For about 1 in 5 of us, diet can have a profound effect on skin health. For the lucky ones, changes to diet can help alleviate breakouts & for some stop them altogether. For the other four, the difference will be less noticeable.
Managing your skin is about focusing on what you can control & letting go of what you can’t. Diet is something we can control & its a good step but take diet with a pinch of salt (forgive the pun) – just because dietary changes cleared the skin for an influencer does not mean it will for you. It might, but it depends on the underlying factors of your breakouts & so it might not.
Despite what the internet might say there are no foods which directly cure acne. There are foods which are linked to reduce acne severity -people with acne can be chronically deficient in certain nutrients (think Zinc, vitamins A & D, & Essential fatty acids) & eating foods high in these nutrients (as part of an overall balanced diet) can help reduce acne severity. And, there are foods which are linked to trigger acne (high GI foods, dairy, omega-6 rich foods). Again, this is for some & not everyone with acne.
So should you manage your diet?
Yes.
A good balanced diet focused on reducing inflammation & balancing hormones is good for everyone, not just those with breakout blues.
But there’s a huge caveat – 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻’𝘁.
If you tunnel vision on your diet, you will increase your stress. You will stress over having enough vitamin A, C, D, & E. You will stress over having a high Omega 3 – 6 ratio. You will stress over Zinc. You will stress over sugar, milk, cheese & chocolate. Your whole life will become an experiment. And your stress levels will go bananas.
Stress is also breakout fuel. It creates a hormonal storm that leads to breakouts. It slows your gut. Any benefit from your diet changes will be lost in the fog.
The secret is to moderate. Employ an 80/20 rule of healthy/happy food.
Having low stress is as important as a healthy diet.
