Diet & Acne

Get rid of acne by eating healthy

Acne is caused by a combination of factors including inflammation, excess sebum production, thickening of the cells lining pilosebaceous follicles and multiplication of the bacteria c.acnes. Environmental especially diet is thought to play a role in worsening acne. Implicated diets include diet with a high glycemic load/index, high in dairy, meats and fatty foods (omega 6-rich foods).

• Acne is one of the commonest skin disorder we treat as dermatologists.

• Women are affected more than men, and over 85% of teenagers are affected

• Usually starts in the teenage years, for some it progresses into adulthood (persistent acne), while for others it starts for the first time in their adult years (adult-onset acne).

So what causes acne?

• Genetics play the biggest role in acne formation

• But 4 other factors are implicated-increased sebum production, rapid increase in number of the bacteria c.acnes, thickening and blockage of the hair follicle opening and inflammation

• Environmental factors including diet, stress, smoking etc have been also implicated in worsening acne.

Let’s look at how diet plays a role in making acne worse:

• High glyceamic load/high glyceamic index foods ( (include white rice, white bread, pretzels, white bagels, white baked potatoes, crackers, sugar-sweetened beverages and surprisingly watermelon) and diets high in dairy lead to over production of insulin and IGF-1, which ultimately lead to overproduction of sebum and hyperproliferation of follicular cell that promote blockage

• Increased IGF-1 also lead to over production of androgens, which lead to increased sebum production

• High consumption of dairy and meat increases leucine also leading to both increased sebum production and hyperproliferation of follicular cells

• Fatty foods especially fast foods are high mainly in omega-fatty acids 6(rather than omega 3) which promotes inflammation

Foods to consider

Can you neat your way to improving acne or at least helping your acne treatment work?

• Diets high in Omega-3 reduces inflammation and decrease production of IGF-1

• Supplementing with Probiotics lead to a decrease in hyperproliferation of the bacteria c.acnes and reduces hyperproliferation of the follicular cells with a positive impact on acne reduction

• A diet low in dairy, sugary foods and meat will improve acne by reducing IGF-1, insulin and Leucin and therefore inhibiting mTORC1

• A diet high in vegetable and fruits also improves acne by lowering production of insulin and IGF-1

• High vegetable diets are also thought to directly inhibit mTORC1, which plays the biggest role in acne pathogenesis.

“YOUR DIET SHOULD BE YOUR MEDICINE, AND YOUR MEDICINE YOUR DIET”