Health and Nutrition Info

Rio Amazon Camu Camu CapsulesThe Best Diet for Acne--Is it a myth?

If you have acne, you may have noticed that your face breaks out more after you eat certain foods. Or maybe it starts to clear up when you eat other foods. You begin to wonder if maybe diet and acne are related, and if they are - is there a best diet for acne?

How can food and acne be related?
Not everyone believes in the connection between food and acne. But there are theories--some of which are based on scientific research--about how the two can be related. Here are a few:
- Sensitivity reactions--People who are sensitive to certain foods may get itchy hives when they eat those foods. If regular skin can react this way to food, acne-prone skin may react by breaking out more.
- Inflammation--This is the redness and swelling that happens when you hurt yourself. But inflammation doesn't have to be restricted to a specific area. It can also develop at the cellular level when you eat certain foods, and affect the condition of your skin. If you have inflammatory acne, you're experiencing this firsthand.
- Foods that are high in fat can make your skin oilier, which can make your pores more likely to clog.
- Foods that contain hormones, like milk and meat, can affect hormone-related acne.
- If your body is lacking certain nutrients--for example, if you don't eat a balanced diet--it can show in the condition of your skin.

Suggestions
If you decide to accept these theories, what can you do to help your acne get better? Well, here are a few foods to avoid:

- Anything that's high in saturated fat. Most animal fats fall into this category, and so do most cheeses.

- Candy, sodas, baked goods (like cakes, cookies, and donuts), and simple carbohydrates (like white bread, white rice, potatoes, and pasta)

- Products made with cow's milk, including ice cream, yogurt, cheese, and of course milk itself. (A side note: Doctors who support this idea don't think organic dairy products are any better, because milk-producing cows have normal hormones even if they don't receive extra growth hormones.)

- Meat, especially red meat

And here are some foods to include:

- Whole-grain foods, like whole wheat bread and brown rice

- Organically-fed or free-range poultry

- Soy milk

- Vegetables, especially the dark green leafy ones

- Fruits, especially if they're orange, and berries

- Less-processed sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup

- Herbal teas (instead of sodas) - but watch what they're sweetened with.

You don't have to make major changes to your diet right away. Just try a few small things--like maybe cutting back on milk products--and see if it makes a difference. If it does, then there's a good chance that what you eat is affecting your acne.

Keep in mind that there is disagreement on this subject among the experts. There are even some people who believe that foods don't cause acne, but they may make it worse. If this is the case, then the best diet for acne wouldn't be able to cure it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't change what you eat. If doing that can keep your acne from getting too bad, then not only will you look better now, but you might be able to avoid permanent scarring in the future.

Peggy Adamik is a former RN. She writes about many different health topics, but she's especially interested in holistic therapies. Check out her page The Best Diet for Acne for more information about the relationship between acne and food.

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