Nutrition tips for rosacea: What positive and negative influences does nutrition have on rosacea?
Dermatologist Francis and skin therapist Manon explain and give you tips.
Rosacea is an annoying skin condition associated with redness, bumps and visible blood vessels on the face.
It is a chronic condition that can have a major impact on your self-confidence and daily life.
Unfortunately, the exact cause of rosacea is not yet fully understood.
However, we do know that genetic predisposition is often at the root and that various environmental factors can play a role in triggering rosacea.
In this article, we will take you through an important trigger of rosacea, namely diet.
Dermatologist Francis Wu and skin therapist Manon like to share their knowledge on how nutrition can affect the symptoms of your rosacea.
They give you tools to avoid possible triggers, which can stabilize your rosacea.
This will allow you to make more conscious choices and hopefully reduce the impact of rosacea on your life.
What foods rosacea reacts to varies from person to person.
We’ll take you through the most well-known triggers, as well as foods that can actually calm your rosacea.
Foods that may worsen your rosacea symptoms
Alcohol and spicy food
Avoiding alcohol and spicy food can help reduce the symptoms of your rosacea.
Alcohol dilates your blood vessels and spicy foods stimulate the receptors in your skin, leading to additional redness of your skin that makes your rosacea more noticeable.
Histamine-rich foods
Avoiding histamine-rich foods can help reduce inflammation and redness.
Be careful because histamine is often found in healthy foods!
Here are some examples of histamine-rich foods to avoid:
- Fermented foods: such as sauerkraut, kimchi and miso
- Processed meats: such as salami, ham and sausage
- Cheeses: such as cheddar, Gouda cheese and brie
- Wine and beer: mostly white wine and beer
- Fish and shellfish: especially tuna, sardines and anchovies
- Pickled foods: such as pickles and olives
- Some vegetables: such as spinach, tomatoes and eggplant
- Fruits: bananas, strawberries, avocados and dried fruits such as raisins
- Nuts and seeds: such as cashews and sunflower seeds
Foods with positive and anti-inflammatory properties
Dairy products
Despite dairy often being seen as a potential trigger, foods from this product group can sometimes actually help reduce inflammation and strengthen your skin barrier.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil and flaxseed oil, have anti-inflammatory properties.
They can help reduce skin irritation and improve your skin condition, especially with ocular rosacea.
Caffeine
Although this may sound surprising, drinking four or more cups of coffee a day can help reduce your rosacea symptoms.
This is because the antioxidants in coffee are anti-inflammatory.
Find a diet that suits you
Keeping a food diary
Every person with rosacea reacts differently to foods.
Foods that trigger rosacea symptoms in one person may not do so in another.
Keeping a food diary can help you discover which foods aggravate your rosacea symptoms.
Social and cultural challenges
Avoiding certain foods can be challenging within certain cultures and social circles.
Find a balance that suits your lifestyle and allows you to control your rosacea symptoms.
What can the skin therapists at The Laser Clinic do for you?
Unfortunately, just adjusting your diet is usually not enough.
At De Laserkliniek in Groningen and Heerenveen, we can treat your rosacea effectively.
We look at specific characteristics of your skin to determine which treatment we apply.
We often combine several treatments for the best results.
Basically, good daily skin care is important.
With rosacea, we often say: less is more.
The basics usually consist of only three or four skin products:
- A mild cleanser, for example with niacinamide such as the Oxybiome or Advanced cleanser from Dermaceutic
- A day/night cream from such as Iconic Elements’ Spotreducer.
- An SPF50 broad-spectrum sunscreen such as Heliocare’s Mineral fluid or AR emulsion
- For cornified skin or many acne spots, we recommend an additional cleanser with PHA (polyhydroxy acid).
Possible treatments for rosacea at The Laser Clinic
Superficial medical microneedling
With a superficial medical microneedling treatment, we stimulate your skin’s repair process, strengthening it and reducing redness.
LED therapy
We use LED therapy to soothe and strengthen your skin.
Laser therapy
Laser therapy gives very nice results for rosacea.
The visible red blood vessels diminish, making your skin more even and calm.
This treatment also works against demodex skin mites.
Mild medical peels
A peel makes your skin renew itself faster, making it stronger and less responsive to triggers. This will give you a more even skin tone. For rosacea, we use mild PHA acids because stronger acids can act as triggers again.
At The Laser Clinic, we have extensive experience treating rosacea.
We usually choose a unique combination of different techniques within one treatment for optimal results. For example, laser treatment with a mild peel or microneedling with LED therapy.
Conclusion
Stabilizing your rosacea by avoiding or adding foods to your diet is a process of trial and error.
By being intentional about what you eat and paying attention to possible triggers, you can reduce the frequency and severity of rosacea outbreaks.
Would you like to improve your overall skin appearance or reduce the redness of your skin?
Then make a no-obligation appointment with the skin therapists at The Laser Clinic.
