Skin food: 8 times nutrition and their effect on acne

Healing starts from within. Of course, skincare can partly help when you're struggling with acne, but for lasting results, solutions that nourish that skin more deeply are needed. Certain foods, for example, can help boost your immune system and balance your hormones (or vice versa).

The relationship between acne and nutrition has therefore already been extensively studied, but a certain amount of caution is necessary. No research is conclusive. What's more, every skin is different: how you react to what you eat will also depend on that. It is therefore best to be assisted by a dermatologist and is best combined with a treatment. Can you treat acne with food or is there food that is just bad for your acne? Does milk or dairy give you acne, can you eat chocolate?

‍

Nevertheless, we would like to list a number of general trends.

Which food seems to help with acne symptoms?

01 Foods high in antioxidants

In addition to hormones, oxygen radicals can also be the cause of acne. Antioxidants are known to neutralize harmful substances and therefore radicals. In this way, they help protect your skin from within. Foods that are high in antioxidants could therefore be effective in reducing acne.

• Berries: with blueberries as a favorite.
• Nuts and seeds: walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds.
• Spices: cinnamon, clove, mint, oregano, rosemary, saffron, sage, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric and dill.

‍

02 Foods high in vitamin A

Vitamin A is a popular ingredient for acne treatments (isotretinoin acne treatment). It ensures good cell division, which unclogs pores more quickly and reduces sebum plugs. And you can also find it in food.

• Yellow-orange coloured fruit and vegetables: apricots, mangoes, carrots, sweet potatoes.
• Green leafy vegetables: spinach, bok choy, endive, cabbage.
• Eggs: and especially the yolks.
• Pisces: with tuna as a favorite.

‍

03 Foods high in vitamin C

Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties. It can therefore help ensure that clogged pores do not further develop into an infection.

Oranges, strawberries, kiwis, sprouts and other brassicas.

04 High-fiber food

Fiber thus suppresses insulin production. This gives male hormones no chance and reduces the risk of acne flare-ups.

Legumes, beans, lentils, oatmeal, whole wheat bread and pasta.

05 Healthy fats

Essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 help the skin's natural oil barrier and keep inflammation under control.

Nuts and seeds, oily fish, leafy vegetables, cabbages.

Which diet seems to make acne symptoms worse?

Dairy

Research into dairy and acne seems to show that dairy products have a negative effect on your acne.

These products produce insulin that stimulates growth hormones in the liver and also male hormones. These hormonal fluctuations and, in particular, the production of too many androgen hormones (= testosterone) could have a negative impact on your acne symptoms.

strikingly

Low-fat milk seems to affect acne harder. This is probably due to the fact that skimmed milk contains less estrogen.

Sugars

Also about the relationship between sugars and acne extensive research was carried out. And here, the evidence seems stronger. When you eat a lot of sugars, your blood sugar levels will rise rapidly. As a result, you will produce insulin, which in turn produces androgen hormones. These cause an increase in pimples.

Sugars are found in all kinds of foods, but simple carbohydrates in particular seem to be the culprit here. These are found in soft drinks, chips, white bread, etc.

Fact or myth: cchocolate causes more pimples

Is it really true that chocolate causes acne? Probably not. Once again, the study is not sure enough to make really concrete statements, but a comparison of subjects who ate a bar of real chocolate and subjects who ate a bar of chocolate that only looked like chocolate shows that there was no difference between the two groups.

How do you find the right diet for your complaints?

Your health, and certainly that of your skin, is unique. So what works for you doesn't necessarily work for someone else. This is also the case with the influence that your diet has on it. So changing your diet from one day to the next is pointless when it comes to dermatology.

We therefore recommend that you gradually add ingredients or make small adjustments and wait one week each time before making adjustments again. This way, you will learn how your skin responds to the changes. You can keep a kind of journal to see what helps you.

Do you want a complete treatment to achieve permanent results? Combine nutrition that strengthens your skin with a treatment plan that is drawn up and followed up by a dermatologist. Thanks the Skindr app you start your treatment within two days, supported by the best dermatological advice.

‍