented alcohol, malt, tomatoes, and yeast—with rosacea. And research published in Dermatology Online Journal shows that people with facial flushing and red spots target allergenic foods (dairy, gluten, sugar, and yeast) as culprits.
Aspartame and NutraSweet in sugar-free drinks, Jello, and other processed foods cause noticeable flushing in 30% of people with rosacea. Avoid these synthetic sweeteners—and watch facial redness fade!
Periodic detox can help relieve rosacea, as can eating plenty of whole foods, including sea vegetables. Herbs like milk thistle, which supports the liver, and nettle, which helps relieve allergies, are also useful.
GLA Fights Inflammation
What’s the surest way I’ve found to treat rosacea in my clinical practice? The anti-inflammatory omega-6 fat, gamma linoleic acid (GLA) works as well for rosacea as it does for eczema and other allergic skin reactions. It even relieves psoriasis and irritated, dry eyes.
To moisturize your skin from the inside out—and alleviate redness—take two softgel capsules of GLA-90 daily, preferably with meals, or as directed by a health care professional. Not only will your skin clear up, but you may also notice that PMS symptoms and hot flashes disappear.
A new study in Reproductive Health shows that GLA helps ease PMS—affecting 80 to 95% of women (35% of whom have severe enough symptoms to interfere with everyday activities). My patients happily report that, when they began taking GLA, their mood swings and cramping during their menstrual cycle disappeared.
What’s not to like about that?!
Sources:
The Fat Flush Plan
The Living Beauty Detox Program
Eat Fat, Lose Weight
www.mayoclinic.com/health/rosacea/DS00308
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21276570
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20041414
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17892041
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17168669
www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Essential-fatty-acid-supplements-may-ease-PMS-says-trial
I get confused, GLA is an Omega 6. Will taking the GLA throw off the balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 such as in the Fish Oil Supplement I take?
If you are mindful to avoid highly processed vegetable oils in your diet, and take a high quality fish oil supplement, you should have no problem at all taking the CLA and GLA at the same time.
A very helpful article on rosacea-thank you so much.
Like the reader above, I also seek guidance on taking a proper balance of the healthy fats. As a post menopausal female, I currently take both flaxseed oil liquid and fish oil capsules — based on what I have learned from Dr. Ann Louise over the years . I have mild rosacea and dry flakey skin on my hands and I believe I could be in need of more omega 6. Please advise on how I should coordinate my good fat supplements to promote balanced hormones, heart health and help out my skin. Thank you!
Since you are already supplementing with fish and flax oil, using the GLA could prove to be quite helpful for you. You may also wish to try using an HCL supplement with pepsin and ox bile to increase the potency of your stomach acid. This approach has worked for many people also.
do you thank a noise with white bumps an big pores is rosacea.
No, rosacea involves redness.
An expert committee assembled by the National Rosacea Society explicitly defined and classified rosacea in April 2002 into 4 different subtypes (erythematotelangiectatic type, papulopustular, phymatous, and ocular) based on specific clinical signs and symptoms. This categorization was an important step in the treatment of rosacea. Currently, the therapeutics of rosacea empirically target the signs and symptoms of the disease because investigators do not understand the details of its pathophysiology. ^*.^
Consider our personal blog page too
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What am I doing wrong? For me there is no benefit to my brown cells when I take CLA and GLA for an extended period of 6 months. I use flax seed and fermented cod liver oil, plus I eat Paleo with iodine supplementation faithfully. The solutions you promote are not universally effective.
The solutions highlighted in these blogs are just excerpts from the life-long work of renowned nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman. If you would like an all encompassing dietary plan with a specific focus, the best option would be to choose one of the many (30+) books authored by Ann Louise that wholly address more specific health concerns and health goals.
After taking GLA for about 3 weeks my rosacea got worse. I now have to wear coverup for the red spots. Is this a positive sign? I know sometimes starting something new can cause a flare-up and then as the body adjusts and detoxes things will calm down. Not sure whether to continue to take the GLA…