To best understand why you might experience more acne at times, it is important to realize that for most people, acne happens as an immune response to something your body is sensitive to. When you consider that acne responds to anti-inflammatory medications, such as corticosteroids, it is easy to see it as the inflammatory disease that it is. With that said, paying close attention to what you are eating and coming up with a correlation between your most severe acne cases and your diet can be helpful.
While there are certain foods that affect most of us, you can also have a food sensitivity that doesn’t make the list. You can go about finding out what foods trigger your immune system response by restricting the number of foods you eat and slowly adding things back to see what results in a spike in acne. Another way is a food sensitivity test, such as Mediator Release Testing (MRT).
Many people find that if they just eliminate the most likely culprits, they see a profound reduction in their acne symptoms. You can remove them all from your diet or do one at a time until you’ve found the one that most affects you.
- Sugars and Sweeteners – Includes sugar-sweetened beverages, cane sugar, maple syrup, agave, and honey.
- Refined Grains – Includes rice noodles, white rice, white flour pasta, bread, crackers, baked goods, desserts make with flour, and cereal. Choose whole-grain options instead.
- Dairy – While research thus far has not been able to determine why this might be the case, it has been found that teenagers who consume ice cream, milk, and other dairy experienced acne more often.
- Fast Food – This is not to say that all fast food choices are going to give you acne, but those laden with refined carbohydrates and fat should be avoided.
- Omega-6 Fats – Swap unhealthy fats to omega-3 fats that are found in nuts and fish. Avoid corn oil and other unhealthy fats.
- Chocolate – For some people, this will be the hardest one to eliminate. Despite what you’ve heard, dark chocolate is believed to be as much an acne producer as milk chocolate. Even cocoa powder can be a problem.
- Whey Protein Powder – While there hasn’t been a great deal of research on this one, some people do report increased acne when consuming whey protein. It is thought to be because of the amino acids, glutamine, and leucine and their effect on skin cells.
In addition to paying attention the foods you eat, you can also combat acne by visiting us at Ageless in the Triad Med Spa, serving the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area. We offer facial treatments and skin care products that are reliable acne solutions. Our experienced team will help you determine the right treatment for your unwanted acne so you can achieve your clear-skin goals. Call today to schedule an appointment.