The health and wellbeing of your skin is affected by so much more than just your beauty regimen, and maintaining a balanced diet is one of the most essential steps for preventing the development of signs of aging and other issues you may be struggling with. By now you may have learned that acne and persistent breakouts can still plague your skin long after your teenage years are behind you, and whether it be due to hormones, stress, or even your diet, there are a number of factors that can make acne worse.
The top line of these factors, unfortunately, may be the foods you’re eating regularly, so if you’ve been struggling with a fresh patch of breakouts there are several foods you may want to look out for that are common in most diets and could be to blame for your breakouts.
Processed Foods
It’s first and foremost important to understand the underlying causes of acne in order to understand how your diet may be to blame for its development on your skin. Breakouts are often due to increased oil production or inflammation, with Elaine F. Kung, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor at Weill-Cornell Medical College breaking the causes down into four categories: excess sebum production, bacteria, clogged hair follicles, and inflammation. With this, diet has been linked to triggering some of these factors, making it one of the keys to reducing acne, even as an adult.
While studies on how your diet can impact the appearance of your skin are limited, it’s worth noting that a Western diet is often packed with processed foods that are oftentimes not found in other cultures. This is notable as many other cultures do not struggle with such severe breakouts and acne, so there may be an apparent through-line with these facts. “Certain populations historically do not have acne: the Canadian Inuit, South African Zulus, Japanese Okinawans, Aché of Paraguay, and Kitavan islanders of Papua New Guinea,” notes Kung. “The appearance of acne in these groups has been attributed to their acceptance of Western diets, including processed foods, dairy, and refined sugars.”
Tying back to sebum production, processed and highly sugar foods are some of the top culprits for increased sebum which may, in turn, lead to breakouts. “We do know that foods can cause inflammation and increase sebum production through scientific research. High glycemic index or glycemic load (aka sugar, juices and soft drinks, refined grains, processed foods, cured meats) can increase free androgens and insulin growth factor 1, which causes more sebum production,” says Kung.
Dairy Products
However, it’s not only processed foods that can create an increase in inflammation and oil production within the skin, and dairy and meat products may also have a negative impact when consumed frequently. “Dairy, milk products, whey protein also increase IGF-1 thereby resulting in oilier skin. Meat and dairy protein increases leucine, which triggers an inflammatory pathway,” explains Kung. While these foods may not be intrinsically bad for you, for those suffering from breakouts and increased acne as an adult, it may be worth evaluating the amount of dairy or processed meats you’re consuming daily as this could be a sneaky cause of your skin woes.
“I often suggest to my acne patients a diet low in sugar and processed foods but high in green leafy vegetables,” suggests Kung of how to tailor your diet to improve the appearance of your complexion. You can still enjoy acne-provoking food items in moderation, but for the sake of your skin, reducing dairy and processed food consumption can make a world of difference.
