In Chinese Medicine, it’s thought that acne that appears on various areas of your face reflects health issues on various areas of your body.

For instance, acne on your upper cheeks is a response to stress in your lungs or respiratory system.

Smoking is one of these reasons. So, a nice indication of what organs need attention and care is to just look where your acne is.

Upper Forehead

Digestive System and Bladder

Drink enough water to flush, watch your diet, do not include greasy foods and refined sugars. If you’re craving deep fried fatty foods, eat avocado or include a tablespoon of coconut oil to your meal.

Make sure you eat enough fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Some of the best antioxidant rich foods or drinks are green tea, warm lemon water, and fresh berries.

If your diet is not rich in organically fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, or kefir, think of supplementing with a probiotic capsule every day. Most health food stores have probiotic capsules.

Lower Forehead

Heart

Our heart is a big organ that pumps blood through the whole body. It has a difficult job and can become simply stressed because of bad diet, inactivity, and different mental and physical stresses. If you have pimples on your lower forehead make it a point to do regular cardiovascular exercises. Eating pomegranate and coconut oil will as well make your heart healthy and help clear this up.

Ears

Kidneys

When kidneys are not taken care of, you might find big, painful pimples on your ears that just won’t disappear. Kidney issues are typically caused by not drinking enough water and eating too much sodium.

Some other kidney destroying habits include:

- often postponing going to the toilet

- drinking too much coffee or alcohol

- mineral deficiencies such as magnesium

- eating too much animal protein

- sleep deprivation

- excessive refined sugar

This is as great of a time as any to point out that vendors such as Subway, who announce their products as being “healthy” have an excessive amount of sodium added to almost everything on the menu.

The next time that you take a look at their nutrition claims with highlighted low-fat content, take your time to concentrate on the sodium column. Besides, Subway adds genetically modified soy to almost all of their foods. If you want healthy kidneys it’s best to avoid fast food in general, even the “healthy” restaurants, drink more water, and eat more parsley which is an amazing detoxifier.

Eyes, orbital area and between the Eyebrows

Liver

Oiliness, redness, flakiness and pimples between the eyebrows can mean that your liver might have been overworked and in dire need of a cleansing. Reduce greasy foods loaded with vegetable, soy, and canola oil, alcohol and pasteurized dairy (or dairy in general). Stop eating late at night as well. If you’re craving a late snack take a spoonful of raw honey. This will let your liver rest while you’re sleeping. Eat more of these during the daytime to cleanse the liver (always choose organic root vegetables):

- garlic

- grapefruit

- green tea

- carrots

- beets

- leafy green vegetables

- lemons and limes.

Upper Cheeks

Lungs and Respiratory System

Stresses to the lungs are likely to result in flare ups in the upper cheeks and even break your capillaries. Even if you’re not a smoker you may have noticed an upper cheek breakout due to:

- asthma

- allergies

- lung infections

- living in a polluted area.

The best thing to do is to avoid smoking and second hand smoke.

Lower Cheeks

Gum or Teeth Problems

Gum or teeth issues might contribute to acne in the lower cheek area. Be sure to eliminate refined sugar and soft drinks from your diet. Oil pulling is a great habit to start if you’re experiencing any kind of gum or teeth issues. It’s also a nice idea to eat plenty of fresh fiber rich fruits and vegetables to strengthen your teeth and gums from chewing honest natural foods.

Sides of the Chin

Hormones and Genitals

This mostly impacts women. Flare ups on the sides of the chin are a perfect indication of hormonal imbalance. This can be because of menstruation, birth control, or a diet high in soy. Sometimes, even emotional or physical stress can lead to hormonal imbalances. Get enough sleep and make a habit of meditating or doing yoga to keep the mind concentrated and stress-free. Be sure to take lots of essential fatty acids such as Omega 3s. Some herbs that can help balance hormones include:

- licorice

- schisandra

- holy basil

- maca

- burdock

- red raspberry leaves

- rhodiola

- milk thisle.

- Green tea is also a brilliant anti-androgen.

Chin

Small intestine and stomach

This is usually caused by a bad diet and food allergies. If your diet is appropriate you just might not be digesting the nutrients you put into it. We were always told that we are what we eat, which is true to an extent.

More correctly however, we are what we can digest. If your gut is lacking probiotics and absolutely out of balance from not eating organically fermented foods or taking probiotic capsules, it won’t matter how much great wholesome food you’re consuming.

The nutrients will just pass right through you. Refer to the upper forehead section to learn more about what to eat to get your gut working the way it should.

Additionally stress, lack of sleep, and dehydration can wreak havoc on your stomach and small intestine. Getting a good nights sleep, drinking plenty of water, and addressing your stress by making lifestyle changes and practicing yoga/meditation are great non-dietary ways to address your chin acne.