Some foods, especially high glycemic and high carbohydrate foods, can promote acne by leading to high blood insulin levels. This hyperinsulinemia in turn leads to increased androgen bioavailability and high concentrations of insulin-like growth factors, which can trigger the apparition of the unpleasant zits, pimples and blemishes associated with acne. According to a study published in 2007 in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," following a low glycemic load diet can help to significantly reduce your number of acne lesions and improve your overall skin health.
Reducing Your Glycemic Load
To get rid of your acne, or significantly reduce it, you need to reduce your circulating concentrations of insulin by decreasing your dietary glycemic load. You can accomplish this by replacing high glycemic foods with low glycemic carbohydrates, lowering your total carbohydrate intake by replacing high glycemic index foods with either fat or protein, or combining these two approaches.
Breakfast
Most of the common breakfast foods are high in carbohydrates and have a high glycemic index value. Whether your breakfast typically include breakfast cereals, instant oatmeal, toasts, bagels, muffins, jam, syrups or fruit juices, all of these options can contribute to raising your insulin levels too high and promote your acne. Trade these high glycemic carbohydrates for low glycemic carbohydrates such as a bowl of steel cut oats, sourdough bread, a porridge made with quinoa and whole fruits. You can also lower your glycemic load by replacing these high-carbohydrate foods with low-carbohydrate foods like eggs, cheese, nuts, nut butter, smoked salmon, nonstarchy vegetables and deli meat.
Lunch and Dinner
At lunch and dinner, the common high glycemic and high carbohydrate foods to avoid include potatoes, whether you have them mashed, baked or fried; white rice; soft drinks; cookies and donuts. Replace these foods with low glycemic options, such as beans, lentils, barley, quinoa, sweet potatoes, whole fruits and grain products made with stone-ground whole grain flour. You can also eat small servings of these carbohydrate-rich foods and fill up your plate with low-carbohydrate options like nonstarchy vegetables, protein from fish, seafood, poultry, meat and cheese, and healthy fats from olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds. By choosing low glycemic index carbohyrates and reducing your carbohydrate intake, you will be better able to manage your insulin levels and you will see noticeable improvements on your acne within a few weeks.
Snacks
Most people grab a bag of chips, a chocolate bar, dried fruits, a can of soft drink or a granola bar whenever they need a little something to keep them going until the next meal. These foods are both high in carbohydrate and high on the glycemic index scale, leading to high levels of insulin and contributing to your acne. Swap these snacks for low carbohydrate and low glycemic index alternatives, such as celery sticks with peanut butter, a fresh apple with cheese, baby carrots with hummus, a handful of almonds, cottage cheese mixed with berries or a few slices of deli meat with cheese.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Acne
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; A Low-Glycemic-Load Diet Improves Symptoms in Acne Vulgaris Patients: a Randomized Controlled Trial; Robyn N. Smith, et al.; July 2007
- "Archives of Dermatology"; Acne Vulgaris - A Disease of Western Civilization; Loren Cordain, et al.; 2000
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values; Kaye Foster-Powell, et al.; 2002
- University of Sydney: The Glycemic Index
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