Can your diet give you spots?
For decades we’ve pondered the same question with no definitive answer: is there a link between what you eat and the quality of your skin?
Old wives’ tales tell us chocolate and pizza are the main culprits for acne, but most doctors say your skin quality is largely hormonal, and while a healthy diet is a good idea, no food specifically ‘‘causes’’ you to break out in spots.
The science behind all of this is inconclusive. Many studies have been conducted on the matter of the human diet’s relation to skin quality, and every study’s findings can be contradicted by those of another.
Here’s what we can say, and what every dermatologist will tell you: there is no definitive evidence to prove that what you eat affects your skin.
However, some studies do give us useful guidelines on what foods might – I stress, might – cause poorer quality skin.
There is some evidence to support a low-glycemic diet to improve skin quality, because many skin problems – including acne – are exacerbated through inflammation.
Similar science used in understanding diabetes is applied to getting an idea of what causes skin inflammation. Foods high on the glycemic index, for example high-sugar and high-carb items, trigger an overstimulation of certain cell growth processes.
With a high-sugar diet, the body’s insulin levels spike through blood levels. The result in those prone to acne may be similar to those with diabetes (or prediabetics) – they get low-grade inflammation.
Such inflammation, in combination with oil secretion and clogged pores, can lead to what we often call a ‘‘flare up’’ of acne.
Almost everybody gets spots when they are teenagers, and while most adult acne sufferers tend to be women, low-glycemic diets have largely been proven to be beneficial for men.
A 2012 Korean study of men who cut out sugars and refined grains saw inflammation reduced (along with the size of their oil glands), and a 2007 Australian study had similar results: better insulin sensitivity, and fewer acne lesions.
If you go by these studies, the old wives’ tales might ring true – chocolate could cause spots because of its sugar content, and pizza might do the same because it’s essentially just processed white bread. No studies, however, have specifically found this correlation using these two alleged pimple-promoting foods.
Consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, flaxseed and other oils, and nuts) has been associated with a decrease in inflammatory factors in the body. Studies across the world have found that non-Western diets are likely to result in a clearer complexion, and most scientists have put this down to the deprivation of Omega-3s in our diet, alongside regular consumption of high-glycemic foods.
There’s also some evidence to suggest that milk affects the quality of your skin. It is thought that milk produced from pregnant cows contains hormones that may mess with people’s hormonal mediators. Yet again, the science behind this is dicey and inconclusive.
Putting pimples aside, the link between diet and wrinkles hasn’t been widely studied. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that high intake of vegetables, olive oil, monosaturated fats (all low-glycemic foods) and a low intake of sugars and dairy products (milk, butter, margarine) correlated to less wrinkling on sun-exposed parts of the body. More research is needed before that can be verified.
Other skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis are often worsened by alcohol consumption.
Those who get blotchy red skin when drinking, however, may have a condition labelled ‘alcohol flush reaction’, which is caused by an accumulation of the chemical acetaldehyde – a metabolic byproduct of alcohol – in the body. This condition is most common in those of East Asian descent, where 36 per cent are thought to be affected.
As I’ve noted frequently throughout this article, a lot of the science on this subject isn’t sound. Research subjects aren’t observed when they eat everyday, so study results are usually based on selfreporting and memory recollection.
Visual evidence is also normally self-reported (e.g. subjects say, ‘‘my skin is clearer than it was 12 weeks ago’’), which makes results subjective and unquantifiable.
If you have problem skin, there is no harm in experimenting with a low-glycemic diet and a good dose of Omega-3s. At the end of the day, there’s never been any suggestion in research that these can make your skin worse. ❚ Lee Suckling has a masters degree specialising in personal health reporting. Do you have a health topic you’d like Lee to investigate? Send us an email to life.style@fairfaxmedia.co.nz with Dear Lee in the subject line.