The endocrine system is very important, especially with regard to acne. To help the endocrine system, in order to achieve the correct hormonal secretions and balance, it is essential to take evening primrose oil and certain vitamins. Walking, jogging and breathing exercises are also helpful. There are twenty or more little nerve centres situated in the solar plexus, with nerves extending to the different organs of the body, so deep breathing is relaxing as well as stimulating. Little veins accompany the nerves, carrying the blood to the different parts of the organs. Breathing exercises are good for minor hormonal disturbances, and, by consciously breathing deeply into the solar plexus, immediate contact is made with the different nerve centres, sending the nerve energy through to open up congestion, giving arteries a chance to force red blood and natural heat into the body and on to the various locations that may have been isolated. Try placing the left hand first on the solar plexus, then cover this hand with the right, and you form a magnetic ring. Breathe in and out slowly. For those of you who would like to develop this concept further, more detailed advice on breathing and other exercises can be found in my books Stress and Nervous Disorders and Body Energy. Such exercises are excellent as a general promoting influence for the nervous system.

The nervous system is made up of two parts; the involuntary and sympathetic systems. The more you can relax this busy hormonal housekeeping, the more you relax the nerves, and the skin will flourish. A little time, effort and thought, will go a long way towards overcoming unwanted acne problems.

Now I turn to a very much bigger problem, which can be equally persistent, but much more difficult to control. This is Acne rosacea, a chronic disease of the skin affecting the fleshy areas of the face, the nose, cheeks, chin and forehead, occurring in both sexes, usually in middle life. This condition is caused by neurovascular instability, endocrine disorders, gastro-intestinal conditions, food problems, infections, alcoholism, allergies, and various other factors. I remember that Acne rosacea was once briefly mentioned in a Gloria Hunniford programme on BBC Radio 2. When we discussed this problem I had no idea of the hundreds of letters that would reach me from people looking for an answer to this particular problem. Although over the years I have seen quite a number of cases in my practice, I did not realise that there were so many sufferers, hence the reason that I decided to set aside a section for it in this chapter.

In recent times our eating habits have changed considerably and this is probably the reason behind the large number of Acne rosacea cases, and I have had many requests for help from people who had previously attended skin clinics and dermatologists and yet had not found a cure. I have achieved my most notable successes by concentrating on clearing the lymphatic system. In doing so I have discovered that severely inflamed cases cleared especially quickly. For all of us it would be wise to give some consideration to the lymphatic system, which performs a miraculous job, much of it during our sleeping hours. Considering its influence and importance, I will try to explain why the lymphatic system is under such threat.

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