This is a collaborative post.
You may have been wondering for a long time what foods cause acne. This is a common skin condition affecting up to 50 million people in the United States every year. It is not a life-threatening condition, but it leaves skin scars and can be painful if it’s severe.
If you have acne, you will notice black or white pimples, and this change in your skin can affect your self-esteem.
The pores of your skin get blocked with dead skin, oil, or bacteria, and your skin will do anything possible to get rid of them. Pimples will occur when the oil or dead skin is not able to leave the skin.
Risk factors that lead to the growth of acne include hormonal changes resulting from pregnancy or puberty. Certain medications like birth control pills and diets can also lead to acne.
What Foods Cause Acne-Everything to Know
It is no longer a myth that certain foods can cause acne. Even if you follow a clean diet at home, the food you consume may become a setback when you start developing acne. The different types of food you consume can contribute to hormonal acne.
If you consume certain foods in excess, they send signals to your glands and create hormones. If these hormones are produced in abundance, they also signal oil glands in your skin to create oil or sebum. Bacteria love skin oil, and together they lead to a painful acne cycle.
With this in mind and still wondering what foods cause acne, read on and gather robust and helpful information.
1. Dairy
Most of the studies based on evidence that you will come across suggest that acne is easily irritated by dairy. Dairy cows that are fed artificial hormones can also affect their milk supply. Those hormones can disrupt the hormones or functioning of your body once you consume milk products.
When your endocrine system detects these hormones in the milk, they respond with an overproduction of oil and trigger acne. Growth hormones found in milk are known to worsen acne no matter what you do. Significantly, when milk products are combined with high levels of refined foods and processed sugars in your diet can balance your insulin levels.
These additions that help increase milk taste and creaminess trigger inflammation in your skin or body. Cow’s milk affects your body by increasing the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which plays a great role in tissue growth.
Your body will start to produce more cells and leading to oil production on the skin’s surface that can trigger acne by blocking skin pores.
2. Refined Carbohydrates
Your love for a hot bread bowl or fresh-made paste can expose you to unimagined skin conditions like acne. Refined carbohydrates are among the top foods that cause acne and related complications. These carbohydrates can either be refined grains or sugars.
Refined grains are rich in fibre, minerals, and vitamins, but they lose their important nutrients due to overprocessing. The high glycemic index will cause a spike in glucose once you consume these foods.
They will lead to an increase in insulin-like growth factors and the acne production cycle.
Refined foods that offer “empty calories” include pasta, white bread, white potatoes, salad dressing, white rice, and breakfast cereals.
3. Sugars
Hormonal acne can also be triggered by foods rich in high sugar, as these foods tend to affect insulin levels in the body.
Insulin spikes cause unexpected cell growth and oil production on the skin. To stay acne-free, keep off sugary drinks and foods.
4. Fast Foods
You can’t look at foods that cause acne without including fast foods on your list. Most fast foods are full of cheap oils, fillers, and inflammatory sugars that are not good for your body’s overall functioning. Keep off food items such as milkshakes, hot dogs, sodas, French fries, burgers, and nuggets.
These foods cause acne because they change the metabolism and boost insulin levels. High insulin levels can make your skin thicker, and drier, and flakes of dry skin will block skin pores. And when the skin’s sebaceous glands produce more oil, they will trigger acne.
To Sum Up
With a clear understanding of what foods cause acne, you should not hesitate to take immediate action and figure out how to defeat this condition.
Start by eliminating foods that cause acne from your diet. Get rid of dairy, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and fast food in your diet and opt for better substitutes.
You can opt for almond milk, coconut milk, hazelnut milk, sweet potatoes, whole-grain foods, and fruits and drink more water. Be patient, disciplined, and persistent, and you will overcome acne hassle-free.
Significantly, try and avoid over-the-counter treatments and oil-based cleansers or beauty products to fight acne. Do it the natural way by minding your daily diet. More tips to treat acne here.
