Diet taboos for acne

At present, the medical community generally understands that diets that can aggravate acne are mainly high GI foods, dairy products (especially skimmed milk), and highly processed foods that are high in added sugar and high in saturated fat.； As for the "fawu" seafood, beef and mutton, and the hot peppers that have been blamed all year round, the actual controversy is extremely controversial. There are no universal taboo requirements, and individual tolerance is the most important criterion.

A while ago, I treated a girl who was just entering her sophomore year. When she came in, she had a dense knot on her forehead that felt tingling. When I asked her, I found out that she had white toast and bubble milk tea from the convenience store for breakfast every morning in order to catch her 8 a.m. class. On weekends, when she stayed in the dormitory to watch TV dramas, she always had ice Coke and puffed food. I asked her to replace these with multigrain bread and sugar-free soy milk. She came back for a review within three weeks and found that almost 80% of the food was gone. Don't believe it, this is the "power" of high GI foods - the so-called high GI is actually food that raises blood sugar quickly. After entering the body, it will quickly raise blood sugar and drive the level of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) to soar. When the sebaceous glands are stimulated, they will secrete oil desperately, pores will be clogged quickly, and acne will naturally occur frequently. This is a risk factor clearly listed in the 2021 version of the "Chinese Acne Treatment Guidelines", and there is basically no controversy. In addition to milk tea, refined staple foods made of white rice and white flour, and puffed foods, many people tend to overlook high-sugar fruits such as lychees, longans, and durians, which have high GI values. Eating too much of half a pound a day can also lead to acne.

In addition to foods that raise blood sugar quickly, another acne killer that many people ignore is dairy products, especially skimmed milk, which everyone thinks is healthier. I stepped into this pit when I was losing fat. I drank two cups of skimmed milk every morning. During that time, I repeatedly had hard red and swollen acne on my chin. I stopped and switched to whole milk and it disappeared. Current research generally believes that IGF-1 in dairy products itself is biologically active and will directly affect hormone levels in the body after ingestion. During the process of removing fat, skim milk not only does not destroy IGF-1, but also further increases the proportion of whey protein, which promotes insulin secretion and increases the activity of sebaceous glands. However, there are also different research conclusions here: Some small sample studies show that due to the effect of probiotics, sugar-free fermented yogurt has reduced IGF-1 activity and has a smaller impact on acne, but it is not absolute - I have a patient who always gets acne when he drinks sugar-free yogurt, but he is fine after switching to Shuhua milk. It really varies from person to person.

What's interesting is that many people insist that eating spicy food causes acne, but among the girls who go out for a walk on the streets of Sichuan and Chongqing and eat hot pot skewers every day, there are a lot of girls with translucent skin. There is currently a lot of controversy about the relationship between chili peppers and acne: some studies believe that capsaicin can inhibit the inflammatory response and have a relieving effect on inflammatory acne. ； Some studies also believe that large amounts of chili peppers can dilate blood vessels and aggravate inflammation, redness and swelling. But in most cases, when you get acne after eating hot pot, it’s really not the chili sauce – the accompanying full-sugar iced milk tea, the fat beef rolls cooked in the butter pot, and the finishing touch of brown sugar ice powder. These high-sugar and high-fat items are the culprits.

As for the taboo on "fat food" that has been passed down for many years, it is said that seafood, beef and mutton will cause acne, and there is not enough research to support it. Unless you are allergic to such foods, and allergic reactions will aggravate skin inflammation, eating boiled shrimp and stewed beef normally will not aggravate acne at all. Many people get acne after eating seafood. Essentially, it’s a matter of the cooking method - fried crabs wrapped in batter in typhoon shelters, spicy crayfish with a lot of sugar and oil. If you try it again by boiling it, there is a high probability that nothing will happen.

To be honest, there is really no need to go to extremes to avoid getting acne. Eating a cake or drinking a cup of milk tea once in a while will not make your face look bad the next day. Only long-term and frequent eating will have obvious effects. If you are really not sure what food you are allergic to, just keep a simple food diary. After eating something new, if you get more than 3 new acnes within 3 days, stop for half a month and try again. If this happens twice, it is your personal taboo. Don't worry about what others say you can eat. Just avoid it. After all, everyone’s physique is very different, and the dietary rules that suit others may not suit you.