Foods That Cause Acne

One of the great myths about acne is that it can be caused by (or made worse by) certain foods. This is myth because there is no evidence of any foods that cause acne directly. There is evidence, however, pointing to the effects some foods have on your body that may increase some of the natural factors that contribute to acne problems.

The myth of foods that cause acne

Ask anybody who currently has acne or who had acne in the past and they are likely to tell you about certain foods that cause acne. Chocolate is perhaps the most commonly mentioned, along with pizza, candy, and the like. Even dairy products like milk and cheese are often said to cause acne, as well as red meat and caffeine.

The truth is that there is no evidence whatsoever of foods that cause acne directly. Increasingly, though, there is some evidence emerging that some foods increase certain factors that contribute to acne. The chief culprit being examined at the moment is the role of blood sugar in triggering hormones in your body.

When you eat food, the energy in that food is converted to sugars in your blood. These sugars circulate through the body in the bloodstream, being absorbed by cells along the way. This is how your body gets its energy and its nutrition. As your body absorbs the sugars your blood sugar naturally and gradually falls to a lower level.

If, however, your blood sugar levels go up and down rapidly and dramatically, this can trigger your body to release more hormones that it normally would. And since excess hormones (such as what happens in adolescence) contribute to the development of acne, it makes sense that extreme variations in your blood sugars may have an indirect link with your acne.

Which foods are most likely to affect your blood sugars?

One of the suggestions many experts are now giving to people with acne is to be careful about eating foods that can cause a lot of variation in blood sugars. Examples of these kinds of food include:

Chocolate – This food caused blood sugar variations due to the high sugar content, high fat content, and even the caffeine content

Refined sugars and carbohydrates – These are foods like white bread, flour, pasta, candy, soda pop, and the like. They can cause extreme fluctuations in blood sugars.

Fats – Foods that are high in fat can cause fluctuations in blood sugars as well. Additionally, some experts feel that a diet high in fat can lead to excess fat proteins being excreted through the skin which in turn can worsen acne problems. This line of investigation is still underway and has not been confirmed.

The bottom line when it comes to foods that cause acne is that nobody knows for sure just how much of a relationship exists there. Some people find that their body is more sensitive to certain foods while other people don’t notice any kind of sensitivity at all.

If you are suffering from acne it doesn’t hurt to take a look at the concept of foods that cause acne and how they might be affecting your body. Experiment a little bit if you like, and if you notice a change in your acne by leaving out certain foods then by all means continue to cut back on those specific foods.