Acne or pimples: foods that can trigger or worsen it!

Acne is a skin condition affecting the face and upper arms and shoulder regions of the body. Also called pimples, they occur due to multiple reasons and are common during and after adolescence.

Foods also act as triggers for acne and can worsen the condition. Which foods can worsen acne?

Acne, the skin condition

Acne is a skin condition in which the hair follicles get plugged by dead skin cells and oil. These are also called pimples and they can be either white heads to blackheads.

Their occurrence coincides with adolescence and hence they are a matter of great concern for the youth who want to look their best at that age.

They try various remedies to get rid of the condition. But one fact that they overlook is that certain dietary changes can improve acne.

Omitting certain foods from the diet can help a lot to decrease pimples. Because these foods tend to worsen acne or act as triggers for it.

Foods that can trigger or worsen pimples

Certain foods act as triggers for acne and can worsen it. Therefore, it is best to avoid them in the diet or decrease the amount consumed so that the skin gets free of these blemishes.

Milk

Milk is rich in calcium and required for healthy bones and teeth. But sadly enough, it can also make acne worse. Skimmed milk is the worst in this matter.

The exact cause of this triggering is not known. But researchers believe that it could be due to the hormones in cow’s milk that are transmitted to humans on drinking this milk.

Sugars and carbohydrates

The acne risk is more in people who consume foods with high sugars or carbs. These include soda drinks, white bread, pasta, white rice, and cakes.

These foods cause an elevation of blood sugar. To bring down the glucose, insulin production in the body improves. And this overproduction affects the secretion of other hormones in the body as well leading to acne.

Chocolate

There are a few studies that have shown that people who consume lots of chocolates have a higher chance of acne development. The exact reason for this remains unclear to date.

Cocoa is not the reason because those who had chocolates with higher cocoa content did not have a higher risk compared to those who had chocolates with normal cocoa amounts.

But in case the teenager still wants to consume chocolates, he/she can have dark chocolates that have no or less milk or sugar in them.

Low fiber foods

High-fiber foods assist in acne improvement. This could be partly because high fiber can control blood sugar and hence chances of acne are lessened. Therefore, low-fiber foods would either not affect or might increase the chances of acne.

Also, read Foods to eat to get glowing skin!

Oily foods?

There is a common belief that oily foods can worsen or cause acne. But this is not true. Greasy foods do not lead to acne formation, dietitians say.