One of the oldest popular believes about acne is its link with diet. The role of diet in acne was a proven fact in old ages. However with modern advancements in scientific researches the accountability of diet has become controversial. There are certain dermatologists how totally liberate diet from this blame while most believe that diet does have a role at least in acne flare ups, if not in formation of new lesions. There are two aspects of diet in this regard;
- 1. Some bad foods that cause or exacerbate acne
- 2. Some good foods that prevent or help to clear acne.
Acne Related Bad Foods:
As long as acne flare ups are concerned, the notorious of all foods are chocolates, soft drinks, potato chips, spicy foods, shell fish and so forth. As acne is predominantly a disease of teenagers, (although women in 20s or 30s may also be affected) the age when such foods are the favorites. While parents usually hate to see kids filling their stomachs with such junk foods mainly because these diets are glaringly deficient in several vital minerals and vitamins. Consequently it is the desire of parents for a dermatologist to declare such sugary and oily foods to be the main culprit. Beside junk foods there are some acne sufferers who found that spicy foods or beef are the ones that worsen their pimples. In contrast to above you may come across few researchers that claim milk to be the main cause in some people. Eggs are another infamous food for acne. Similarly there are many other believes regarding the link of food and acne. Above all there are different effects of same food on different people.
Quite opposite to the strong traditional belief that wrong diets cause or worsen acne, Scientists have not found any connection between specific foods and acne. The Journal of the American Medical Association recognized, "Diet plays no role in acne treatment in most patients…even large amounts of certain foods have not clinically exacerbated acne." There has been found no direct influence of food to the cause of acne. Still we will recommend unhealthy junk and spicy foods to be avoided at least during the course of treatment because they will drop off the intake of healthy foods that promote rapid healing.
Acne Related Good Foods:
Even though certain foods do not cause acne or aggravate existing acne lesions, a good healthy diet does have a role in clearing skin. A healthy food promotes an overall good health, and as skin is the reflection of one’s well being, a good health will reflect a fresh glowing complexion with clear skin. There are certain Vitamins and minerals that are very essential for a healthy skin. The most important of all are;
- Vitamin A; major sources are liver, fish oil, carrots, apricot, parsley, spinach, tomatoes, milk, cheese and whole eggs.
- Vitamin E; major sources are nuts like almonds and peanuts, whole grain, vegetable oils, avocado, green leafy vegetables especially kale.
- Zinc; Major sources are Lean meat, skinless chicken, Shellfish, Nuts, Seeds, whole grain Cereals, Yogurt, skim milk, eggs, whole grains, mushroom.
- Vitamin B and Chromium have also been found useful in clearing skin and getting a glowing complexion.
The important factor for getting a clear acne free face is to avoid bad foods as much as possible, to add good foods to your diet and drink plenty of water. Though the part of water for clearing acne was well known in the near past, yet new researches have made this controversial too. Still its role in maintaining body’s well being is incredible and as already mentioned a good health means good skin.
