Clear skin and your diet

A friend asked me if there is anything specific she can eat to clear her skin from blemishes and acne. This got me reading relevant nutrition data and studies to get the answer. 


So, the whole chocolate thing makes acne worse is a very old study from the 60s and 70s and has been disproves by recent studies. BUT there is a link between acne and your diet:

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A diet with a low glycemic index helps with acne 

• Low glycemic index diet includes foods that release glucose into the blood very slowly 
• This in turn causes blood insulin level to be lower. In addition to helping diabetic patients, having low insulin blood levels also helps with acne flares. 
• Foods with a low glycemic index to enjoy (Tip: foods high in fiber usually have a low GI)  
• Use agave as your sweetener of choice (similar to honey, and tastes amazing) 
• whole wheat and multigrain bread
• all bran cereal
• barley (find out more about whole grains such as barley Here) 
• rice 
• Yogurt
• Fruit such as:
• cherries
• grapefruit 
• apple
• kiwi 
• banana 
• grape 
• peach
• All vegetables and beans except potatoes, beets, and broad beans 
• peanuts
• Foods with a high glycemic index to avoid (tip: anything made with white flower usually has a high GI) 
• Regular sugar and corn syrup
• Ice cream 
• Potatoes 
• beets 
• potato chips 
• Rice cakes 
• Bicuits
• white bread
• baguette
• corn flakes
• fruit such as 
• watermelon 
• pineapple 
• mago 
• raisins
• pretzels
• dates

A diet high in omega 3s and low in omega 6s helps with inflammation of the skin due to acne 

• omega 3s have an anti-inflammatory effect which a study has shown to reduce inflammatory lesions by 70% 
• If you do not get enough omega 3s, consider going on a fish oil supplelemt. Check out my previous article about how to choose a fish oil supplement Here
• Foods high in omega 3 to eat more of: 
• Salmon 
• Flax meal and flax oil 
• Sardines 
• Walnuts 
• omega 3 fortified foods 
• fortified spreads
• fortified orange juice 
• Foods high in omega 6 to avoid: (quick tip: Replace your oil with olive oil) 
• safflower oil 
• vegetable oil 
• corn oil 
• soybean oil 
• sunflower oil 

Milk, especially skim milk has been shown in a few studies to make acne worse 

If you are also trying to lose weight consider eating according to the grazing diet. Find out more about this way of eating in a previous article I wrote here.

Xoxo, 

Danielle