Once thought a scourge of the teenage years, acne can persist well into adulthood. While you might have little influence over some contributing factors like genetics, you can control what you eat, which appears to influences your skin. Several controlled trials have found that people who eat more sugar have significantly more acne, Dr. Mark Hyman, chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine, reported in a piece for the Huffington Post in February 2011. While this one change alone might not be enough to cure your acne, it cannot hurt to try -- reducing your sugar intake has many other health benefits.
Insulin Spikes and Acne
Your pancreas produces the hormone insulin to help move glucose, a form of sugar manufactured from carbohydrates, into your cells for energy. Certain foods, like those high in sugar, produce lots of glucose. The more glucose you produce, the more insulin you will release at once. Large spikes in insulin production appear to trigger processes that lead to acne, such as the production of hormones that increase oil production and the buildup of dead skin cells. This combination leads to clogged pores, which result in a nasty red pimples.
Specific Studies
A team of Australian researchers theorized that diet was a contributing factor to a lower incidence of acne in non-Westernized countries and tested the effects of eating a diet rich in high-glycemic foods -- those that raise blood sugar quickly -- against a diet abundant in low-glycemic foods in a group of acne-prone teenage boys. Their results, published in the July 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," indicate a connection. The study participants who ate the lower-glycemic diet experienced a reduction in acne lesions, while the high-glycemic group experienced an increase.
Dr. Panta Rouhani of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami and a team of researchers conducted a survey of South Beach Diet participants to determine if the low-glycemic diet had any effect on acne. They formulated a web-based questionnaire that gathered information about how closely participants followed the diet, the severity of their acne and other relevant data, such as current acne treatments. Almost 2,500 people filled out the questionnaire, with a large number reporting a history of acne. Eighty-seven percent reported an improvement in their acne. These results were published in a 2009 issue of the "Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology."
Considerations for Other Types of Carbohydrates
It isn't just sugar-rich foods that contribute to the acne-causing spike in insulin. Other foods that could prove problematic include starchy foods high in carbohydrates like potatoes and corn. Refined carbohydrates like white flour breads and pasta also break down quickly, leading to large releases of insulin. If you want optimal benefit from controlling your acne through diet, limit these types of foods, as well. Choose whole-grains like brown rice, whole wheat and oatmeal over refined grains -- their higher fiber content leads to a slower breakdown.
Using the Glycemic Index
Using the glycemic index could help you determine what foods are more or less likely to contribute to your acne. The index ranks foods on a scale of 1 to 100, the higher the number, the faster it will raise blood sugar. Foods that rank 70 or higher are considered high-glycemic, while those that rank 55 or lower are considered low-glycemic. Many websites offer rankings of common foods.
References
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; A Low-Glycemic Load Diet Improves Symtpoms in Acne Vulgaris Patients;Robyn N Smith, et al. ; July 2007
- Huffington Post; Acne: Are Milk and Sugar the Causes? ; Mark Hyman M.D.; February 2011
- Medpage Today; Acne Improves with a Popular Low Glycemic Diet from South Beach; Charles Bankhead; March 2009
Member Comments