Even when you’re confident, having skin that is completely clear and healthy-looking can give you that one extra ingredient that can help you be successful. Clean, clear skin is a sign of good hygiene and good health.

If you’re working to improve your skin’s appearance from the outside in with creams and cleansers, try flipping your approach. Making yourself beautiful from the inside out is even better for your whole body, which includes completely clear skin.

An entirely balanced diet that’s full of healthy grains and plants is going to provide the right ingredients for our physical health. Most of us know this, but even by eating healthy you may have accidentally overlooked one ingredient that is keeping your skin from being completely clear.

Eliminating This ONE Ingredient Can Completely Clear Your Skin

rice water for skin

Skin problems can appear even when you take good care of yourself with nutrition, skin cleansing and hydration. Here are some common skin problems that eliminating this one can help clear up:

  • Pimples or acne
  • Dryness and flaking
  • Patchy redness
  • Uneven pigmentation
  • Broken blood vessels
  • Dark circles under eyes
  • Puffiness
  • Whiteheads
  • Blackheads
  • Oiliness
  • Dullness
  • Wrinkles

When you eat refined sugars, your body uses a process called glycation to process the sugar. Sugar attaches to proteins in our bodies as it is eliminated, which causes damage. The damage to skin comes from the sugar-protein molecules attacking collagen and elastin, the important supporting structures beneath our skin’s surface.

The effects of this one ingredient on your skin

In the book The Saccharine Disease: Conditions Caused by the Taking of Refined Carbohydrates Such as Sugar and White Flour, Dr. T.L. Cleave writes that refine sugar can lead to skin diseases such as acne, chronic boils, and eczema. He instead recommends that any added sugars be avoided and suggests only raw or dried fruit or juice to be used to add sweetness.

Dr. Cleave says that although honey is a natural sugar, it should be consumed with the same infrequency as it was when we were hunter-gatherers in the past. Honey was difficult to get and often resulted in getting stung so our ancient ancestors may have had it every few months and less often in the winter.

In a study of diet and the effects on severe atopic dermatitis (red, itchy eczema that can blister), both male and female patients with skin problems reported higher refined sugar intake than those with clear skin.

How best to eliminate this one ingredient that will help clear your skin

Some people suggest removing refined carbohydrates completely cold turkey to see the best improvements. Unfortunately, refined sugar can be habit-forming and removing it completely can result in withdrawal and cravings, just like with drugs.

If you’re a refined sugar addict, withdrawal means that you will probably get angry about not being able to have sweet treats. You can read more about what craving sugar means in our article here. Rather than send yourself into craving mode, add honey to your tea, oatmeal or desserts rather than refined sugar.

Try honey over sugar in your recipes for a week and then see if you can do without it in one of your daily sweet meals. Keep reducing the amount of honey until you’ve eliminated it completely and are free of added sugars. Monitor your skin to see how quickly it can become completely clear without the one ingredient of processed sugar.

Other ingredients that can help clear your skin

Natural, raw ingredients that Cleopatra would have used in her beauty routine are some good things you should look for in your skin care strategy. Think of going to the kitchen rather than your bathroom for these:

  • Raw brown sugar – researchers found that the non-sugar ingredient of brown sugar helped prevent wrinkles, and helped skin thickness and elasticity.
  • Rose water – a non-clogging moisturizer that balances skin’s pH and adds antioxidants.
  • Kaolin clay – clay comes in many varieties and when mixed as a mask it can help draw out pore-clogging oil and dirt.
  • Aloe Vera gel – hydrates skin, helps with wrinkles and can help clear blemishes
  • Yogurt – use yogurt as a mask that sloughs off dead skin
  • Raw honey – honey can be used as a moisturizer and blemish treatment and when it is rinsed off it will leave your skin feeling soft and tighter, without dryness
  • Tea tree oil or Melaleuca oil – helps treat blemishes

Here’s a skin-cleansing scrub recipe that you’ll love:

FACE SCRUB

4 tablespoons ground coffee (fresh is best)
2 tablespoons cornmeal
3 tablespoons sea salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 drops lavender essential oil

You can also blend honey and yogurt for a blemish-fighting mask that you can also eat, in moderation.