While most acne treatments involve applying messy lotions and possibly taking daily medications, some nutritionally minded acne sufferers and researchers are looking to diet as a way to cure pimples. While it's still not clear if altering your diet can improve your complexion, there is growing evidence that adopting a low-glycemic diet can help curb your acne.
Causes
Acne results from an interplay of your hormones with your skin's oil glands, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Hormones called androgens stimulate those oil glands to produce oil--in some cases, too much oil--which then can help to clog your pores. Higher androgen levels cause more oil production. In experimenting with a low-glycemic diet to curb your acne, you're actually seeking to lower levels of another hormone, insulin, which affects your androgen levels.
Function
Your body produces insulin to help you digest food. When you eat a meal high in simple carbohydrates, your insulin level spikes and then falls. According to the website LowGlycemicDiet.com, a low-glycemic diet features complex carbohydrates, which keep your insulin level more even. This can prevent low blood sugar symptoms, lower your overall blood sugar and help you to lose weight, in addition to perhaps curbing your acne, according to the website.
Research
Only a few studies cover the effects of low-glycemic diets on acne. One study, presented by Dr. Panta Rouhani at the American Academy of Dermatology 2010 meeting, looked at acne in adherents to the South Beach Diet, a diet low in carbohydrates that also meets low-glycemic diet standards. Rouhani found that 87 percent of South Beach dieters reported improvement in their acne within three months of starting the diet.
Foods
Several websites provide lists of common foods and their glycemic indexes. Generally, if you decide to experiment with a low-glycemic diet in an attempt to improve your acne, you should aim to eat foods with the lowest index numbers, which usually means consuming high-fiber complex carbohydrates instead of low-fiber carbohydrates high in sugar and white flour. For example, the website LowGlycemicDiet.com lists corn flakes with a glycemic index of 92, while All-Bran with Fiber cereal has a glycemic index of 38.
Considerations
Medical science still hasn't proven a link between low-glycemic diets and acne improvement. Dr. R.N. Smith, who published a study on low-glycemic diets and acne in 2007 in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," noted that weight loss in acne patients may play a greater role than the glycemic index of carbohydrates consumed. However, Smith said nutrition may play a role in acne formation.
