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The Scientific Link Between Diet and Acne

I took antibiotics and topical creams for years, so I understand your skepticism if you believe it when you hear that there's no link between diet and acne. After over ten years of taking these medical treatments, I realised my acne wasn't going away in a hurry — in fact, it was getting worse. And so was my general health; I was depressed, had no energy and regularly had digestive problems. I finally cut free of the prescribed treatments and started my search of a more natural approach; I was sure there must be a better way. I read numerous health and nutrition books and experimented with my own diet until I found the right solution for me. I truly believe the information I've collected can be generalised for most acne sufferers.

Here, I explain 'the science bit'.

Why do doctors and dermatologists say diet doesn't cause acne?

Doctors and dermatologists say diet doesn't cause acne because they can't sell you a healthy diet. This may sound cynical, but they are under huge pressure from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe antibiotics, topical creams, Dianette, Roaccutane and other treatments. Also, think about this: why is there little research into diet and acne? Again, because there's no money in it. Drug companies fund most research and if the aim is to find a link between acne and diet, there's no drug candidate at the end of it. This is also why, through no fault of their own, doctors and dermatologists always say there is no link between diet and acne — when they were training in their profession there was little documented research to say diet can aggravate acne. Their argument for this is based around the fact that diet doesn't cause acne — you may have acne and eat relatively healthily, while your friend eats fried food, chocolate, pizza etc and stays blemish-free. This is because there are several factors in why certain individuals get acne and others don't. If you are predisposed to get acne, diet can aggravate it.

The scientists believe the modern Western diet is to blame

However, there is research* pointing the finger at diet — eating refined carbohydrates and sugar leads to a surge in insulin and an insulin-like growth factor called IGF-1. This in turn leads to an excess of male hormones, which encourage the skin to excrete large amounts of sebum. This grease-like substance encourages the growth of bacteria responsible for acne. The scientists believe the modern Western diet is to blame.

refined carbs/sugar = more insulin = more hormones = more sebum (oil) = more bacteria = more acne

Think about it — underneath it all, we're just mammals and the human body has an innate ability to heal itself. Animals in the wild don't generally get degenerative diseases, so why should we? It's a symptom of modern society. Most modern diseases, including acne and much more serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, are caused by diet and lifestyle. It's interesting to note, that domesticated animals (livestock and pets) do suffer from modern diseases, and it's us who provide their diet and lifestyle. Our natural diet is fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. When you cook many of the foods that have become the staple diet of people today (bread, pasta etc), they become similar in chemical structure as sugar and cause the following reaction in the body:

Refined carbs/sugar = more insulin = more hormones = more sebum (oil) = more bacteria = more acne.

Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds in their natural state provide the body with all the nutrients and enzymes required for digestion and absorbsion. In cooked food many of the vitamins and minerals have been destroyed and virtually all of the enzymes, this means the body has to work even harder to digest and absorb what nutrition is left. Increasing temperature causes exponential increase in the rate of chemical reactions. When food is heated, the rate of reactions of degradation and oxidation of nutrients increases dramatically. As a result, we consume fewer nutrients and more acne aggravating free radicals.

The molecular structure of cooked food has changed so much, the body doesn't recognise it and produces white blood cells (leukocytosis) — this is what happens when we are sick. When you put raw food in the body, it doesn't produce white blood cells and digestive leukocytosis does not occur. What does that tell you? And, because the molecular structure of food has changed in the cooking process, there are free radicals (atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons) floating around the blood stream. Free radicals are what people commonly refer to as 'toxins'. In a person with acne, often the digestive system is sluggish — from poor diet and/or antibiotics. This means it doesn't work efficiently to get rid of toxins and absorb nutrients from food, and these toxins are expelled via the skin (acne).

The value of antioxidants

Nutritionists are always telling us of the value of antioxidants — they mop up free radicals. This is basically what a detox diet does, it's full of antioxidant food to get rid of the toxins. If you put the right fuel in, you can expect dramatic results. A diet rich in antioxidant food will help reduce acne.

More information on diet and acne >>

* Loren Cordain, PhD. et al. Acne Vulgaris A Disease of Western Civilization. Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:1584-1590.