subject: Acne And How What You Eat Can Make It Worse [print this page] I used to think that oily skin and acne was linked to the amount of chocolate I consumed. Since then I've been through times of bad acne, without any chocolate being involved. There's also been weeks where chocolate has been a frequent part of my diet and my skin has been clear.
I now know that acne is more complicated, and the diet is one of many variables that can influence your acne. The link between your diet and acne isn't based on one item or type of food. It's based on your diet as a whole.
When we consume refined carbohydrates and sugar , our body produces more insulin and growth factor. This leads to an increase in male hormones which then leads to an increased production of sebum (the oil on your skin). It's the surplus oil that your skin produces that leads to worsened acne. You might say that chocolate can effect acne, but it's not just the chocolate, it's the diet as a whole.
Experts now believe that "the western diet" may actually lead to worsened acne and oilier skin. If your diet is heavily based on processed carbs and sugar then there are adjustments that you could make to your diet to improve your skin condition.
A health professor at Colorado State University compared some acne data between the US,Paraguay and Papua New Guinea. In the US, the eating plans of the individuals were primarily based on refined carbs and 80 to 95% of them had issues with acne. By comparison, in the other countries where the eating habits don't include processed carbohydrates, acne was non-existent. This is just 1 of a number of scientific studies that link the processed carb based diet to oily skin and acne.
Try to decrease the amount of processed carbs and sugars in your diet, and introducing more fruit, vegetables and proteins.
Dairy products have also been associated with acne. It is actually non-organic dairy goods that might be the issue. This is something my mum actually points out. Non-organic dairy products contain hormones and bio-active molecules. It is the hormones that cause the problem. Hormones effect the body in a wide variety of ways. If you drink non-organic milk, try switching to organic milk for a week and see if it makes a difference. There have been reports that confirm this theory too, however this is such an easy change to make that I encourage trying it out yourself.
One other thing that's worth thinking about is food allergies. Now some cases, acne could be a result of eating one type of food. If you're intolerant to a type of food then acne might be one of the side effects caused by consuming that food. Lactose intolerance is a common one so it could be dairy (organic or not) that's causing the acne. Other common intolerance's are are eggs and wheat. If it's an intolerance that's causing the acne then it is quite hard to find out. The side effects can be so mild that it is tough to notice what it might be or even if you have got an intolerance. If you find that your acne is really closely related to a type of food that you eat, try giving it up for a week or so and seeing if it makes the difference.
