What dietary taboos should you pay attention to due to acne?

At present, the dermatology field has clearly confirmed that the diet that can aggravate acne is mainly high GI (glycemic index) foods, dairy products, especially skimmed milk. These two categories are the priority to control. The remaining taboos do not need to be one-size-fits-all, just adjust based on your own body response.

A while ago, I treated a boy who was just a sophomore in college. He had recurring cystic acne on his face for more than half a year. He couldn't get better with medicines and antibiotics. When I asked him, I found out that he had at least two cups of iced milk tea every day. He always ordered French fries as a snack in the afternoon. He drank a glass of skimmed milk before going to bed and said he wanted to grow taller. I asked him to stop all these things without changing the medicine. When he went back for a follow-up visit two weeks later, the inflammation was almost half gone. He was shocked and said that he didn't expect that changing his diet would be more effective than anything else.

In fact, the principle is not complicated. After eating high-GI foods, blood sugar rises quickly, which is like pressing the accelerator switch for the sebaceous glands. The insulin surges and androgen activity increases, and the sebum secretion directly increases. The already blocked pores are prone to inflammation and acne breakouts. As for skimmed milk, current studies believe that the whey protein in it promotes the secretion of insulin-like growth factors, which is more likely to aggravate acne than whole milk. If you really want to drink milk to supplement nutrition, it is safer to switch to sugar-free yogurt or whole milk. There is basically no problem if it is controlled within 300ml per day.

As for the "acne caused by eating spicy food" that everyone has been arguing about for many years, no clear evidence-based basis has been found to prove that capsaicin itself can induce acne. Many people get acne after eating hot pot or spicy hot pot. In fact, it is because of the ice cola, brown sugar glutinous rice cake, and high-fat ingredients in the butter pot that they eat with it. Oil and high sugar content are at play. You see, many people in Sichuan and Chongqing areas who eat spicy food still have smooth skin. If your acne gets worse every time you eat spicy food, it may be that you are sensitive to capsaicin, so you should avoid it. If you don’t have any reaction after eating it, there is no need to quit hard at all.

There are also many people who say that you should not eat seafood or beef or mutton if you have acne. It makes no sense. As long as you are not allergic to these foods and do not see more acne after eating, you can eat when you need to. On the contrary, if you consume enough protein, your skin repair ability can keep up, and acne will heal faster. I once met a girl who only ate white porridge with vegetables to get rid of acne. After three months, the acne didn't go away much. She lost a lot of hair and her face was still sallow. It was totally not worth the gain.

Of course, there is no need to overdo it. Occasionally, if you are craving for a cup of milk tea and a piece of cake, you will not immediately break out in acne. Long-term dietary rules are the most important. After all, fighting acne is a slow effort. If it is too harsh, it will be difficult to persevere.