Acne comes and refuses to leave for something like forever. It is a common skin ailment that normally breaks into your lives when you have just hit the puberty. So, when you are already struggling with the issues pertaining to your looks, this culprit adds more to your agony by spoiling those further. The causes for the outbreak of acne can be many, but the ones that fail to catch your attention are actually related to the food you eat. Food that can cause acne actually creates an impact on the internal working of our body system. Some produce certain hormones or chemicals that enhance the toxin build-up inside. In the condition of not finding any immediate outlet, the toxins exit the body through skin route leading to acne.
Toxins are not the real cause always, though. Basically, it is the sebaceous glands beneath the skin and its functioning that works behind the outbreak of acne. Sebaceous glands secrete a substance called sebum which is actually responsible for lubricating of the skin. But, when the sebum is produced more than required by the glands, it gets accumulated in the form of protrusions on skin commonly known as pimples. Blood, sebum and pus-filled protrusions, also called acne, in a few cases, do cause pain too, apart from making the skin uglier.
Stress, lack of sleep, emotional insecurities and most importantly, our diet are responsible for the outburst of acne or its frequent relapse. Coming to diet, any food that increases the sebum content can give you painful acne.
So, listed here are some of the foods that you should chuck off your regular diet immediately if you want to live an acne-free life.
1. Milk: Milk has acquired many forms, some of which are not good for gut health. Since healthy gut is one of the main pre-requisites for having a problem-free skin, milk can be chucked off the diet list. But, as we say, not all forms of milk are bad. Processed milk called skimmed variety of milk is said to be the bad agent. So, if you are thinking that your body’s calcium requirements will not be met, start using organic and natural milk. The restriction is only on skimmed milk and the milk chocolate.
2. Chocolate: Milk chocolate and simple chocolates are wreaking havoc on your skin. Yes, dear chocolate lovers, let’s face the fact! The chocolate minus the sugar is not the culprit. It is the sugar content in the chocolate that is responsible for the breakouts and acne on the skin. So, don’t give in to the rush of happy feelings that your nerves transmit as soon as chocolate melts in your mouth, it is a sugary trap causing lot of damage to the skin.
3. Coffee: Another food that can cause acne is coffee. This drink energizes, undoubtedly, but what it also does is that it stimulates the sebaceous glands by increasing the cortisol levels in the body. So, these over-active sebaceous glands give you the worst acne. Thus, avoid coffee, please!
4. Smoothies with sweeteners: Anything that has high sugar levels is responsible for the bad skin. Thus, the thick smoothies flavored with sugar and sugary syrups are the culprit too. Kindly strike these off the diet plan if you think these are filler helping you in weight loss. Their role in losing weight is not as prominent as it is in causing acne.
5. Dried fruits: The dried fruits are acceptable but only when consumed in moderation. The real problem occurs when you over do the dried fruit intake. The over consumption spikes up the glycemic index leading to increase in insulin hormone in the body. This, eventually, translates into acne hit skin.
6. Crisps and fries: Crisps are causing oxidative stress which is also one of the culprits that cause acne. These affect the collagen protein production which is responsible for firm and elastic skin. Thus, the skin tends to break out and severe acne occurs due to over consumption of potato crisps. Switch to coconut wafers which are not too high on fat content, if you love your skin.
7. Shell-fish: Lobsters and shell fish are known to cause skin breakouts. It is because of the high iodine content in these foods. The excess iodine can worsen acne and even can start one. So, replace this with omega-3 fatty acids rich fishes like salmon, which actually promote skin health.
8. Sushi: Sashimi and brown rice should replace your favorite Sushi right away if you are victim of acne. The Sushi has ingredients like white rice, soy sauce, crab meat and so on. While white rice shoots up the glycemic index, the others are full of gluten; both are heavily responsible for the acne and breakouts.
9. Bagels: Nothing about bagel is worth appreciating if you are worried about your skin. Bagels have refined flour and lot of sugar; both are responsible for the spiking up of glycemic index and eventually for the worsening of acne. Thus, bagels are also to be removed from the eating schedule.
10. Bread: Bread causes acne due to gluten content. So, it has to be consumed in gluten-free forms. It is because bread does help in antioxidant build-up which actually is required for staying healthy and disease-free. So, breads that do not cause inflammation of systemic region are to be considered for consumption, completely erasing them from diet cannot be an option.
11. Pizza: Before you start hating this article for holding Pizza the culprit for acne, please know this small fact about pizza. This famous food is actually rich in gluten that affects the intestinal system and also increases inflammation. These developments happening inside the body are translated in the form of skin breakouts and acne. So, the safer choice still will be – gluten-free pizza.
Just by changing the diet by using healthy alternatives, you can solve the problem of acne to a large extent. The acne is actually the result of inflammation, high glycemic index and poor digestive system. So, any food that leads to these conditions has to be avoided to get the acne-free skin.